The Daily

“SOMETHING CONTINUALLY HAPPENING”

VANCE FERRELL

Daniel 8:10-14 as Explained by

The Bible, Spirit of Prophecy,
And Historical Facts

The First Complete Analysis Ever Produced

Harvestime Books
HB–571
You will find solid evi­­d­
The Daily ence for both views about
by Vance Ferrell the daily in this special
research report.
Published by Harvestime Books
H o w e v e r, y o u w i l l
P.O. Box 300, Altamont, TN 37301 USA also learn that, in­­ stead of
conflicting informa­tion, the
Printed in the United States of America annals of his­­tory reveal that
Cover and Text Copyright © 2020 both of them were fulfilled.

When the true meaning of each is properly under­

stood, neither view contradicts the other!
The “daily” (the “continual” something) is the con­­
tin­ual priesthood, intercession, ministry, and for­giv­
ing and enabling power of Jesus Christ our Lord and
Saviour in the heavenly Sanctuary.
In stark contrast,—the intentional, ongoing, absorp­
tion of the various features of universal paganism
into itself—provided the papacy with the satanically
inspired power, in its teachings and persecutions,
to cast down and trample underfoot the laws, the
Scriptures, and the followers of Jesus Christ.
This is what we learn from a study of Daniel 8:10-14
in the Bible, Spirit of Prophecy, history, and Catholic
Church statements.

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 3

Contents
1 - INTRODUCTION “Taking Away” of the Three Tribes with
A Pivotal Point in the Attack on the Spirit of the Daily 21
Prophecy 6 The Millerites Did Not Say What the
Definitions of the Two Views 7 “Taking Away,” in A.D. 508, Referred To
21
Why the Critics Dislike the Sanctuary
Message 7 Beginning in Early 1842, the Millerites
Were Divided on the Meaning of the Daily
Eighteen Historical Facts 7
21
2 - POSITIONS
OF ELLEN G. WHITE Years later, Ellen White Said Four Times
AND THE MILLERITES that She Did Not Know the Correct View
of the Daily 22
The Sanctuary View 9
The History of the Eight Millerite Charts 23
lntroduction to Spirit of Prophecy
Comments on the Daily 10 4 - THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY
ON EVENTS ASSOCIATED
Ellen White Recommended Crosier’s WITH THE DAILY
Writings,—and He Taught the Sanctuary
lntroduction 26
View 10
Ellen White Does Not Mention A.D. 508 or
Controversy in Later Years 13
the 1290-Year Prophecy 26
Ellen White Did Not Refer to the Meaning of
The Daily Concept in Great Controversy 26
the Daily in Early Writings, 74:2-76:0 14
The Age to Come Party 17 The Two lmportant Pages 26
In Early Writings, 74:1, Ellen G. White Did The Daily Concept in Other Passages in
Not Refer to the Meaning of the Daily Great Controversy 28
When She Mentioned the 1843 Chart 17 5 - HISTORICAL FACTS
ABOUT THE LITTLE HORN
3 - THE POSITION OF THE MILLERITES AND THE REMOVAL OF PAGANISM
What Led William Miller to the Paganism lntroduction 29
View? 18 The Bible and Spirit of Prophecy: The
What is the Correct Meaning of Papacy Did Not Take Away the Three
2 Thessalonians 2:7-8? 19 Horns and Those Horns Were Not
The 1843 Fitch Chart Did Not Give the Pagan 29
Meaning of the Daily 19 The Evidence of History: The Papacy Did
A Closer Look at the 1843 Chart 20 Not Take Away the Three Horns and
The 1843 Chart Reveals What the Millerites the Horns Were Not Pagan 30
Were Teaching 21 The Papacy Took Away Paganism by
The Millerites Did Not Associate the Absorbing It 31
4 The Daily
6 - HOW THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH “Evenings and Mornings” 51
BECAME PAGANIZED - 1
Connecting Daniel 8:14 to 8:11-13 51
HISTORICAL STATEMENTS
The Daily in Daniel 12:11 51
lntroduction 33
Four Prophecies about Christ in His
The Paganism that Poured In 33 Sanctuary 52
Conditions in the Church Just Before The Daily in Daniel 11:31 52
Constantine 34
12 - ADDITIONAL
Changes under Constantine 34 HISTORICAL FACTS
The Forced Conversion of Pagans Brought Historical Facts about the Beginning of the
Their Religious Practices into the Church 1290- and 1335-Year Prophecies 53
35
Three Types of “Paganism” 54
Near the End of the Fourth Century 35
Both the Sanctuary and Christ’s Ministry
7 - HOW THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
BECAME PAGANIZED - 2
Within It Were Cast Down 54
CATHOLIC STATEMENTS What Was the Light of the Midnight Cry? 54
They Freely Admit It 36 Two Other Adventist Views of the Daily 54
8 - HOW THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH Now, Two Protestant Positions 55
BECAME PAGANIZED - 3 The 16th-18th Century Reformers Believed
SPIRIT OF PROPHECY STATEMENTS the Daily Was the Ministry of Christ that
Solid, Clear Statements 37 Was Taken Away by the Papacy 55
9 - CHRIST’S MEDIATION IN THE The Three Jesuit Views of the Daily 57
SANCTUARY IN HEAVEN AND The 1848 Bible Conferences 58
WHY THERE IS NO “SACRIFICE” IN THE
ANTITYPICAL “DAILY” The 1850 Rhodes-Nichols Chart 58
The Beginning of Christ’s Mediation 39 James White’s Remarkable Statement
The lmportance of Christ’s Mediation 39 Defending the Sanctuary View
of the Daily 58
The Power of Christ’s Mediation 39
Uriah Smith Converts the Church to the
After the Daily Mediation Ended in 1844 40
Paganism View 59
Trying to Cast Down the Mediation 40
Uriah Smith’s Position on the Daily in
The Only Mediation Available to Us 41 Daniel 8 60
10 - J.N. ANDREWS’ POSITION 13 - CONCLUSION
ON THE DAILY
WHEN PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD, BOTH
An Outstanding Research Study 41 VIEWS COMBINE INTO A SINGLE WHOLE
11 - RELATED STUDIES Christ our Mediator is Our Daily! 61
IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL
Paganism Gave the Papacy the Power to
The “Daily” in Daniel 8:11-13 is a Cast Down 601
Sanctuary Word 45
Why the Paganism Transfer was a Mutual
The Answer is Found in the Daily! 46 Agreement 62
Why Did the KJV Translators Add Why the Mediation Substitution was
“Sacrifice” to “Daily”? 47 Necessary for Rome’s Survival 62
Other Sanctuary Words in Daniel 8:10-13 Keep Close to God’s Word. 62
47
Value the Spirit of Prophecy. 63
Other Important Words 49
“How Long is this to Continue?” 50
 5

8:10 “And it waxed great, even to the host of

heaven; and it cast down some of the host and
of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon
them.
8:11 “Yea, he magnified himself even to the
prince of the host, and by him the daily [sacrifice]
was taken away, and the place of His sanctuary
was cast down.
8:12 “And an host was given him against the
daily [sacrifice] by reason of transgression, and
it cast down the truth to the ground; and it prac-
ticed, and prospered.
8:13 “Then I heard one saint speaking, and
another saint said unto that certain saint which
spake, How long shall be the vision [concerning]
the daily [sacrifice], and the transgression of
desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the
host to be trodden under foot?
8:14 “And he said unto me, Unto two thou-
sand and three hundred days; then shall the
sanctuary be cleansed.”
— Daniel 8:10-14
6 The Daily

The Daily
“SOMETHING CONTINUALLY HAPPENING”

Before beginning this book, it would be well to against the Spirit of Prophecy and our historic
here state that there are two views of the daily beliefs.
in Daniel 8:13—and both, in their own way, In 1908-1910, several Church leaders, all be-
are correct, for there is solid evidence for both lievers in our doctrines and the Spirit of Prophecy,
views of the daily. We will also learn that, instead quarreled with one another over the meaning of
of conflicting information, God’s Word and the the daily in Daniel 8:11-13. In response, Ellen
annals of history reveal that both of them were White eventually told them to stop their arguing.
fulfilled, each in its own way. The reason she gave was that the issue was not,
You will here find solid facts which clearly at that time, central to our overall doctrinal
eliminate the controversy over the daily—while defense.
solidly verifying our historic positions. Today, the situation is far different. Critics
Penetrating deeply into the pure Word of God, who hate the Spirit of Prophecy and despise our
and the writings of past history, we find that both beliefs are determined to destroy the foundations
views have strong merits. Indeed, without the ab- upon which Adventism is built. They are trying
sorption of the one and the removal of the other, to lead our people into a renunciation of those
the Roman apostasy could never have arisen. basic teach­ings. Part of their tactic is to use a
I can assure you that, before you are done, common misunderstanding about the daily as
you will have learned a lot, and be better able to one among several levers by which to pry us
explain the daily to others! ­—Vance Ferrell away from our God-given beliefs. The critics
declare that our historic concepts nested in Daniel
8:14 (Christ in the heavenly Sanctuary, the 1844
1 - INTRODUCTION
event, and the Investigative Judgment) cannot be
Throughout our history, our Sanctuary Mes- true—because, according to the error of some in
sage, founded on Daniel 8:14, has provided a the daily, 8:14 does not agree with the question
protective wall around our beliefs regarding in 8:13 about the daily.
Christ’s mediatorial work in the heavenly Sanc- At the present time, sophisticated and highly
tuary, the 1844 event, the Investigative Judgment, deceptive arguments are being put forth against
the Three Angels’ Messages, the Judgment Hour our bedrock Sanctuary belief—in books, on the
Message about obedience by faith in Christ to the internet, in attack videos, and in our college
Law of God, and final events on Planet Earth as class­rooms.
given in Great Controversy. It is only because of this fact that this present
The Sanctuary Message is crucial to our study on the daily is being released to our peo-
entire faith and work as a people. It not only is ple. It is urgent that Advent believers be able
our foundational teaching, it is overarching in its to unite on the complete identity of the daily.
vastness of scope and implications for humanity In order to more fully defend our foundation-
throughout history. al belief in the 1844 event and the Investigative
The “taking away of paganism” view of the Judgment which began at that time, it is very im-
daily has also been considered important by many portant that our people be able to come together
of our people. on the truth about the daily.
A PIVOTAL POINT IN THE ATTACK By uniting on this point, both our Sanctuary
ON THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY Message and our defense of the 1260-, 1290-,
Unlike the crises in the nineteenth century and and 1335-year prophecies will be strength-
the first decade of the twentieth, in our time a ened. God is honored when we stand in defense
major multipronged attack has been launched of the truths He has given our people.
 7
You know that I have always sought to defend more complete 18-point refutation of the Antio­
our Bible and Spirit of Prophecy positions. In this chus Epi­phanes theory, see my Biblical Defense,
study I will continue to do so. pp. 38-46.)
You are about to read some very interesting Desmond Ford would not be desirous of en-
facts. dorsing the Sanctuary view of the daily, because
DEFINITIONS OF THE TWO VIEWS it vindicates our understanding of the 1844
Throughout this study, in speaking of the two heavenly Sanctuary fulfillment of Daniel 8:14,
positions on the daily, I will refer to one as the thereby strengthening our faith in it. Remember
“paganism view,” and the other as the “Sanctu- that fact.
ary view.” Ford and his fellow travelers are determined
According to the paganism view of the daily: to eliminate the Investigative Judgment—because
Papal Rome took away—eliminated—paganism they do not want to face a coming Judgment!
in the early sixth century (A.D. 508 and 538). But, whether they like it or not, that Judgment
Actually, Inspiration tells us it “replaced it.” It did is being gradually completed in heaven.
this by absorbing it into itself. Instead, Ford and his associates in our col-
According to the Sanctuary view of the leges and ministry teach the modern Protestant
daily: In the early sixth century, the papacy error that our sins were corporately forgiven at
was, by imperial edict, empowered to blot out Calvary 2,000 years ago—and, therefore, today
Christ’s mediatorial work in heaven from the we need only repent of sin—instead of also doing
minds of men. away with it by obeying God’s moral law of Ten
Henceforth, men were commanded, on pain Commandments.
of death, to find salvation in priestly forgiveness, Those who cling to such a belief are living in a
the abominable sacrifice of the mass, indulgences, fool’s paradise. They will later discover the truth
and prayers to idols. when it is too late to retrace their steps and return
In this research study, we are going to find that to simple obedience to God’s requirements.
there is solid evidence for both views. We will also EIGHTEEN HISTORICAL FACTS
learn that, when properly understood, in­stead of It is said that the Millerites before 1844
conflicting information, they dovetail together very were united in accepting only one view, the
nicely into a composite whole! paganism view. However, early in 1842—nearly
In this study, I am going to defend both two and a half years before the Midnight Cry and
views, so be assured: I am not fighting either the Great Disappointment, in a major Boston
one. Both are important. In fact, they beautifully meeting of delegates from the entire Millerite
jigsaw together, as you will discover. movement, they gave official recognition to the
WHY THE CRITICS DISLIKE fact that they were hopelessly divided on the
THE SANCTUARY MESSAGE topic. The decision, there recorded, was never
Working quietly in the 1960s, and more later changed by the Millerites.
openly in the 1980s, Desmond Ford began the It is a fact that William Miller had, for years,
modern attack on our Sanctuary Message. He solidly stood in defense of his paganism view of
used the paganism view of the daily as part of the daily. Although he continued teaching his own
his onslaught. view, in that same spring 1842 meeting, he was
Declaring that, if the paganism view is the part of the unanimous vote which stripped the
only correct interpretation of Daniel 8:11-13, paganism view from the new, official chart used in
he maintained that Daniel 8:14 is fulfilled in the Millerite evangelistic presentations. It seemed
Antiochus Epi­phanes (an unimportant Syrian best to them all not to argue the matter.
king who ruled less than 12 years, during 175 Prior to the morning of October 23, 1844,
B.C-164 B.C.). when new light was given to Hiram Edson, the
Ford and his helpers within our denomination Millerites knew nothing about the interces-
(including many of our college teachers) now sion of Christ in the heavenly Sanctuary. So
maintain that the little horn was Antiochus; and that view was not part of their thinking or their
the daily he took away was the pagan nations presentations.
which he subdued during his brief reign. (For a While some held to the “taking away of pagan-
8 The Daily
ism,” other Millerites connected the daily with instead of looking for how “daily” was used in
the “taking away of the three horns” (which other Biblical passages, he looked for other
they called the “three tribes”). uses of the phrase, “taking away.” There is a
But, as early as 1842, the Millerites careful- big difference between the two! If he had checked
ly separated the daily (Dan. 8) from the taking out the same (adjectival) use of the daily (as used
away of the three tribes (Dan. 7), making them six times in Daniel), his search would have led
two separate events. him directly to the first apartment ministry in
Ellen White said the 1843 Chart had the cor- the tabernacle.
rect view. True, but the 1843 Chart did not give This is the Bible passage on which Miller
the meaning of the daily. (More on this later.) based his theory, that the daily was paganism:
Many earlier Adventists have believed one or “For the mystery of iniquity doth already
the other of the two views. —But, as with every work: only he who now letteth will let, until
other belief, the special question is what does the he be taken out of the way.
Bible and Spirit of Prophecy teach. In an 1847 “And then shall that Wicked be revealed,
letter, Ellen White recommended Crosier’s po- whom the Lord shall consume with the spir-
sition on the Sanctuary as especially accurate. it of His mouth, and shall destroy with the
For over a year, Crosier had, in preaching brightness of His coming.”—2 Thessalonians
and writing, strongly opposed the paganism 2:7-8.
view and taught, what was essentially, the Miller assumed that 2 Thessalonians 2:7 ap-
Sanctuary view of the daily. But he defected from plied to pagan Rome, and verse 8 to papal Rome!
Adventism in 1846, so we cannot look to Crosier —But, in reality, the “mystery of iniquity” is papal
as one who can help us bring together both views. Rome! (More on this later.)
It is not true that Ellen White defined the daily, Daniel 8:13-14 directly connects the daily with
or that she clearly said, in so many words, exactly the Sanctuary. In defending the paganism view
what the daily was. She never specifically stat- alone, some say that paganism was taken away
ed what it was; not anywhere in her writings! in A.D. 508-538; and therefore that is why, over
This may come as a surprise. It is left with us to a thousand years later, the heavenly Sanctuary
make that decision for ourselves—on the basis could begin to be cleansed in 1844. Yet Daniel
of what the Bible, history, and the Hebrew of the 8:13 stated a problem—the taking away of the
passage clearly teach. Fortunately, we have one daily—which Daniel 8:14 was supposed to cor-
passage (to be discussed later) in which, with- rect. (More on this later.)
out naming the “daily,” she actually endorsed The Investigative Judgment did not begin
both positions. We are thankful for this. in order to judge the papacy for eliminating
It is not true that the paganism view was taught pagan Rome. This is a key flaw in our position,
by expositors for centuries, before the time of the on which our opponents, who despise Adventism,
Millerites. Not correct. William Miller was the are now attacking us!
first person in history to devise the paganism The Hebrew of this extremely important pas-
view of the daily. He did it because he did not sage (Dan. 8:11-14) is, in context, discussing
understand the meaning of the word, “Sanctuary,” the taking away of the mediatorial work of
in Daniel 8:14. At the time when he conceived the Christ in the heavenly Sanctuary—erasing it
paganism view, he knew absolutely nothing about from the minds of the people and substituting
Christ’s mediatorial work in the two apartments the sacrifice of the Mass in its place. This is
of the Sanctuary in heaven. He had not the slight- an important fact.
est inkling of the Sanctuary Message or the event Ellen White did not say that we should
which would precede the end of the world—the not investigate or discuss the two views. She
momentous Investigative Judgment. only said believers in the message should not
In decided contrast, we today do understand quarrel about them; and that, at a later time,
the correct meaning of Daniel 8:14. That ought the question could be discussed more openly.
to directly affect our interpretation of the daily. My objective in this study is to eliminate the
It is not true that William Miller arrived at conflict and draw our people together by seeing
his view by carefully searching to see how “daily” how both views are important.
was used elsewhere in the Old Testament. In fact,
 9
It is not true that it does not matter what TWO - POSITIONS
we believe about the daily. It has actually gained OF ELLEN WHITE
in importance, because today’s critics are using AND THE MILLERITES
the incorrect view as a wedge to attack both the
There are two different positions built on the
Spirit of Prophecy and Daniel 8:14, which is our
theory that the daily in Daniel 8:7 is “paganism”:
bedrock belief.
The first view is that the daily is the removal
It is not true that the matter has nothing to do
of paganism from the empire by the papacy
with our basic doctrines. It is the key to under-
by A.D. 508.
standing how Daniel 8:14 connects with Daniel
The second is the view that the daily is
8:11-13. Daniel 8:14 provides the answer to the
about the papacy eliminating the surrounding
basic problem stated in Daniel 8:l l-13.
pagan nations from power between A.D. 508
Each of us need only consider the facts; for
and 538.
they are obvious. Make up your own mind. But do
The original Millerite position was this: The
not quarrel about it. For the sake of the doctrinal
papacy wiped out the daily (paganism) in A.D. 508
integrity of Daniel 8:14, a better understanding
(Dan. 8:11) and got rid of three pagan horns (pa-
of the meaning of Daniel 8:11-14 needs to be
gan tribes) about the year A.D. 538 (Dan. 7:8, 20).
understood. This research study provides that
Later, in the Millerite movement, the two
doctrinal unity. The present situation demands
concepts were separated.
that this weakness in our doctrinal defense be
explained to our people. THE SANCTUARY VIEW
When the crisis comes, we will have to answer In marked contrast, there is a third position:
for our faith in courts of law. It is not true that the The Sanctuary view is concerned, not with papal
paganism view provides the only way we can date efforts to eliminate pagans,—but with the heart of
the beginning of the 1290- and 1335-year prophe- the papal apostasy itself!—the attempted remov-
cies. Later in this study, we will find that historical al from mankind, for over a thousand years, of
records place the completion of the taking away Christ as our only means of salvation!
of the daily, and the beginning of taking away of The Sanctuary view is the papacy’s blasphe-
the sanctuary view, as both especially beginning mous effort to make itself God—by removing
in A.D. 508. Christ’s mediation in the heavenly Sanctuary on
It is not true that, according to the Spirit of behalf of all mankind from the minds of men. Of
Prophecy, paganism was taken away in A.D. 508. course, the actual Sanctuary in heaven was not
Instead, the Spirit of Prophecy explains that pa- removed. The papacy kept men from learning
ganism “had given place to the papacy” over that they could go to Christ for forgiveness, ac-
a period of centuries. (More on this later.) As ceptance, strength in overcoming, and ultimate
a result of intense persecution for centuries, the salvation.
truth that Christ is our only Saviour was also Read Great Controversy, pp. 73-76, for a
taken away. thrill­ing account of precious souls led to Christ
It is not true that both Daniel 8 and the Spirit as their Saviour through the missionary work of
of Prophecy clearly teach that “pagan horns” were the Waldenses. Here is a sample:
taken away by the papacy. We will discover that “Often would words like these be uttered:
the three horns, at the time they were removed, ‘Will God indeed accept my offering? Will
were not pagan, but a variant of Christianity. He smile upon me? Will He pardon me?’
A careful reading of Daniel 8:11-14 reveals that The answer was read: ‘Come unto Me, all ye
“pagan” is not in the passage. The three horns in that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give
Daniel 7:8 are not called “pagan” either. Nowhere you rest.’ Matthew 11:28.
does the Spirit of Prophecy term the three up- “Faith grasped the promise, and the glad
rooted horns as “pagan.” Nowhere in Daniel is response was heard: ‘No more long pilgrimag-
the daily called “pagan.” (More on this later.) es to make; no more painful journeys to holy
shrines. I may come to Jesus just as I am,
sinful and unholy, and He will not spurn the
penitential prayer. “Thy sins be forgiven thee.”
Mine, even mine, may be forgiven!’ ”—Great
Controversy, 75.
10 The Daily
The papacy took away this glorious truth by She made five other statements about the
forbidding the people to own or read a Bible, daily; but, in four of them, she said she did not
or discuss the truths they were hearing. They know its meaning. In the fifth statement, she said
were required, on the pain of death, to confess the daily could be discussed later, but not at that
their sins to priests, bow down to idols, finger time. (More on all this soon.)
beads, pray to dead people, and take part in the ELLEN WHITE RECOMMENDED
blasphemous mass where Christ was supposedly CROSIER’S WRITINGS,
crucified again, day after day. —AND HE TAUGHT
The Sanctuary view is about a massive THE SANCTUARY VIEW
attempt, by the papacy, to blot the means of In 1847, Ellen White said that Crosier taught
salvation from the minds of men for over ten the “true light on the Sanctuary, etc.” in his 1846
centuries. Day-star Extra. Yet, as early as October 1843,
The word, “daily,” in Daniel 8 means “the Crosier had vigorously taught the Sanctuary
continual doing of something.” It is important to view of the daily.
clarify that, in the Sanctuary view, the “daily” Owen R.L. Crosier was a very important
is not the Sanctuary in heaven; it is Christ’s person back then. After October 22, 1844, he
continual ministry of mediation on our behalf worked closely with Hiram Edson and F.B.
within that Sanctuary. Hahn in researching out the Biblical evidences
Also keep in mind that the Hebrew of the for the Sanctuary Message.
word, “daily,” in Daniel 8:11-12 is tamid, which It was obvious that, in the vision in the corn-
means “continual,” and is used REPEATEDLY field on the morning of October 23, 1844, Edson
of the first apartment ministry of the priests in had been shown a basic understanding of our
the earthly sanctuary in Leviticus! Daniel 8:11-14 Sanctuary truth. Yet, by that time, Crosier had
is about the Sanctuary ministry. begun studying and writing about portions of
But, as we will see, the changeover in pagan- this truth.
ism also figured importantly. —For it was only Here is Ellen White’s statement, earnestly
through pagan practices that the papacy could recommending Crosier’s position:
try to succeed in its attempt to remove Christ “I believe the sanctuary to be cleansed,
from the multitudes. at the end of the 2300 days, is the New
In Daniel 8:11-12, the papacy blotted out Jerusalem Temple, of which Christ is the
Christ’s atoning ministry on behalf of mankind minister. The Lord showed me in vision,
(the daily), cast down the Sanctuary (by replac- more than one year ago, that Brother Crosier
ing it with Catholic churches as the only place had the true light on the cleansing of the
to go for forgiveness), and cast down the truth sanctuary, etc., and that it was His will that
(by requiring that men accept what priests Brother Crosier should write out the view
said, instead of what the Bible taught). which he gave to us in the Day-Star Extra,
February 7, 1846. I feel fully authorized by
INTRODUCTION TO SPIRIT OF PROPHECY
COMMENTS ON THE DAILY the Lord to recommend that Extra to every
saint.”—EGW Letter, dated Wednesday, April
There are three passages in which Ellen
21, 1847, from Top­sham, Maine, to Eli Curtis
White said anything which could be interpreted
in New York City.
as recommending a position on the daily.
Back in those early years after 1844, the only
The first is her 1847 letter which recom-
teaching on the Sanctuary Message that she rec-
mended Crosier’s interpretation of Daniel
ommended was written by O.R.L. Crosier who,
8:11-14: In that statement, although she did not
from 1843 on through to the Great Disappoint-
mention the daily, it was well-known that by the
ment and beyond (until at least early 1847),
time the letter was penned for nearly quite some
had led out in championing the Sanctuary view
time Crosier had led out in presenting the Sanc-
of the daily.
tuary view, not the pagan view, of the daily.
In order to make certain that Ellen would
The second and third are two passages in
recommend the correct view of the entire subject
Early Writings which we will consider in detail
of the Sanctuary, the Lord guided that she rec-
shortly.
ommend to the faithful that which Crosier had
 11
written about the Sanctuary. Crosier had been his soul an offering for sin’; also Rev. 5:6, ‘I
studying the Sanctuary truth and the daily for beheld, and lo a lamb as it had been slain.’
over three years before he wrote that Day-Star This constantly efficacious atonement was
Extra. In his study, he had come to the definite shadowed by the daily manna. The great doc-
conclusion that (1) Christ had been mediating trine of the atonement is this: The blood of
in the Sanctuary in heaven since Calvary. (2) Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. We need
The little horn was the papacy as predicted the daily application of that sacrifice; we
in Bible prophecy. (3) The papal power “took need to be purified renewedly every moment.
away the daily, or continual mediation of Jesus Even the Pascal Lamb showed that Christ
Christ, and cast down the place of His gospel our Passover was slain for us; also Dan. 8:11
Sanctuary.” describes the adjective daily, without its ap-
As you read the following quotation by Crosier, pellative or noun.
notice that he states there were others back then, “The very heart of the gospel was removed
besides himself, who also preferred the Sanctuary when the little horn took away the daily—or
rather than the paganism view of the daily held continual mediation of Jesus Cbrist, and
by Miller as the only correct view, based on his cast down the place of his gospel sanctuary
understanding of 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8. and made it a den of thieves. —He cast down
In order to better understand the following the sacraments and gospel truth to the ground
statement by Crosier, compare it with this—the and ‘practiced’ the mystery of iniquity and
key passage in Daniel—on the subject; and re- prospered in his sacrilegious perversions.
member that “sacrifice” is a supplied word. “Dan. 8:11 decides whose sanctuary it
8:11 “Yea, he magnified himself even to was. It is HIS Sanctuary. Only two person-
the prince of the host, and by him the daily ages have been introduced to whom the word
sacrifice was taken away, and the place of HIS can possibly apply. One was the Pope, the
His sanctuary was cast down. other was Jesus Christ, the Prince. —None
8:12 “And an host was given him against will say it was the Pope’s—the man of sin.
the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, Therefore it was the Sanctuary of the Lord
and it cast down the truth to the ground; and Jesus Christ. Now take two passages [which
it practiced, and prospered. are] perfectly parallel. One is, his sanctuary
was cast down; the other is the truth was
8:13 “Then I heard one saint speaking,
cast down.”—O.R.L. Crosier, article printed
and another saint said unto that certain
October 4, 1843, in The Midnight Cry, Vol. 5,
saint which spake, How long shall be the
No. 7, pp. 52-53. (Parenthesis and full caps
vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the
his; brackets and bold ours.)
transgression of desolation, to give both
the sanctuary and the host to be trodden Notice that, because the above statement was
under foot? written before October 22, 1844, Crosier did not,
at that time, know the Sanctuary Truth which
8:14 “And he said unto me, Unto two thou-
was revealed after that date. Therefore he only
sand and three hundred days; then shall
wrote about the ministry of Christ on our behalf,
the sanctuary be cleansed.”
carried on in “His sanctuary”—but not about the
Here is this remarkable statement by Crosier,
2300-day prophecy.
published in one of the two leading Millerite pe-
But after October 22, 1844, Crosier worked
riodicals on October 4, 1843.
closely with Hiram Edson (who had received the
“The continual mediation of Jesus Christ
cornfield vision) and F.B. Hahn in researching out
in His sanctuary, is urged by some as the
the Biblical evidences for the Sanctuary Message.
true interpretation of the daily sacrifice,
Later, in the Day-Star Extra of February 7,
against [instead of] Miller’s view of this sub-
1846, Crosier summarized much of his position
ject. . .
on the Sanctuary Message.
“What is the daily sacrifice? I answer—yet Then, over a year after that, in her letter to Eli
not I—but John 1:29, ‘Behold the Lamb of Curtis (quoted earlier), Ellen White said Crosier
God, which taketh away the sins of the world’; “had the true light on the cleansing of the Sanc-
also Isa. 53:10, ‘It pleased the Lord to make
12 The Daily
tuary, etc.,” and earnestly recommended that “This was the same as profaning or blas-
others read that Day-Star Extra (quoted below). pheming his name. In this sense this ‘politi-
Here are a few excerpts from Crosier’s article co-religious’ beast polluted the Sanctuary
in that February 7, 1846, Day-Star Extra: (Rev. 13:6) and cast it down from its place
“The sanctuary of the new covenant is in heaven (Ps. 102:19, Jer. 17:12, Heb. 8:l-
connected with New Jerusalem [in heaven], 2) when they called Rome the holy city (Rev.
like the sanctuary of the first covenant was 21:2) and installed the Pope there with the
with Old Jerusalem. . . Let it be remembered titles, ‘Lord God the Pope,’ ‘Holy Father,’ ‘Head
that the definition of sanctuary is ‘a holy or sa- of the Church,’ &c., and there, in the coun-
cred place.”—O.R.L. Crosier, The Sanctuary. terfeit ‘temple of God’ he professes to do
Notice that the Lord hid the meaning of the what Jesus actually does in His sanctuary
following historical facts—until the Sanctuary (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8). The sanctuary has
Message was fully discovered after October 22, been trodden underfoot (Dan. 8:13) the same
1844. as the Son of God has (Heb. 10:29).”—O.R.L.
Prior to when the “little book” (Daniel) was Crosier, Day-Star Extra, written February 7,
seen in the hands of Christ (Rev. 10:2, 9-10), the 1846, in Canan­daigua, New York, printed by
full truth about the question in Daniel 8:13 and Enoch Jacobs in Cincinnati, Ohio.
the answer in Daniel 8:14 could not be clearly un- Commenting on the above passage in the
derstood. (I have placed a line through “sacrifice.”) Day-Star Extra, the Seventh-day Adventist
8:10 “And it [first, secular pagan Rome, Encyclopedia freely admits that Crosier was
followed primarily by papal Rome] waxed equating the daily with the Sanctuary view:
great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast “His article in the Day-Star Extra, Feb. 7,
down some of the host [God’s followers] 1846 . . expressly stated that Daniel’s var-
and of the stars to the ground, and stamped ious references to the sanctuary as being
upon them. cast down (Dan. 8:11), polluted (11:30-31),
8:11 “Yea, he magnified himself even to trodden under foot (8:13), and cleansed
the Prince [Christ] of the host [His followers], (8:14), applied to the heavenly sanctuary
and by him the daily [sacrifice] [the continual of the new covenant. This, he said, can be
doing of something] was taken away, and the trodden underfoot figuratively, in the same
place of His Sanctuary was cast down. way as the Son of God has been. . . This
8:12 “And an host [large number of dedi- was a definite step away from Miller’s two
cated followers] was given him against the sanctuaries: that of Dan. 11:31 as a pagan
daily [sacrifice] by reason of transgression, sanctuary belonging to the daily, and that
and it cast down the truth [correct beliefs] to of Dan. 8:13, 14 as the temple of God.”—
the ground; and it practiced, and prospered. Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, article
8:13 “Then I heard one saint speaking, “The Daily,” 1976 ed., p. 368.
and another saint said unto that certain saint In another article the next year, Crosier
which spake, [the question:] How long shall specifically applied the daily in Daniel 8 to
be the vision concerning the daily [sacri- Christ’s work which the papacy intentionally
fice], and the transgression of desolation, replaced, “with its human merit, intercessions
to give both the sanctuary and the host to be and institutions in place of Christ’s” (Crosier,
trodden under foot? Day-Dawn, March 19, 1847).
8:14 “And he said unto me, [the answer:] So we have found that the Millerites before
Unto two thousand and three hundred the Great Disappointment, and the faithful after
days; then shall the sanctuary be [begin to that date, were not unanimous in holding to the
be] cleansed. paganism view as the only interpretation of the
“ ‘And the place of His sanctuary was cast daily.
down,’ Dan. 8:11. This casting down was We have also learned that Ellen White recom-
in the days and by the means of the Roman mended that the faithful read the writings of
power; therefore, the Sanctuary of this text the one man who, to our knowledge, was the
was not the Earth, nor Palestine. . . earliest in championing the Sanctuary view of
 13
the daily. two groups of our leaders, both firm believers in
Unfortunately, we will later learn in this his- the Spirit of Prophecy and our historic teachings.
torical report that, by the late 1840s, Crosier By 1909, they were using the two interpretations
rejected the Sabbath truth and separated from of the daily as ammunition against one another.
the Adventists. This is tragic! Elders Prescott and Daniells were
But, just now, here is a brief biography of deeply involved in the battle. Early in 1910, Ellen
Crosier: White called for a halt to this warfare between
Owen Russell Loomis Crosier (1820-1912) the two camps. Each side had declared the other
was a Millerite preacher and editor from Canan­ side (holding the opposite view of the daily) to be
daigua, New York. He was only 24 in 1844. He in total apostasy; which, of course, was not true.
collaborated with Hiram Edson and Dr. F.B. An Adventist is not in apostasy because he
Hahn in publishing a small Millerite paper, the believes one or the other of the two views of the
Day-Dawn. daily! Keep that in mind. Regardless of which
He was with Edson on the morning after the view was held, both groups were faithful Adven-
Great Disappointment on October 22, 1844. tist believers, desiring to further the work of God
Edson received an inspiration from God which on earth.
explained that the Millerites’ error was not in In order to carry their argumentation still
the date, but in the event; that Jesus had begun further, some made public copies of a letter of
His work as High Priest in the most holy place rebuke by Ellen White to Elder Daniells while they
in heaven. Crosier, Edson, and Hahn joined hid the fact that they, too, had received similar
together to study the subject, and Crosier was rebukes. So, early in 1910, Ellen White penned
selected to write out their findings on the sub- strong letters demanding that they stop doing this.
ject of the Sanctuary and its cleansing. In the years since then, many of our people
Joseph Bates and James White were among have adopted the Sanctuary view of the daily.
those Millerites who were convinced by the re- Here is an early statement, written at a time when
sulting article. When Ellen White read the second our colleges had not yet become corrupted by
and expanded printing of the article published accreditation and degrees. President Daniells is
in the Day-Star Extra of February 7, 1846, she comparing the “old view” of paganism with the
immediately recommended it to the brethren as “new view” of the Sanctuary mediation of Christ:
“true light.” “Scores and hundreds of our brethren who
When Elder Bates presented the Sabbath have been giving the subject study, and have
message to a group at Edson’s, Crosier at first become thoroughly convinced that the new
accepted the new light and kept the Sabbath. But view [of the daily] is right, will go on with the
eventually, he abandoned Sabbathkeeping and investigation, and will become more firmly
established as the days go by.
also his early Sanctuary view.
Even though Crosier made no contribution “I think every Bible teacher in our colleges
other than the development of our early views of in this country believes in the new view, and
the Sanctuary truth, a doctrine unique to the Sev- will teach it this way, if they teach anything at
enth-day Adventist Church, the plan of salvation is all.”—A.G. Daniells, September 27, 1910, RG
perfectly typified and beautifully explained by the 11 (RG is an archival category in the General
services carried out in the tabernacle Moses built. Conference Archives); Outgoing Letterbook
47, pp. 925-926.
CONTROVERSY IN LATER YEARS
And so, in the intervening years, our people
As they continued their research in later years, have quietly studied the matter. Some have re-
an increasing number of faithful Adventist breth- mained with one view of the daily, while others
ren discovered that which Crosier had declared chose the other.
back in The Midnight Cry article of October 4, However, since 1980, when Desmond Ford
1843, and had published in that Day-Star Extra, began using the paganism view as a way to
February 7, 1846: what Ellen White later recom- attack the foundation of our Sanctuary belief,
mended (April 21, 1847). as given in Daniel 8:14, the situation has rad-
Unfortunately, in the first decade of the twen- ically changed.
tieth century, a strong division developed between
14 The Daily
It is not now faithful brethren complaining word, “sacrifice.” The identity of the daily
about each other’s positions. It is apostates, such itself is not under discussion. Carefully notice
as Desmond Ford, who are trying to destroy the the exact wording. Here it is:
confidence of Adventists in the fundamentals of “Then I saw in relation to the ‘daily’ (Dan.
their historic beliefs. They are declaring that the 8:12) that the word, ‘sacrifice,’ was supplied
paganism view proves their theory that, nearly by man’s wisdom, and does not belong to the
200 years before the crucifixion, Antio­chus text, and that the Lord gave the correct view
Epiphanes (215 B.C.-164 B.C.) ruled the Seleu- of it [“it” refers to “sacrifice,” the grammatical
cid Empire until his death in 164 B.C. and took antecedent of “it” in this sentence] to those
away paganism over a period of three-and-a- who gave the judgment hour cry. When union
half years, and therefore there is no 2300-year existed, before 1844, nearly all were united
prophecy! on the correct view of the ‘daily’; but in the
It is especially for this reason that this present confusion since 1844, other views have been
study has been prepared. It is not necessary for embraced, and darkness and confusion have
our average Advent believers to be Bible scholars followed. Time has not been a test since 1844,
in order to understand God’s Word. The truths and it will never again be a test.”—Early Writ-
in Daniel 8:11-14 are a precious treasure for us ings, 74:2-75:0.
today. All are free to study them. If you will carefully read the entire passage
If you want accuracy of belief, let your con- (EW 74:2-76:0), you will find that this is what it
clusions about the daily, or any other doctrinal was talking about:
subject, closely agree with the doctrinal teach- The word, “sacrifice,” was supplied by men;
ings in the only inspired Bible commentary we but ­the Millerites were united in having the correct
have: the Spirit of Prophecy, especially Great view of it. However, since 1844, other views have
Con­tro­versy. Later in this study, we shall see what been accepted, which involve time setting and a
it has to say on the subject. You will be surprised return to Old Jerusalem in order to prepare to
at what it has to say. meet Christ at His Second Coming. At this junc-
ELLEN WHITE DID NOT REFER TO ture, someone might say, “Wait a minute! In
THE MEANING OF THE DAILY that paragraph, Ellen White said before 1844
IN EARLY WRITINGS, 74:2-76:0 nearly all were united on the correct view of
In Early Writings, 74:1, she recommended the the ‘daily.’ ”
1843 Chart. In the next section, we will discuss My reply: No, “sacrifice.” We know this for
that paragraph. six reasons which we will discuss shortly: Here
In Early Writings, 74:2-75:0, she explained are the first three of them: (l) Prior to 1844, the
the correct position on the supplied word, Millerites were united in rejecting “sacrifice,” but
“sacrifice,” in Daniel 8:11-13. We will consider NOT united on the meaning of the daily. (2) She
this passage right now. did not say the Millerites had the correct meaning
Contrary to what some think, in that entire of the daily; for she repeatedly said she herself did
chapter in Early Writings 74:1-76:0, Ellen White not know the correct meaning. Her statements on
did not recommend a certain view of the daily. She this will be quoted later. (3) The entire passage
did not define it, nor did she say how the Miller- (EW 74:2-76:0) is talking about a specific his-
ites defined it. Instead, in Early Writings, 74:2- torical event which had nothing to do with the
75:0, she referred to the fact that the Millerites meaning of the daily. (More below.)
unitedly opposed the call for Adventists to In the following excerpt from the Seventh-day
return to Old Jerusalem and there offer literal Adventist Encyclopedia, it is clear that, in Daniel
sacrifices, as a prerequisite for Christ’s return. 8:11-13, the Millerites were not united on the
Many believe that Ellen White’s statement, meaning of the daily, but were united in reject-
in Early Writings, 74-75, upholds the paganism ing “sacrifice.” And that is exactly what Ellen
view of the daily. But this is due to a misreading White said in Early Writings, 74:2-75:0.
of the passage. It is quite obvious, to the unbiased “Yet, in spite of differences of opinion on
reader, that she is alluding to the Millerites’ Miller’s detailed interpretation [of the daily],
unanimous agreement on the omission of the the Millerites stood united against the oppo-
 15
nents who contended for the literal rather would return to earth in 1850.
than the symbolic interpretation. Time and Next, in 1849, James wrote an article. That
again Millerite writers insisted that the same year Ellen wrote the Early Writings, 74:1-
word ‘sacrifice’ was not in the original He- 76:0, passage. Here is James White’s statement:
brew but was supplied by the translators; “Since the 2300 days ended in 1844, quite
that therefore the daily did not mean the a number of times [dates] have been set by
literal Jewish sacrifices taken away by An- different individuals for their termination. In
tiochus, and that the 2300 days were not doing so, they have removed the landmarks
literal days but years, to be dated from 457 and have thrown darkness and doubt over
B.C. Not until the period of confusion and the whole Advent movement. About 1849,
division following the 1844 disappointment the interpretation was propounded that the
did a group arise (the “Age to Come” party) word ‘sacrifice’ should be added to the word
supporting the old literalist view, looking to ‘daily,’ contending this meant the Jewish
literal sacrifices in the future at [Old] Jeru- sacrifices [at Old Jerusalem].”—James
salem; and this view was repudiated by the White, Advent Herald, March 3, 1849, p.
majority of those who remained with Miller 36; reprinted in Present Truth, Vol. 1, No. 8,
and Himes, and also by the small group that March 1850, pp. 61-62.
became the SDAs.”—Seventh-day Adventist Using 451 B.C. as the starting date, the 2300
Encyclopedia article, “The Daily,” 1976 ed., days would end in 1850. Some were advocating
p. 368. that believers should go to Jerusalem before the
There you have it: a clear explanation of second Advent that was expected in that year.
Early Writings, 74-76. Yet the researchers who So Early Writings, 74:2-75:0, was penned
wrote that article in the Encyclopedia were just because of a time-setting incident, which called
explaining history; they were not commenting on for a trip to Palestine and sacrificing of animals in
the Early Writings passage. However, on the next order to prepare for the Second Advent. Read the
page, they did: Early Writings passage again. That is what it says!
“lt was the 1850 expectation [a predicted Early Writings, 74:2, does not say that the
time setting of Christ’s return to Old Jeru- Millerites were united on the meaning of the daily,
salem in that year, when, as was supposed, but on the fact that the word, “sacrifice,” was an
literal sacrifices had to be offered there], and added word and not in the original Hebrew text.
its effect on a few Sabbatarian Adventists, that Early Writings, 74:2, is not talking about the
occasioned a statement by Ellen G. White in meaning of the daily itself. The time setters were
that year mentioning the daily. She said that proclaiming that their interpretation of the “daily”
the word ‘sacrifice’ is not in the original in Daniel 8:11-14 required Adventists to return to
text and that the Millerites had held ‘the Old Jerusalem to burn literal sacrifices, so Christ
correct view’ of it. (The Millerites, as already could return. The bracketed words summarize
noted, had repeatedly emphasized this view the true meaning of the 74:2-75:0 passage:
of the word ‘sacrifice,’ namely, that the word “Then I saw in relation to the ‘daily’ (Dan.
had been added; they had insisted that the 8:12) that the word ‘sacrifice’ was supplied
‘daily,’ or continual, did not mean any ac- by man’s wisdom, and does not belong to the
tual Jewish sacrifices.)”—Ibid., p. 369. text, and that the Lord gave the correct view
In addition to the above historical evidence of it to those who gave the judgment hour cry.
we have a remarkably parallel statement, written [“It” refers to “sacrifice”; the antecedent of
by James White in March 1849, describing that “it” is “sacrifice,” not “daily.”] When union
1850 time-setting fanaticism—which is what existed, before 1844, nearly all were united
Ellen White was discussing in Early Writings, on the correct view of the ‘daily’ [the correct
74:2-76:0. view that “sacrifice” should not be added to it
As you read James’ statement, keep in mind in Daniel 8]; but in the confusion since 1844,
the order of events: First, in 1849 the “Age to other views have been embraced, and dark-
Come” theory, calling for Adventists to go to Old ness and confusion have followed. Time has
Jerusalem, in order to burn sacrifices, began to not been a test since 1844, and it will never
be preached by some. They predicted that Christ
16 The Daily
again be a test.”—Early Writings, 74:2-75:0. because Ellen White later repeatedly said (in
How can we be certain that the suggested four different statements) that she has never
bracketed inserts, which I have placed in the known the correct meaning of the daily herself,
above passage, are correct’? because the Lord never gave that to her. (More
Here are six ways we can know that she was on this later.) If she never knew which meaning
speaking about the omission of the word, “sac- of the daily was correct, she could not, in Early
rifice,” and not about the meaning of the daily Writings, 74:2, have identified the correct view or
itself when she said, “Nearly all were united on known what it was.
the correct view of the ‘daily’ ”: Surely, she was not ignorant of the two differ-
First, in Early Writings, 74:2-75:0, she is ent Millerite views of the daily.
talking about the fact that “sacrifice” was a sup- Fifth, Ellen White could not have referred to
plied word. But, by itself, this fact would not be the correct view of the daily itself in Early Writ-
sufficient to establish the fact. ings, 74:1-76:0, because she, at a later time, was
Second, Her statement in Early Writings, sent a letter from a high ranking Church leader,
74:2-76:0, fully agrees with the historical facts in which he carefully quoted, with exactness, that
about a fanaticism current at that time—which passage in Early Writings, 74:1-76:0, and asked
centered about the word, “sacrifice.” That is why her what she meant by the word, “daily.” Her re-
she wrote those paragraphs. Read the entire sec- ply was that the Lord had never shown her the
tion again (EW 74:1-76:0). meaning of the daily. (More on that later.) So it is
That passage is speaking about a fanatical obvious that in her statement in Early Writings,
group (the Age to Come Party) which, in 1849, 74:1-76:0—she must not have been talking about
were declaring that, in order to be saved, Adven- the meaning of the daily itself. She was talking
tists must return to Old Jerusalem, in Palestine, about the meaning of “sacrifice,” the antecedent
and there offer literal animal sacrifices—so that, of “it” in the passage.
in the fall of 1850, Jesus could return. This fact Sixth, if she had stated, in Early Writings, pp.
is verified by the March 3, 1849, statement by 74-75 the meaning of the daily, she would also
James White, quoted earlier. Early Writings, 74:2, have stated it somewhere else in the hundreds of
refers to the fact that “sacrifice” should not be in thousands of pages of her writings; but nowhere
Daniel 8:11-13. The Early Writings passage, in did she give the meaning of the daily. Indeed,
that paragraph, is not identifying the “daily.” except for her statements denying knowledge of
Third, this passage could not mean that “all its meaning, she never mentioned the daily any-
were united on the correct view” of the meaning of where else!
the daily itself; because, from at least the spring (There is one other passage in which the Lord
of 1842 onward, the faithful were not united on guided that, without referring to the daily, she
the meaning of the daily. essentially approved of both the paganism and
In the next section of this study, we will learn Sanctuary views. (More on that one later.)
that, beginning at least a year and a half prior to Her only mention of the daily, that could hint
October 22, 1844, the Millerites were divided on at a definition, is in Early Writings, 74:2-76:0;
the meaning of the daily. So it could not be the yet we are about to discover that the Millerites
meaning of the daily itself on which they were were so disunited on the meaning of the daily
unified. Instead, it is the grammatical anteced- itself that nearly 30 months before October 22,
ent of “it,” in Early Writings, 74:2, which is 1844, they removed it from the forthcoming
“sacrifice.” That is what the Millerites were 1843 Chart!
united on: the fact that “sacrifice” was a sup- Indeed, it was because they had voted to re-
plied word and should be rejected. “Nearly all move the meaning of the daily from all their public
were united on the correct view of the ‘daily’ [that meeting charts, that they approved and printed
“sacrifice” should not be added to it in Daniel 8].” the Fitch 1843 Chart. (More on this later.)
Fourth, the passage could not mean that Ellen Here is additional information on this fanati-
White said “the Lord gave the correct view” of the cism that she wrote about in Early Writings, 74-
meaning of the daily itself and “all were united 76: The “Messenger Party” came to prominence
on the correct view” of the meaning of the daily— in 1849. It consisted of several men who called
 17
themselves “the messengers of God.” return to Old Jerusalem and there offer sacrifices
They had experienced the Great Disappoint- on an altar. (The statement in Early Writings, pp.
ment, but did not later accept the Sabbath or the 73-75, written in 1850, rejected this.)
Spirit of Prophecy. They taught what came to be By 1850, his journal, now called Advent Har-
known as the “Age to Come” theory, declaring that binger, was carrying articles by Crosier, Storrs,
Christ would return in 1850 after the faithful had and others who had cast aside the Sabbath truth
returned to the earthly city of Jerusalem and there and the Adventists. Marsh’s book, The Age to
offered animal sacrifices. In Early Writings, Come, caused the group to be called “Age to Come
74:1-76:0, Ellen White wrote that their theory Adventists.” Although it had few adherents, it tried
was incorrect. That was the purpose of the en- to stir up a lot of trouble.
tire three-page article. The theory also included It then united with two Adventist ministers,
the idea that, in this “age to come,” there would H.S. Case and C.P. Russell who, disliking letters
be a second probation after the millennium (E.G. from Ellen White reproving their harsh spirit to-
White Biography, Vol. 1, p. 311). ward some members, broke away in 1853-1854.
After Jesus did not return in 1850, the Mes­ When they started publishing the Messenger of
senger Party declared that the incidents formerly Truth, their group became known as the Messen-
predicted for 1850 would be fulfilled at a later ger Party.
time (ibid., p. 311). It was also declared that Soon two other Adventist preachers, J.M.
Seventh-day Adventists were wrong because they Steph­­en­son and D.P. Hall, joined them. By 1855,
accepted the Spirit of Prophecy (ibid., p. 327). both James White and the Messenger Party were
In 1855, Ellen White was given a vision that the writing articles against each other. But by 1856,
group would soon fall apart (ibid., 313-314). Soon internal strife shattered the group, their paper
thereafter it did and some of the leaders became ceased publication in 1857, and the following
insane (ibid., 314-315). year entirely disappeared.
Why is Early Writings, 74:1-76:0, somewhat IN EARLY WRITINGS, 74:1,
difficult for us to correctly understand? ELLEN WHITE DID NOT
In 1850, Ellen White wrote what was a very REFER TO THE MEANING OF THE
brief news note about the Messenger Party which, DAILY WHEN SHE MENTIONED
that year, was at its high point of excitement. THE 1843 CHART
Those who read her statement, at that time, In Early Writings, 74:1 (speaking now of 74:1,
understood exactly what she was talking about. not 74:2), Ellen White mentioned the 1843 Chart,
Those of us who later read that passage could but she did not say that it identified the correct
be puzzled if we do not understand its historical meaning of the daily (although it is erroneously
background. thought, by some, that she did).
In later years, the Messenger Party was for- We can know that this is so for four reasons:
gotten by our people and, not knowing the cir- (1) The 1843 Chart was specifically designed
cumstances which had occurred back then, some to exclude—leave out—the meaning of the dai-
have found it easy to misunderstand the meaning ly, because the Millerites were divided as to its
of her statement. Ask most any Adventist what meaning.
the entire passage in Early Writings, pp. 74-76, (2) The definition of the daily—what it actually
is talking about and he probably will not know. meant—cannot be found anywhere on the 1843
Chart.
THE AGE TO COME PARTY
(3) In Early Writings, 74:1, she was talking
Joseph Marsh (1802-1863), in New York about the “figures” (numbers) on the chart, not
State, published Voice of Truth urging Millerite the concepts.
teachings. But after 1844, he joined those who (4) She never mentioned the word, “daily,” in
urged that a literal millennium, in which the Early Writings, 74:1!
world would be saved, was about to begin. They Early Writings, 74-78, entitled “The Gath-
set various times for the Second Advent, which ering Time,” consists of several brief comments
was to begin that millennium of peace on earth. about a number of errors. The first paragraph
But, in order to bring this about in 1849, Marsh (74:1) begins with a concern to gather the faithful
and his associates declared that the faithful must
18 The Daily
believers who scattered after October 22, 1844. PART THREE
Near the end of the paragraph, she abruptly
changes to a different topic (which, editorially, THE POSITION OF
should have been set in a new paragraph). lt THE MILLERITES
speaks of an effort on the part of some to change WHAT LED WILLIAM MILLER
the numbers in the 1843 Chart. We have already TO THE PAGANISM VIEW?
learned why some (the Age to Come group) wanted
William Miller later wrote an explanation of
to do that. They believed the 2300-year prophecy
why he adopted the paganism view. He explained
would end at a different time.
that he had no idea what it could possibly mean.
Subsequent paragraphs (EW 74:2-76:0), plus
Unfortunately, instead of turning to Leviticus
the James White statement, reveal that the 1849
16, that man of God grabbed at a different
Age to Come time setters wanted to change the
concept:
2300 days from 457 B.C. to A.D. 1844—to 451
“I read on and could find no other case in
B.C. to A.D. 1850. Here is her statement:
which it was found, but in Daniel. I then took
“I have seen that the 1843 Chart was di- those words which stood in connection with it,
rected by the hand of the Lord, and that it ‘take away.’ He shall take away the daily, ‘from
should not be altered; that the figures were the time the daily shall be taken away,’ &c.
as He wanted them; that His hand was over
“I read on, and thought I should find no
and hid a mistake in some of the figures,
light on the text; finally I came to 2 Thess. ii.
so that none could see it, until His hand was
7, 8. ‘For the mystery of iniquity doth already
removed.”—Early Writings, 74:1.
work, only he who now letteth, will let, until
As soon as the above paragraph was finished,
he be taken out of the way, and then shall
she immediately began a new paragraph (Early
that wicked be revealed,’ &c. And when I had
Writings, 74:2), and started talking about some-
come to that text, O, how clear and glorious
thing different; yet it was also related to the 1850 the truth appeared. There it is! That is ‘the
time-setting theory, stating that the word, “sacri- daily!’
fice,” should not be added to the daily in Daniel.
“Well, now, what does Paul mean by ‘he who
It was an easy mistake for readers to think the
now letteth, or hindereth?’ By ‘the man of
two paragraphs were linked together, that Ellen
sin,’ and ‘the wicked,’ Popery is meant. Well,
White was telling us that the meaning of the daily
what is it which hinders Popery from being
on the 1843 Chart must not be changed:
revealed? Why; it is paganism; well, then,
“I have seen that the 1843 Chart was ‘the daily’ must mean paganism.”—William
directed by the hand of the Lord, and that Miller’s state­ment quoted in Apollos Hale,
it should not be altered.”—Early Writings, Second Advent Manual, p. 66.
74:1. [After this, Early Writings, 74:2, began
We today know that there were two reasons
a different topic.]
why Miller, though a very good man, did not con-
“Then I saw in relation to the ‘daily’ . .” sider also applying the daily to Christ’s ministry
At first glance, it appears that both paragraphs within the heavenly Sanctuary.
1 and 2 are about the meaning of the daily. But First, he did not know the Hebrew language.
the truth is that first, none of it is about the actual The Hebrew language would have revealed
meaning of the daily itself; second, the comment to him that many of the words in Daniel 8:11-
about the 1843 Chart is not talking about the 14, including tamid (daily), were repeatedly
daily at all. Nor did the 1843 Chart give the (repeat­edly!) used in reference to the earthly
meaning of the daily either. Here is more on this: sanctuary.
Second, he did not have the light on the
heavenly Sanctuary truth. He thought that
the “cleansing of the sanctuary” in Daniel 8:14
referred to the cleansing of our planet by fire at
Christ’s coming.
The important book, Great Controversy,
pp. 409-422, explains in detail that it was Mill-
 19
er’s error (and the Millerites’ error) in regard to lessness (musterion tes anomias) was already
the identity of the “sanctuary” in Daniel 8:14 at work in Paul’s time; it would expand into
that led to other errors in interpretation. the man of sin, “that wicked” (verse 8), or the
“They understood that the cleansing of the papacy. In a larger sense, the title also belongs
sanctuary was the purification of the earth to Satan, who is both in charge of Romanism
by the fires of the last great day, and that this and its author.
would take place at the Second Advent. Hence “There are but two parties. Satan works
the conclusion that Christ would return to with his crooked, deceiving power, and
the earth in 1844.”—Great Controversy, through strong delusions he catches all who
409. do not abide in the truth, who have turned
It is significant that this same faithful soul, away their ears from the truth and have
William Miller, who conceived the paganism view turned unto fables. Satan himself abode
of the daily, also thought that the “666” in Rev- not in the truth; he is the mystery of iniq-
elation 13:18 referred to a time span. uity.”—Testimonies to Ministers, 365. [Read
“Miller originally had civil and papal the entire page.]
Rome, with the number 666 in Rev 13:18 “Let,” in 2 Thessalonians 2:7, is katecho,
representing 666 years of Roman pagan- or “restrain.”
ism.”—SDA Bible Encyclopedia, 1976 edi- In one sense, it could be said that Imperial
tion, p. 896. Rome was restraining the papacy and needed to
William Miller was a good man, but his prin- grant permission for it to achieve greater authori-
cipal contribution to God’s work was his cham- ty, which under Constantine it did. Then it (pagan
pioning of the idea that the 2300-year prophecy Rome) was “taken out of the way” when, within ten
was about to end. years, Constantine moved the capital a thousand
WHAT IS THE CORRECT MEANING miles east to ancient Byzantium.
OF 2 THESSALONIANS 2:7-8? However, in a larger sense, the power that
restrains all the wicked, including the pa-
You might be wondering what is the true mean-
pists, is the intervening hand of God. God is
ing of 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, the passage that
the restrainer. It is God who holds the evil in
William Miller had a hard time understanding.
check. But it is predicted that the time is coming
2:3: “Let no man deceive you by any means:
when God will withdraw His hand and permit the
for that day shall not come, except there come
wickedness of the papacy (by its adulation of the
a falling away first, and that man of sin be
Sunday law) and the world (because of its wonder
revealed, the son of perdition;
after it in worship) to be fully “revealed” (verse 8).
2:4: “Who opposeth and exalteth himself
“It is God that shields His creatures and
above all that is called God, or that is wor-
hedges them in from the power of the de-
shipped; so that he as God sitteth in the
stroyer. But the Christian world have shown
temple of God, showing himself that he is
contempt for the law of Jehovah; and the
God. . .
Lord will do just what He has declared that
2:7: “For the mystery of iniquity doth He would—He will withdraw His blessings
already work: only he who now letteth [re- from the earth and remove His protecting
straineth], will let [restrain], until he be care from those who are rebelling against
taken out of the way.” His law and teaching and forcing others to do
2:8: “And then shall that Wicked be re- the same.”—Great Controversy, 589.
vealed, whom the Lord shall consume with Great Controversy, p. 614, explains how that
the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with prediction will be fulfilled.
the brightness of His coming:
THE 1843 FITCH CHART DID NOT
2:9: “Even him, whose coming is after GIVE THE MEANING OF THE DAILY
the working of Satan with all power and
When we examine the 1843 Chart, we find that
signs and lying wonders.”—2 Thessalonians
it did not give the meaning of the daily.
2:3-4, 7-9.
Did Ellen White say, in Early Writings, 74:1,
Very briefly, consider this:
that we should accept the meaning of the daily as
“Mystery of iniquity”: The mysterious law-
20 The Daily
given on the 1843 Chart? However, in later years because two sides be-
The answer is simple and conclusive: The gan warring over the matter, she decided to give
1843 Chart does not identify the daily at all. It no more definite information on the subject.
only links the phrase, “The daily,” to A.D. 508. The objective of this present research work
That is all, with no other information mentioned is to identify the daily and bring the two sides
about the daily. together, so at last we can have peace. Both views
The above is an extremely important point have their merits and, properly understood, nei-
because Early Writings, 74, is the only passage ther one conflicts with the other. The one view
in the Spirit of Prophecy which can be cited in states that which ended in 508 B.C., and the
support of the claim that Ellen White favored the other explains what the papacy especially did
paganism view! There are no others. Yet while it from that time onward. (More on this later when
approves of the dates on the 1843 Chart,—we we consider a special, very important passage in
find that the chart does not tell what the daily is. Great Controversy.)
Neither does Ellen White in Early Writings. A.D. 538 and “uprooting” on the 1843 Chart—
In reality, as mentioned earlier, the entire The chart also mentions “538” twice. Each
brief chapter (EW 74-76) is a collection of quickly time it speaks of a plucking up of the three
stated comments about a number of errors which horns and a commencement of papal power.
existed in 1849-1850, when she wrote this. If But there is no definition of the “daily.” And
Ellen White was going to tell us which view of the the reference given is Daniel 7:8 (not 8:11-12,
daily to accept, she probably would have done it which is about the daily).
in that chapter. Or, if not, somewhere else! From this we learn that, contrary to what some
But she never did. Nowhere in the Spirit of think, the 1843 Chart does not connect the
Prophecy did she ever specifically tell us the plucking up of the three horns (the removal
meaning of the daily. It is therefore left with of paganism) with the daily.
us to figure it out for ourselves. Below the large-print date, “538,” on the 1843
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE 1843 CHART Chart is this paragraph in small print:
“The Heruli, Vandals, and the Ostrogoths,
Although the 1843 Chart does not define the
by this time were plucked up. This is the
meaning of the daily, it still provides us with some
prophetic period for the rise of the little horn.
intriguing information: A.D. 508 and “daily” on
See Dan 7:8. Three horns plucked up and
the chart—The chart links “508” and “daily” twice.
little horn rises which is the commencement
Beside the first “508” are these words:
of the Papal power. The commencement of
“Taking away of the daily sacrifice Dan 8:11-
time, times and a half, or 1260 years termi-
12”. Beside the other “508” is this: “Taking
nated 1798.”
away of daily Dan 12:11”. [Punctuation theirs.]
The other paragraph with “538” has this
Thus the chart mentions both Daniel 8:11-12
comment:
and 12:11, but only rephrases what the two verses
say about the taking away of the daily. “These three kings were taken by Justinian
(a Greek) Emperor of Constantinople, whose
Nothing else on the chart mentions the “daily”
decree made the Bishop of Rome supreme
or tells what “taking away of the daily” means.
head of the churches in 538.”
From this we learn that the 1843 Chart does
not define the meaning of the daily. It only says According to what is written on the chart, the
that something was taken away. We earlier year, 538, is not said to be the end of paganism;
read a statement, by Ellen White (letter, dated however, that could be inferred. Instead, it is said
Wednesday, April 21, 1847, to Eli Curtis) in which to be the “commencement of papal power.”
she approved of the articles by Crosier in which From this we learn that the 1843 Chart
he clearly stated the Sanctuary view of the daily says two events occurred in A.D. 538: (1) The
(O.R.L. Crosier, article printed October 4, 1843 plucking up of the three tribes was completed,
in The Midnight Cry, Vol. 5, No. 7, pp. 52-53, and and (2) the commencement of papal power. In
O.R.L. Crosier, Day-Star Extra, written in 1846 order to properly understand the significance of
in Can­andaigua, New York, and printed by Enoch this, once again, we need to understand that the
Jacobs on February 7, 1846, in Cincinnati, Ohio). paganism view is frequently thought to be con-
 21
cerned with the “plucking up” of the three tribes, away of daily Dan 12:11.”)
an event which was ending; whereas the Sanc- BEGINNING IN EARLY 1842,
tuary view is concerned with something which THE MILLERITES WERE DIVIDED
was beginning (“the commencement of the Papal ON THE MEANING OF THE DAILY
power”) with even fuller force than ever before The 1843 Chart did not give the meaning of
in its replacement of the heavenly mediation of the daily because, in the spring of 1842 in Boston,
Christ by the blasphemous sacrifice of the mass. at the time that the Millerites unanimously voted
Men were ordered to go to priests for forgiveness to exclusively use this new chart, they had voted
of sin instead of directly to God, on pain of con- that the meaning of the daily should be stripped
fiscation, torture, and death. from it. They did this because they were divided
So the 1843 Chart made provision for both on what the daily actually is.
views (if we ignore the fact that it placed the daily This is another evidence that, in Early Writ-
at A.D. 508 and the taking away of paganism ings, 74:2-75:0, Ellen White did not mean that
at A.D. 538). the Millerites were unified on the meaning of the
THE 1843 CHART REVEALS WHAT daily, but rather in rejecting the idea that “sacri-
THE MILLERITES WERE TEACHING fice” should be connected to “daily.”
Good folk will vigorously defend the pagan- “Then I saw in relation to the ‘daily’ (Dan.
ism view of the daily, because they think the 8:12) that the word ‘sacrifice’ was supplied
Millerites taught it. But the 1843 Chart (as we by man’s wisdom, and does not belong to the
have observed above) reveals that many of the text, and that the Lord gave the correct view
Millerites did not teach that paganism—any of it [the word, “sacrifice”; which is the gram-
pagansm—was taken away in A.D. 508-538. So matical antecedent of “it”] to those who gave
although certain tribes are named on the chart,— the judgment hour cry. When union existed,
yet history reveals that they were not pagan! before 1844, nearly all were united on the cor-
Those three tribes, in A.D. 508-538, were not rect view of the ‘daily’ [as not being connected
pagan. Those tribes constituted a variant form with “sacrifice”].”— Early Writings, 74:2-75:0.
of Christianity. (More on this later in this study.) In 1850, Ellen White wrote, in Early Writings,
THE MILLERITES DID NOT ASSOCIATE
74:1, about an evangelistic chart produced by the
“THE TAKING AWAY” OF Millerites eight years earlier, in 1842, and specifi-
THE THREE TRIBES WITH THE DAILY cally made to eliminate certain errors. This chart
In addition we have just learned, from the was authorized by an 1842 spring General Con-
1843 Chart, that the Millerites separated the ference Session of the Millerites, held in Boston.
“daily event” from the “taking away the tribes” It was a revision of an earlier chart prepared
event, both by dates and by chapters. On the by William Miller, which contained some errors.
chart, the Millerites connected the daily event with Two of those errors were these: (1) Miller
Daniel 8:11-12. And the taking away event was theorized that the pagan rule lasted for 666
connected by the Millerites—not with a “daily” years and (2) that the daily was paganism.
Bible verse—but with Daniel 7:8, 20, 24. That is The Millerite delegates voted to revise Miller’s
what you will find on the 1843 Chart. Chart and remove those two items, which many
THE MILLERITES DID NOT SAY WHAT THE
of them considered to be errors. The vote was
“TAKING AWAY,” IN A.D. 508, REFERRED unanimous and William Miller was present.
TO This means that, at the most, only a portion
And more, we learn the 1843 Chart did not of the Millerites believed in the paganism view
reveal what the “taking away of the daily” in as early as the spring of 1842—over two-and-
A.D. 508 referred to—the three horns, pagan- a-half years before the Great Disappointment.
ism, or Christ’s ministry to His people. Under the chairmanship of Joseph Bates, they
Because of this careful wording, that chart was voted to remove the definition of the daily entire-
able to agree with most any view of the daily. (You ly from this new revision, which henceforth was
will recall that beside the first “508” are these called the 1843 Chart (also known as the Fitch
words: “Taking away of the daily sacrifice Dan Chart; because Charles Fitch, assisted by Apollos
8:11-12” and beside the other “508” is “Taking Hale, supervised its preparation and printing).
22 The Daily
Although voted on and printed in 1842, it rections as the true date of the ‘midst of the
was called the “1843 Chart” because five times week’ for the crucifixion, the differing views
1843 is given as the terminal date and “1843 as to the identification of the second beast of
God’s Everlasting Kingdom” is printed in large Revelation 13, and the meaning of the ‘daily.’
letters at the bottom. —That was the primary “These controverted points were therefore
“mistake.” It was a mistake in the numbering left off the 1843 Chart. No second ‘beast from
in the “figures.” It caused the disappointment of the earth’ appears on the Chart, because that
1843. They later discovered that the actual date would call for identification. The mere texts
was 1844. are cited, without attempting to define the
“His [God’s] hand was over and hid a ‘daily.’ . .
mistake in some of the figures, so that none “The ‘daily’ is nowhere identified as
could see it, until His hand was removed.”— paganism, as on former charts, since the
Early Writings, 74:1. majority no longer held with Miller on this.
(Another mistake concerned the “2520” (Fitch, designer of the 1843 Chart, had
theory, which James White, in 1884, totally raised the question in his first letter to
repudiated. See my report: The Truth about Miller in 1838.) . .
the 2520 Prophecy for full coverage of that “The 1843 Chart was an honored and pow-
topic. Due to a growing division of opinion about erful factor in the climax of the 1843 phase
it, the 2520 theory was not explained on the 1843 of the Millerite movement. It was clearly in
Chart, as it had been on some earlier charts.) advance of all others of the time. It was an
Since Miller was present at the conference honest recognition and honorable correction
and the vote was unanimous to accept the new of earlier inaccuracies, as far as then per-
Chart, does this not suggest that William Miller ac- ceived, and provided a united front on the
knowledged that his original interpretation of the more essential phases of prophetic exposi-
daily (the paganism view) may have been faulty? tion.”—Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol.
Whether or not he ever changed his position 4, pp. 736-737.
on the daily, we have no certainty, since he did YEARS LATER, ELLEN WHITE SAID FOUR
not later write about the subject. TIMES THAT SHE DID NOT KNOW
All this makes Early Writings, 74:1, all the THE CORRECT VIEW OF THE DAILY
more significant: Ellen White is telling us that Years later, in four statements, Ellen White
it was the will of God that the 1843 revision be repeatedly said that she had not been told which
made—including the removal of the pagan view was the correct view of the daily.
of the daily. In 1908-1910, some of our Church leaders
When the twelfth Session of the Millerite Gen- were contending against one another; they tried
eral Conference convened in May 1842 at Boston, to use the meaning of the daily in their mutual
the delegates were so happy with the Chart which rivalries. If the leaders on one side could show
Fitch presented to them (painted on cloth), that that their view was correct; they hoped that this
they authorized the printing of 300 copies of the would somehow show the other leaders on the
large sheet on heavy material, for Millerite evan- other side to be unreliable in their thinking. Trag-
gelists to use in their meetings. ic! God wanted them to unite in giving the Third
In the following statement, we are told that, Angel’s Message to the world, yet here they were
by early 1842 when the vote was taken to prepare arguing with one another!
the 1843 Chart, “the majority” of Millerites no
Ellen White responded to this in four ways:
longer believed in the paganism view of the daily:
First, when the various sides asked her for the
“This chart bears the marks of careful
correct view, she replied that she did not know
study and painstaking revision by Fitch, one
what it was. When W.W. Prescott (secretary of
of the ablest ministers of the movement, to
the General Conference) asked her, she replied:
eliminate certain suppositions and hasty po-
sitions that had appeared on the half-dozen “I have no light on the point.”—Letter 226,
earlier charts. First of all, it was prepared in 1908, to W.W. Prescott.
the transition hour, in the midst of such cor- When S.N. Haskell asked her, she replied:
 23
“I am unable to define the points that are “While the present condition of differ-
questioned.”—Letter 250, 1908, to S.N. ence of opinion regarding this subject
Haskell. exists, let it not be made prominent.”—1
When A.G. Daniells (president of the Gener- Selected Messages, 168.
al Conference) wrote her a letter of inquiry, he At that time, believers in the Spirit of Prophecy
quoted the passage in Early Writings, 74:2-75:0, and in our historic teachings were quarreling over
phrase by phrase, to determine exactly what she the meaning of the daily. She told them to stop.
meant by “nearly all were united on the correct Today, in marked contrast, men who despise
view of the daily” [EW 75:0]. Notice carefully her the Spirit of Prophecy and our historic beliefs
response: are using the paganism view in an attempt to
“Why, Brother Daniells, I do not know destroy our faith! That is why the time has now
what that ‘daily’ is, whether it is paganism or come to clarify the fact that, while the Spirit
Christ’s ministry. That was not the thing that of Prophecy never told us the exact meaning
was shown me.”—Manuscript 1425, 1908. of the daily, there are Biblical, historical, and
That was not the thing shown to her at the Spirit of Prophecy passages that can enable us
time that she penned Early Writings, 74:2- to discover it!
75:0. Instead, she was only continuing her point But, just before doing so, how does the book
(from the first part of the paragraph), that she of last things describe the daily? Although Ellen
“saw” (i.e., “was shown”) that “sacrifice” should White was not told the meaning of the daily itself,
not be connected with “daily.” her description of events in Great Controversy,
The Spirit of Prophecy reply to Daniells about events in the “early part of the sixth centu-
clearly reveals that, in that paragraph in Early ry,” should reveal the truth of the matter.
Writings, 74-75, Ellen White was not alluding to THE HISTORY OF
the identity of the daily, but that all were united THE EIGHT MILLERITE CHARTS
on the omission of the word, “sacrifice,” in Daniel Because some Advent believers have a special
8:11-13. This reply should have forever settled interest in the Millerite charts, here is a very brief
the question of what Ellen White was specifically overview of all eight. Please know that the Miller-
teaching on the subject in Early Writings. She did ites, including Miller himself, were only human.
not uphold the daily as being paganism. They had many different opinions, but they kept
Keep in mind that the man who, since October working together.
1843, had consistently led out in preaching and The Millerite preachers needed only to hang
writing on the Sanctuary view of the daily—was up one of the several different charts produced
the person of whom she later wrote: back then—in order to arouse the interest of peo-
“Brother Crosier had the true light on ple gathered nearby, or an audience. Unlike today,
the cleansing of the sanctuary, etc.”—Letter back then, people had nothing but newspapers,
dated Wednesday, April 21, 1847, from Top­ conversation, and preaching.
sham, Maine, to Eli Curtis in New York City. In July 1942, after attending a Millerite con-
(Unfortunately, as we learned earlier, by the ference, Joshua V. Himes was returning home by
late 1840s, Crosier had rejected the Sabbath and coastal vessel from Bangor, Maine, to Boston Mas-
joined the Age to Come Party.) sachusetts. Although still feeling a little seasick,
Second, she told them to stop quarreling he hung up his chart and taught the passengers
about the matter. The subject was not, at that for “an hour or two.”
time, an important one (1 SM 164-168). A year later, the captain of a canal boat be-
Third, in the first of her two 1910 letters, tween Albany and Buffalo showed his own copy
she stated that she did not know the meaning of one of the charts to some immigrants from
of the daily: Norway. Upon seeing it, they said that many Nor-
“I have had no instruction on the point wegian papers had already reproduced copies of it
under discussion.”—Manuscript 11, 1910; (The Midnight Cry, September 21, 1843, p. 37).
1 Selected Messages, 164:3. Early in 1844, after his tour through Mary-
Fourth, she concluded the second of her two land in February, Bates headed north again by
1910 letters with this important statement: boat. Aboard the vessel, he hung up the 1843
24 The Daily
Fitch Chart and sang an advent hymn. When the by centuries. This chart also introduced some
passengers had gathered, he gave a lecture on the new theories:
prophecies and second advent (Joseph Bates, The top line shows the parts of the metal man
Autobiography, p. 292). of Daniel Two. A curved, dotted line sweeps across
Years earlier, William Miller had a large dia- it, with the label: “seven times, or 2520 years,”
gram of the visions of Daniel and John painted starting from 677 B.C. to 1843.
on canvas, which he showed at his meetings (The The middle section is about the dating of the
Midnight Cry, July 6, 1843, p. 145). four beasts of Daniel 7,—with a curved, dotted
Both Miller and Fitch each had a chart of the line sweeping across the chart, from 600 B.C.
image made up in sections, like the description to A.D. 1843, and called “49 Jubilees or 2450
in Daniel 2, with the various removable parts to years.”
use when appropriate. The bottom line begins with the Persian ram,
Let us consider some of these early charts. I through the Grecian goat, then pagan Rome (666
will only point out unusual aspects or changes years from 158 B.C. to A.D. 508), and finally
as we go from chart to chart: papal Rome (1260 years from A.D. 538 to 1798).
The first chart—Miller prepared a hand-let- From Persia, another great arching set of lines,
tered diagram, sometime before 1840, to illus- showing the 2300 years, spreads from 457 B.C.
trate the time prophecy he repeatedly preached. It to A.D. 1843. Also here is the lesser time period,
consisted not in some odd, man-made time span, the “seventy weeks,” beginning with the 2300
but the 2300-year prophecy and the 70 weeks years in 457 B.C., and ending at the cross in A.D.
which began it. He placed the cross (marking the 33. This line continues with pagan Rome’s “666”
crucifixion) at A.D. 33. years extending from 158 B.C. to A.D. 508. At this
Just above it, he placed the other three Bible point, another 1335-year lined arc runs from
time prophecies—the 1260, 1290, and 1335. In 1843, and beneath it is the 1260 years of “Papal
addition, Miller tried to date some of the seals Rome” lined arc from 538 to 1798.
and trumpets. Some of these dating theories he This chart appears to be the origin of the
later abandoned, and most of them were never en- theory that the daily is “paganism taken away.”
dorsed or used by his fellow Millerite preachers. In this lower section, Himes also included
The second chart—This was printed in the “Pagan Rome, the Continual or Daily,” from 158
Signs of the Times for May 1840. It had diagrams B.C. to A.D. 508. At A.D. 508, there is a picture
of the seals, trumpets, and vials. The first date of a smoking altar with its pagan priest, in color,
is A.D. 70 and the last date is “the Seventh Mil- and the words, “Paganism taken away.” At A.D.
lennium.” It included the period A.D. 566-1281 538, there is a cross-surmounted Catholic altar
as the “little horn of Mohamed in the Greek, and a Catholic priest standing before it with a
and that of Popery in the Latin Church.” This smoking censer, with the words, “Papacy began.”
chart was based on Joseph Mede’s theory and This feature soon disappeared when the 1843
was soon abandoned by the Millerites, generally, Chart was produced, since it was obvious that the
and by Miller himself. papacy did not begin in A.D. 538.
The third chart—Calvin French of Needham, The fifth chart—It appears that the 2520
Massachusetts, printed a “diagram of Daniel’s first entered Millerism in an anonymous chart
Visions” in the November 18, 1842, issue of The printed in The Midnight Cry on February 3, 1843.
Midnight Cry. This is patterned closely with Mil­ It is accompanied by the strange words: “The
ler’s simple diagram chart, with added notes. It years seem to diminish in length at a distance
had the A.D. 33 cross and adds the “666 years,” from that point, like objects seen in a natural
but nothing else of significance—and, like most landscape.” The cross is placed at A.D. 33.
early charts, it did not include the 2520 theory. The sixth chart—On April 24, 1843, in Li-
The fourth chart—This was a carefully de- tch’s Trumpet of Alarm (a Philadelphia Millerite
vised chart, in color, called “A Pictorial Chart of paper), a pictorial chart of the visions of Daniel
Daniel’s Visions,” and was issued prior to 1843 by and John was printed. It was later reprinted by
J.V. Himes and widely distributed. It was arranged the New York Herald.
in three parallel horizontal sections, marked off This has the 666 years of Pagan Rome and
 25
the 1260 years of Papal Rome reaching to 1793; from the uprooting of the third, or Ostro­gothic,
while the “seven times” (the 2520 years) reaches opposing horn).
to 1843. 3 - The great horn of Daniel 8 is Rome, both
This chart has four vertical sections: The first pagan and papal (not Antiochus Epiphanes, or
has the metal man of Daniel two, plus dates. The Mohammedanism, as a few had held.)
second has the four beasts and the little horn of 4 - The first beast of Revelation 13 is papal
Daniel seven, and the dates. Rome (not pagan Rome, as in earlier charts,
The third section has the Persian ram, the particularly in Miller’s. Miller said that the first
Grecian goat, and the immense horn, with beast of Revelation 13 was pagan Rome, and the
“2300” by it, reaching from 457 B.C. to 1843. second beast was papal Rome.)
The fourth section shows the last three of the 5 - The 150 years of the fifth trumpet are
trumpets, and the Saracens and Turkish woe of from 1299 to 1449, when the sixth trumpet
Revelation 8 and 9. began (not from Miller’s earlier date; and no
The seventh chart—Also, in 1843, there mention is made of the specific end date of the
appeared a large broadside entitled “End of the sixth trumpet.)
World in 1943.” At the time when the Fitch Chart was pre-
Apparently some printer prepared it to meet pared, there were uncertainties about several
popular demand for a summary of the Millerite things:
views. It is essentially like the others in content 6 - One was that the “midst of the week” cruci-
and dates, but also includes the 2450 years of fixion date, A.D. 33, had appeared on all previous
“jubilee of jubilees” (607 B.C. to 1843). charts but disagreement had arisen. Although
The eighth chart—The famous Fitch Chart Hales said it should be A.D. 31, there was not
was produced early in 1842 by Charles Fitch, enough unanimity to include it. So no date for
assisted by Apollos Hale. It ultimately became the the crucifixion is on the Fitch Chart.
standard chart. The originals were hand-painted 7 - Another was the second beast of Revelation
and lettered on two broad sheets of canvass, and 13. No second “beast from the earth” appears on
were used by Fitch for the first time in the spring the chart, because that would require identifying
of 1842. him, which some Millerites did not want to pub-
When Fitch showed it to the Millerite General licly do. (lt had previously been interpreted by
Conference in May 1842 at Boston, immediately Miller as papal Rome, or as France by others.)
it was unanimously accepted, and an order for 8 - Another was the meaning of the daily.
300 lithographic copies was issued. Each chart So this controversial identification, disagreed
was 3 ft., 4 in. by 4 ft., 7 in. in size. on by several Millerites, was omitted from the
All of the usual dates were found on this chart. Fitch 1843 Chart. Only the mere texts were cited
(Of course, it was not used in the final Midnight for the “daily,” without attempting to define its
Cry of 1844, since the “1843” date on the chart meaning. On the Fitch Chart, the “daily” was
had already passed.) nowhere identified as paganism, since the ma-
Here are the leading changes on this Fitch jority evidently no longer held with Miller on this.
1843 Chart: This is understandable, for earlier in this
l - The three horns plucked up were here present research report, we learned in that Ear-
listed as the Ostrogoths, Vandals, and Heruli; ly Writings statement that Ellen White did not
whereas Miller listed them as Lombardy, Rome, state that the Fitch Chart told the meaning of
and Ravenna. (You may recall that, later in the the daily. Contrary to what some think, in that
1888 pre-conference session, our General Confer- entire chapter in Early Writings, 74:1-76:0, Ellen
ence leadership held that one of the plucked-up White did not recommend a certain view of the
horns symbolized the Huns, while upstarts from daily. She did not define it, nor did she say how
the West Coast held that the more historically the Millerites defined it. She was, instead, there
accurate fulfillment was to be found in the Ale- referring to the fact that the Millerites unitedly
manni.) opposed the call for Adventists to return to Old
2 - The 1260 years of the little horn began with Jeru­sa­lem and there offer literal sacrifices, as a
Justinian’s elevation of the Roman bishop (not prerequisite for Christ’s return. Many believe that
26 The Daily
Ellen White’s statement, in Early Writings, 74- writings either.
75, upholds the paganism view of the daily. But Let there be no mistake: The position that the
this is due to a misreading of the passage. It is 1290 years began in A.D. 508 is fully established;
quite obvious, to the unbiased reader, that she is and strong historical evidence favoring it is pro-
alluding to the Millerites’ unanimous omission vided later in this study. Yet it is an intriguing fact
of the word, “sacrifice.” The identity of the daily that, while the 1843 Chart connected the “daily”
itself is not under discussion. to “508”—yet Ellen White never mentioned either
9 - The “666” date as the years of pagan or the 508 date or the meaning of the daily.
imperial Rome was also omitted. This had been Instead, her consistent emphasis is on the
Miller’s uniform position and that of most pre- priestly ministry of Christ in the heavenly
vious charts, but there now was a general move Sanctuary, not on the taking away of paganism.
away from that view. (However, as we will learn in this research study,
10 - The ten kings, as reigning thirty years, there is reason to accept both views as comple-
are not mentioned. mentary to one another.)
11 - The point that the 391 years of Revela- THE DAILY CONCEPT
tion 9:15 terminated in 1840 was not included. IN GREAT CONTROVERSY
The Fitch 1843 Chart was an honest recogni- Even though Ellen White does not define
tion and correction of certain inaccuracies, and “the taking away of the daily”—she does de-
a careful omission of points not yet clarified. scribe what is involved in it in some detail!
Now you have a better understanding of the This, of course, is because the events mentioned
Millerite charts. While a chart was privately in Daniel 8:11-13 are momentous ones. Under
prepared by Otis Nichols in 1850, an official Inspiration, she could not write about the period
denominational chart prepared by James White in which they occurred without clarifying their
was issued in 1863 (without the 2520). The next meaning. It is the book, Great Controversy, to
year, in a rather lengthy article, James White which we turn to find what we are looking for
totally repudiated the 2520 prophecy theory! about the daily! Like all her other writings, this
See the present author’s study: The Truth about marvelous book does not define the daily (which,
the 2520 Prophecy for more on this. in itself, is extremely significant).
But we should expect to find some information
PART FOUR in those locations, in Great Controversy, where
Ellen White discusses the principles underlying
THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY
the 1260-year prophecy.
ON EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH
Does she say that something ended at the
THE DAILY
beginning of the 1260-year-period? Does she say
INTRODUCTION that something began then? lf so, what?
We have discovered that Ellen White did not We are about to discover something very im-
define the daily itself, but she said that she did portant.
not know its meaning. However, her description THE TWO IMPORTANT PAGES
of events connected to the daily should tell us a
What does Ellen White say about the beginning
lot about the mind of God in this matter.
of the 1260 years and/or A.D. 538? In addition,
ELLEN WHITE DOES NOT very important, what is her emphasis?
MENTION A.D. 508
Great Controversy, 54-55, is her most
OR THE 1290-YEAR PROPHECY
leng­thy explanation of the tremendous tran-
What does Ellen White say about the 1290 sition which was marked by the beginning of
years and A.D. 508? What is her emphasis? the 1260 years. It is found in Chapter 3, The
This is important, since the 1843 Chart, Apostasy.
which she endorsed, placed the daily at 508. We (Story of Redemption, 330:3-331:0, and the
find that Ellen White never mentions the A.D. 1884 Great Controversy, 57:2-58:0, are almost
508 date anywhere in her writings, although the exact duplicates of this 1888/1911 Great Con-
1843 Chart assigns the daily to that date. She troversy, 54:2-55:0, passage. (Aside from a few
never mentions the 1290-year prophecy in her
 27
punctuation changes, the only difference is that of the 1260 years as A.D. 538 and 1798. (More
“Daniel and John,” in Story of Redemption, on this later.)
331:0, and ’84 Great Controversy, 57:2, was In addition, she says that “the accession of
changed to “Dan­iel and Revelation” in Great Con- the Roman Church to power marked the begin-
troversy, 54:2.). ning of the Dark Ages. . . Faith was transferred
Here is this entire passage. You will want to from Christ, the true foundation, to the pope”
read it carefully: (GC 55:1).
“In the sixth century the papacy had be- The taking away of the horns and Emperor
come firmly established. Its seat of power Justinian’s decree making the Bishop of Rome
was fixed in the imperial city, and the bishop supreme head of the churches (both by A.D.
of Rome was declared to be the head over the 538) brought the accession of power. As the
entire church. Paganism had given place to harassment of the horns came to an end, the
the papacy [which is the first view of the papal forbiddings and persecution could swell
daily]. The dragon had given to the beast ‘his to great intensity.
power, and his seat, and great authority.’ . . “And now began the 1260 years of pa-
And now began the 1260 years of papal op- pal oppression foretold in the prophecies
pression foretold in the prophecies of Daniel of Daniel and the Revelation. Daniel 7:25;
and the Revelation. . . Persecution opened Revelation 13:5-7. Christians were forced
upon the faithful with greater fury than ever to choose either to yield their integrity and
before. . . The accession of the Roman Church accept the papal ceremonies and worship,
to power marked the beginning of the Dark or to wear away their lives in dungeons or
Ages. . . Faith was transferred from Christ, suffer death. . . Persecution opened upon the
the true foundation, to the pope of Rome faithful with greater fury than ever before,
[which is the second view of the daily]. and the world became a vast battlefield. For
Instead of trusting in the Son of God for for- hundreds of years the church of Christ found
giveness of sins and for eternal salvation, the refuge in seclusion and obscurity. Thus says
people looked to the pope and to the priests the prophet: ‘The woman fled into the wilder-
and prelates to whom he delegated authority. ness, where she hath a place prepared of God,
“They were taught that the pope was their that they should feed her there a thousand
earthly mediator and that none could two hundred and three-score days.’ ”—Great
approach God except through him; and, Controversy, 54-55.
further, that he stood in the place of God The removal of the horns, and Justinian’s
to them and was therefore to be implicitly approval, gave the pope his temporal power.
obeyed.”—Great Controversy, 54:2-55:1 The removal of Christ’s intercession (the dai-
(1888 and 1911 editions). ly), making himself the mediator, gave him his
In the above passage, we are told two things religious power.
that were happening at about the time that the lt is of the highest significance that, in this
1260 years began: lengthy description of A.D. 538 (none in her
(1) Paganism “had given place to the papa- writings are longer), she spends far more time
cy” (GC 54:2). discussing the event which began in A.D. 538
(2) The pope was beginning in earnest to than that which ended in 538.
take away Christ’s mediation in the heavenly Only one sentence is allocated to anything
Sanctuary (GC 55:1). approximating Miller’s view. It is this: “Pagan-
A careful reading of the above passage reveals ism had given place to the papacy” (GC 54:2).
that Ellen White does not give a certain date, Immediately afterward, she begins describing
but “in the sixth century,” when the 1260 years what then began: “And now began the 1260 years
began (GC 54:2). Her emphasis in this lengthy of papal persecution” (GC 54:2).
passage is on what happened rather than on a In stark contrast to one sentence allotted to
date. But she does not avoid dating the 1260 “paganism” (in GC 54:2), the rest of this page
years. In two later passages, in Great Contro- and the entire next one (GC 54:2-56:0) talks
versy, she lists the initial and terminal dates about the Sanctuary view and its ramifications.
28 The Daily
Indeed, as you read on, you will find that the re- ed to the persecution, during the 1260 years, of
mainder of the chapter (GC 54-60) primarily those who remained faithful to the Bible teaching
consists of three aspects of the Sanctuary view about salvation only through Christ (the Sanctu-
of the daily: (1) Requiring worship of the Church, ary view). Nothing is said about “paganism’ in
its priests, and ceremonies for salvation instead this passage.
of Christ. (2) The persecution of all who resisted. The second passage (Great Controversy,
(3) The continual adoption, by the Church, of still 439:2) mentions that, in A.D. 538 at the beginning
more pagan practices. of the 1260 years, the papacy began its suprema-
So the rest of the chapter, after pages 54-55, cy; and it began fully oppressing those who were
is about the Sanctuary view: The pope replaced seeking God for salvation:
salvation and mediation through Christ with his “ ‘Power was given unto him to contin-
holy water, image worship, candles, processions, ue forty and two months.’ And, says the
priests (GC 57:1), the deity of the pope (GC 57:2- prophet, ‘I saw one of his heads as it were
3), purchasing salvation through indulgences (GC wounded to death.’ And again: ‘He that leadeth
59:1), and the blasphemous mass (GC 59:2); in- into captivity shall go into captivity: he that
cluded were other portions noting the systematic killeth with the sword must be killed with
persecution of all who would attempt to pray to the sword.’ The forty and two months are
Christ in heaven instead of seeking salvation in the same as the ‘time and times and the
Catholicism. dividing of time,’ three years and a half,
In conclusion, we have one sentence in Great or 1260 days, of Daniel 7—the time during
Controversy about the taking away of paganism which the papal power was to oppress God’s
(“Paganism had given place to the papacy,” people. This period, as stated in preceding
GC 54:2). And we have five pages (GC 55-59) chapters, began with the supremacy of the
about the Sanctuary view. In addition, we also papacy, A.D. 538, and terminated in 1798.
have Chapters 23, 24, and 28, which provide At that time the pope was made captive by
us with a vast wealth of information about the the French army, the papal power received
Sanctuary! It is a special topic of importance in its deadly wound, and the prediction was ful-
that book, whereas the taking away of paganism filled, ‘He that leadeth into captivity shall go
(which is also important) is given far less space. into captivity.’ ”—Great Controversy, 439:2.
It should be mentioned here that paganism is in Like the other ones, this brief mention of the
Great Controversy! Chapters 2 and 3 discuss, in 1260 years is concerned with what happened
detail, the topic of paganism—but it is all about during that time span, not about what hap-
paganism absorbed by the papacy, not pa­­g­an­­­ism pened when it began. “Power was given unto
obliterated by the papacy. (More on this soon.) him” to “leadeth into captivity” and “killeth with
the sword.”
THE DAILY CONCEPT IN OTHER PASSAGES
IN GREAT CONTROVERSY Not once, in any Spirit of Prophecy passage
There are two other passages in Great Contro- on the 1260 years, did Ellen White consider the
versy which mention A.D. 538 and the 1260 years taking away of paganism to be important. Instead,
it initiated, but neither one mentions either the pa- she focused attention on it as “the time during
ganism or the Sanctuary view. Instead, both focus which the papal power was to oppress God’s
on the heavy persecution during that time period. people” (GC 439:2). The time period “began
The first is Great Controversy, 266-267, which with the supremacy of the papacy,” not with
speaks of papal supremacy, suppression of the the taking away of paganism. Once again, the
Scriptures, and persecution of the people: emphasis is on the Sanctuary view.
“The 1260 years of papal supremacy be- In both passages on the 1260 years (GC
gan in A.D. 538, and would therefore termi- 266:3-4 and 439:2), the concern is solely on the
nate in 1798. . . The persecution of the church persecution of those who cling to Christ as their
did not continue throughout the entire period Intercessor in heaven, instead of to the pope of
of the 1260 years. God in mercy to His people Rome as their source of salvation. Those were
cut short the time of their fiery trial.”—Great persecuted who sought Christ, instead of the
Controversy 266:3-4. pope, for salvation. We cannot go by what others
All of Great Controversy, 266-267, is devot- claimed that Ellen White said about these matters.
 29
We must go by what she actually wrote. THE BIBLE AND SPIRIT OF PROPHECY:
Aside from the passages cited above (GC 54- THE PAPACY DID NOT
55, SR 330-331, GC 266:3-4, 439:2), A.D. 538 TAKE AWAY THE THREE HORNS AND
THOSE HORNS WERE NOT PAGAN
is not mentioned anywhere else in the Spirit of
Proph­ecy. (And, as we already learned, she does This may appear shocking, but not if we rely
not mention A.D. 508 at all.) on the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, and the re-
We have found that, although “the daily” is not cords of history. Daniel never said those horns
identified in the Spirit of Prophecy, the above pas- were pagan!
sages in Great Controversy clearly support the That is an unfortunate assumption. Yes, they
Sanctuary view; and only one sentence might favor were foreign powers threatening the pope and,
the paganism view: “Paganism had given place to yes, they were removed. But they were Arian
the papacy” (GC 54:2). What does it mean? powers, teaching a variant form of Christianity.
That one sentence is exquisitely worded and Ellen White never said those horns were pagan!
exactly agrees with historical facts. Let us now Indeed, she never mentioned those three
consider those facts: horns anywhere in her writings. (As for the
phrase, “little horn,” it is only found twice in
Great Controversy. In both passages, it is men-
PART FIVE
tioned as symbolizing the papacy: 446:1, 439:1.)
HISTORICAL Ellen White did not say the papacy took away the
FACTS ABOUT three horns. Instead, in Great Controversy, 54:2,
THE LITTLE HORN AND THE she accurately reflected historical facts and cited
REMOVAL OF PAGANISM Revelation 13:2. (More on this below.)
According to Daniel, the pope “subdued” three
INTRODUCTION
kings (Dan. 7:24). This was done by getting the
The critics, led by Desmond Ford and Prot- imperial Government to do the job. It is worded:
estant writers who wish to destroy the Spirit “before whom three fell” (Dan. 7:20) and “before
of Prophecy and our Church, declare that our whom” three were “plucked up” (Dan. 7:8). The
paganism view of the daily does not agree with pope did not do the plucking.
historical records. In trying to destroy confidence Is there not a Bible passage which clarifies
in the validity of the 1260-year prophecy, one of this point? Yes, there is: According to Revelation,
the critics recently said that the prophecy cannot it was the dragon (the secular Roman power)
be correct; since Adventists claim that the papacy which gave the beast what he had (Rev. 13:2).
took away paganism in A.D. 508-538. The papacy did not get that power and authority
What is the answer to this? The full and through its own conquests. Revelation 13:2 pre-
complete view of both aspects of what ended and dicted that it would receive it from the Roman
began in A.D. 538 (as explained in Great Con- Empire.
troversy, 54-55) entirely resolves the issue and Significantly, Ellen White cites—not a verse
defends the accuracy of that greatest of all books in Daniel 7 or 8,—but the fulfillment of Reve-
written since the Bible ended: Great Controversy. lation 13:2 as the beginning of the 1260 years.
“Great Controversy should be very widely Read again Great Controversy, 54:2. Here is
circulated. lt contains the story of the past, the the important part:
present, and the future. In its outline of the “In the sixth century the papacy had be-
closing scenes of this earth’s history, it bears come firmly established. lts seat of power
a powerful testimony in behalf of the truth. I was fixed in the imperial city, and the bishop
am more anxious to see a wide circulation of Rome was declared to be the head over
for this book than for any others I have the entire church. . . The dragon had given
written; for in Great Controversy, the last to the beast ‘his power, and his seat, and
message of warning to the world is given great authority’ [Rev. 13:2]. And now began
more distinctly than in any of my other the 1260 years of papal oppression.”—Great
books.”—Colporteur Ministry, 127 (Letter Controversy, 54:2.
281, 1905).
We have viewed what the Bible and Spirit of
Here are the historical facts: Prophecy have to say about this; now we will ex-
30 The Daily
amine history: “For some unaccountable reason, Theo-
THE EVIDENCE OF HISTORY: doric made peace with Clovis [in A.D. 508]
THE PAPACY DID NOT and the resistance of the Arian powers was
TAKE AWAY THE THREE HORNS at an end.”—Thomas Hodgkin, Theodoric the
AND THE HORNS WERE NOT PAGAN Gothic, pp. 202-203.
The papacy encouraged a governmental The Vandals, led by Gaiseric (Genseric), had
power to take away the three horns. It was in settled in North Africa, having conquered Car-
this sense, that it took them away. thage in 439. These were fanatically Arian and
By the sixth century, the Roman emperor lived desirous of blotting out the papacy.
in Constantinople, over a thousand miles east of Justinian became emperor in A.D. 527 and
Rome. Gradually, he and his allies subjugated ruled until his death in 565. Fortunately, Justini-
one independent kingdom after the other that an had an amazingly successful general in charge
threatened the papacy. of his armies. Belisarius repeatedly protected
Among the principal obstructions to the Justinian from conquest by his many enemies.
rise of papal Rome to political power were the No general since Caesar Augustus ever won so
Huruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths. All many victories with such limited resources of
three were supporters of Arianism, which is the men and funds.
teaching that Christ was a created being that God In order to help the papacy, Justinian sent
selected to come down to earth to save mankind. Belisarius to battle against the Vandals. He com-
According to the Alexandrian presbyter Arius pletely vanquished them in 534.
(4th century), God alone is immutable and self-ex- This victory left the Ostrogoths in Italy (al-
istent. And the Son is not God but a creature with though now very peaceful) as the sole surviving
a beginning. Arianism had numerous defenders, Arian power of significance, to hinder the political
but eventually collapsed when several non-Arian ascendancy of the popes. Having annihilated the
emperors came to power. The Arian view is held Vandals, that same year (534) Belisar­ius deter-
at the present time by the Jehovah’s Witnesses mined to overthrow the peaceful Os­trogoths. The
and by some adherents of Unitarianism. (It is also decisive action occurred early in the campaign.
held by some Advent believers.) —But it is not in The Ostrogoths, who had been driven from Rome,
the Spirit of Prophecy! by Belisarius, returned and laid siege to it in 537.
The Heruli were the first of the tribes to rule The siege lasted a full year. But, in A.D. 538, a
over Rome. In A.D. 476, under Odovacar (Odo- second army, sent by Justinian, arrived in Italy.
acer), they deposed the boy Romulus Augustus, Heavily attacked by Belisarius, the Ostrogoths
the last emperor of the West. At the suggestion of abandoned the siege. Their withdrawal from
Emperor Zeno of the Eastern Empire, Theodoric, Rome, in A.D. 538, marked the real end of
leader of the Ostrogoths, invaded Italy in 489. In Ostrogothic power (although not of the Ostro-
493, he conquered and slew Odovacar. gothic nation). Thus was “plucked up” the third
But Theodoric, now in control of Rome, was of the three horns that stood in the way of the
also an Arian. Although he granted toleration to little horn power. (lt is true that they re-entered
the Catholics, the pope knew that Rome must Rome for a very brief time in 540, but they were
be freed if he himself would rise to full political quickly driven out.)
power. Yet there is more to the story. A.D. 538 is a
In A.D. 496, Clovis, king of the Franks, was very important date for yet another reason:
baptized with 3,000 of his warlike subjects into Justinian gathered the existing imperial laws
the Catholic Church. With great zeal, he immedi- and made the Code of Justianian.
ately led a crusade to put down all resistance to This legal code, dated 533, granted the
Catholicism. The most formidable threat to the pope supreme ecclesiastical supremacy as
papacy were the Arians. Although Christians, they “head of all the churches” in both the East
refused to be subservient to the papacy. and the West. However, it could not go into ef-
In A.D. 508, Clovis met the Arian Ostro­goths, fect until A.D. 538, when the Ostrogoths were
under Theodoric, in battle. Although the battle driven away from Rome. From then on, the
was inconclusive, the two signed a peace treaty. papacy was in a position to increase its eccle-
 31
siastical power. In the turbulent developments the papacy did not “take away paganism.”—It
which followed, one by one, the other independent swallowed it!
kingdoms became Catholic. We know this, first, because that is the mes-
Charles Bemont and G. Monod, in their Medi- sage in all of Chapter 3 of Great Controversy
eval Europe, p. 121, declare that, beginning with (GC 49-60).
Vigilius who became pope in A.D. 538, the popes This absorbing of paganism continued for
were more and more men of the state as well as of centuries, prior to A.D. 508-538; it continued
the Church and often became rulers of the state. afterward as well. All of the following quotations
So we learn that “paganism,” if it is defined about the penetration of heathenism into the
as pagan tribes, was not taken away in A.D. 508- Church are from Chapter 3, where we find the “in
538—because the tribes taken away were not the sixth century” passage (GC 54-55):
pagan. But could the “paganism” which was taken “Even at that early date he [Paul] saw,
away instead be defined as pagan practices which creeping into the church, errors that would
the papacy took away in A.D. 508-538? prepare the way for the development of the
THE PAPACY TOOK AWAY PAGANISM papacy.”—Great Controversy, 49:1.
BY ABSORBING IT “Little by little, at first in stealth and si-
One view is that the papacy took away pa- lence, and then more openly as it increased
ganism by conquering the three horns. But we in strength and gained control of the minds of
have found that (1) the papacy did not elimi- men, ‘the mystery of iniquity’ carried forward
nate the three horns; that was done by others. its deceptive and blasphemous work.”—Ibid.,
And (2) the horns were not pagan. 49:2.
Another view is that the papacy took away “Almost imperceptibly the customs of hea-
paganism by destroying it. However, historians thenism found their way into the Christian
agree that what the papacy actually did was church.”—Ibid., 49:2.
to absorb paganism. What then did Ellen White In the fourth century, during Constantine’s
mean by this sentence which speaks of a removal reign when persecution ceased, the adoption of
of paganism? pagan practices rapidly accelerated.
“Paganism had given place to the papa- “The spirit of compromise and conformity
cy.”—Great Controversy, 54:2. was restrained for a time by the fierce per-
“Had given place.” The immediate context in- secutions which the church endured under
dicates that, “by the sixth century,” an important paganism. But as persecution ceased, and
changeover had occurred. In order to learn what Christianity entered the courts and palaces
it was, we must read the preceding pages in the of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity
same chapter (pp. 49-54), which we will consider of Christ and His apostles for the pomp and
shortly. pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place
It is clear from the context that, in Great Con- of the requirements of God, she substituted
troversy, 54:2, when she speaks of “paganism human theories and traditions.”—Ibid., 49:2.
had given place to the papacy,” Ellen White is not “The nominal conversion of Constantine, in
talking about the three horns being taken away. the early part of the fourth century [A.D. 312,
Indeed, she does not mention the three horns not 508-538], caused great rejoicing; and the
at all in Great Controversy or anywhere else! world, cloaked with a form of righteousness,
The conquest of those horns was not as important walked into the church. Now the work of
in her thinking as other historical developments corruption rapidly progressed.
at that time. “Paganism, while appearing to be van-
Here is the answer: The surrounding pages quished, became the conqueror. Her spirit
(GC 49-54) show that she is talking about the controlled the church. Her doctrines, cere-
papal absorption of pagan practices. But ab- monies, and superstitions were incorporated
sorbing paganism is not what we usually think into the faith and worship of the professed
of as the “paganism view of the daily.” followers of Christ.”—Ibid., 49:2-50:0.
Both in the pages of the Spirit of Proph- “This compromise between paganism and
ecy and in the history books, we learn that Christianity resulted in the development of
32 The Daily
‘the man of sin’ foretold in prophecy as op- basic passage (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 7) are quot-
posing and exalting himself above God. That ed three times in Great Controversy, 49, 53, and
gigantic system of false religion is a master- 54. —Yet those are the pages in which the gradual
piece of Satan’s power—a monument of his absorbing of paganism, over a period of centuries,
efforts to seat himself upon the throne to rule by the papacy is discussed!
the earth according to his will.”—Ibid., 50:1. Unfortunately, Miller did not have Great Con-
“Romanists have persisted in bringing troversy, Chapter 3, to help guide him.
against Protestants the charge of heresy and My book, Biblical Defense, 67:2-69:1, explains
willful separation from the true church. But how the papacy was busily absorbing paganism for
these accusations apply rather to themselves. centuries, from as early as the second century on
They are the ones who laid down the banner of through to A.D. 538. Also, in my paperback editions
Christ and departed from the faith which was of Great Controversy, read the list of 48 special
once delivered unto the saints.”—Ibid., 51:2. pagan practices which were absorbed (Mark of
“Through half-converted pagans, ambitious the Beast, 27-28; ’84 Great Controversy, 52-53:
prelates, and world-loving churchmen he ac- or ‘88 Great Controversy, 58-59). Any and every
complished his purpose. Vast councils were peculiar notion that came along, including holy
held from time to time, in which the dignitaries cloths about the neck or baptism of bells, became
of the church were convened from all the world. hallowed rites.
. . Thus the pagan festival [Sunday] came finally You may also wish to read the extensive informa-
to be honored as a divine institution.”—Ibid., tion on this in another book of mine: The Fabulous
53:2. First Centuries, p. 326, and onward.
“In the sixth century the papacy had become The papacy did not blot out paganism, it
firmly established. . . Paganism had given transformed it—by giving it Christian names.
place to the papacy.”—Ibid., 54:2. The papacy actually was baptized paganism. It
The papacy did not stop absorbing paganism still is.
when the sixth century arrived and the 1260 Do historians agree that the papacy absorbed
years began (GC 54:2). Century after century it paganism rather than destroying it? Read pp. 12-
continued, as shown in later quotations from 15, 20-26, 68-70 in my book, Mark of the Beast.
Chapter 3: For centuries, popery gathered up every vestige
“The advancing centuries witnessed a of paganism and brought it into the Church.
constant increase of error in the doctrines Let me quote five sentences once more:
put forth from Rome. Even before the es- “Almost imperceptibly the customs of hea-
tablishment of the papacy the teachings of thenism found their way into the Christian
heathen philosophers had received attention church.”—Great Controversy, 49:2.
and exerted an influence in the church. Many “Paganism, while appearing to be van-
who professed conversion still clung to the quished, became the conqueror.”—Ibid., 50:0.
tenets of their pagan philosophy, and not “In the sixth century the papacy had become
only continued its study themselves, but urged firmly established. . . Paganism had given place
it upon others as a means of extending their to the papacy.”—Ibid., 54:2.
influence among the heathen. Serious errors “Then the way was prepared for the intro-
were thus introduced into the Christian duction of still another invention of paganism,
faith.”—Ibid., 58:2. which Rome named purgatory.”—Ibid., 58:3.
“Then the way was prepared for the introduc- Comparing the above passages, we can under-
tion of still another invention of paganism, which stand the meaning of the only sentence in the
Rome named purgatory.”—Ibid., 58:3. Spirit of Prophecy which might indicate a “tak-
All the above statements are from Chapter 3 ing away of paganism” in A.D. 508. According to
of Great Controversy. (Also read Early Writings, the way Ellen White explains it throughout Chapter
210-211.) 3 of Great Controversy, “paganism had given place
It is of interest that we earlier discovered that to the papacy” means this: In the sixth century, a
it was while reading 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 that majority of pagan practices had already walked
William Miller decided that, in A.D. 508, the papacy into the Church, and thus the Church replaced—
“took away paganism.” However, portions of this
 33
took the place of—the power and teachings of combine with falsehood just enough truth
paganism. to give it plausibility.”—Great Controversy,
The word, “catholic,” means “universal.” So, if 587.
we define “catholicism” to mean universal pa- Here are several statements by historians con-
ganism, the Vatican is the seat of what should firming this fact, that the Roman Catholic Church
properly be named the Pagan Christian Church. is incarnate paganism:
Alexander Hislop’s The Two Babylons clearly THE PAGANISM THAT POURED IN
establishes that the papacy did not abolish pa-
“It is very evident that nearly all of the doc-
ganism, but welcomed and absorbed it. Embed-
trines and practices of the Catholic Church
ded within the papal system was every essential
are pagan in their origin.
element of paganism.
“It is the spirit of the papacy—the spir- “Mariolatry was established as a doctrine
it of conformity to worldly customs, the of the Catholic Church at the Council of
veneration for human traditions above the Chalcedon in 451. Under the influence of
commandments of God.”—Great Controver- paganism it was felt that another mediator
sy, 573:1. was needed. The Bible says there is but one
mediator and he is specifically named. ‘For
So the papacy did not get rid of paganism
there is one God, and one mediator between
in A.D. 508, as William Miller theorized. It was
God and men, the man, Christ Jesus’ (1 Tim.
busily taking it into itself. How thankful we can
2:5). Not only was Mary added as the chief
be for the guidance of God through the Spirit of
mediator but there followed a multitude of
Prophecy! other mediators in the form of patron saints.
“Pilgrimages and the veneration of rel-
PART SIX ics were also borrowed from paganism. In
HOW THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH the fourth century Saint Helena, mother of
BECAME PAGANIZED - 1 Constantine and empress of the Roman Em-
HISTORICAL STATEMENTS pire, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where
she is supposed to have found fragments of
INTRODUCTION the true cross on which Christ was crucified.
Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been By the sixth century the belief in relics and
hard at work, devising a vast system of religious their power to work miracles was widespread.
error which will replace the truths given by God Today relics form a vital part of the Catholic
to mankind. The general name which we give to religion.
this evil concoction is “paganism.” “The silence of the Scriptures and the tes-
lt was not Satan’s plan that paganism timony of historians make it evident that the
should vanish when Catholicism began. No, veneration of relics came from paganism and
indeed. His masterpiece of deception was to not from God.
pour it all into the “Christian church”—making “The rosary which is so dear to Catholics
it “the mystery of iniquity” (2 Thess. 2:7). in their prayers is of very ancient origin. It
Let it be said again: The papacy did not abol- is almost universal among all the pagan
ish paganism or do away with it. The papacy nations. Reference is made to it in Hindu
swallowed it whole and thus itself became sacred books.
thoroughly paganized in all of its teachings “The Brahmins of Hindustan have long
and practices! employed the rosary. It is a common thing
“The fact that a movement to establish among the adherents of the Buddhist faith. It
error is connected with a work which is in is pagan in its origin and use. The Bible does
itself good, is not an argument in favor of the not in the least infer the need of a rosary to
error. We may disguise poison by mingling it aid us in our prayers to God.
with wholesome food, but we do not change its “The doctrine of purgatory is pagan in
nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more its origin. The Roman poet Virgil (70 B.C. to
dangerous, as it is more likely to be taken 19 B.C.) wrote about purgatory, showing the
unawares. It is one of Satan’s devices to
34 The Daily
pagans believed in it long before the Catholic at all. It was only transformed and absorbed
Church taught it. If purgatory were Christian into Christianity. It is this transformation, and
it would be found in the Bible. the absorption of classical culture in its various
“Transubstantiation, which did not become manifestations into the very substance of Chris-
a doctrine of the Catholic Church until the tianity which, perhaps more than anything else,
13th century, is pagan. This Romish doctrine explains why, after its toleration, Christianity
means that the bread and wine when blessed swept on with such relentless force to become
by the priest becomes the actual flesh and the undisputed heir of the whole complex of
blood of Christ. The mass is a reminder of Mediterranean civilization.
the pagan sacrifices and of the pagan mys- “Christianity overcame the competing
tery cults. If the doctrine of transubstantiation Oriental mystery cults—by becoming itself
were Christian why did not the churches teach an Oriental mystery cult.
it in the first centuries? “Local Christian saints became endowed
“The sign of the cross so frequently made with the powers of local pagan gods. The
by devout Catholics does not come from Chris- aches and pains, the fears and hopes, that had
tianity but from the pagans. Actually the same formerly been cured or assuaged or satisfied
sign now used by the adherents of Rome by pagan gods were now taken care of by their
was used in the Babylonian Mysteries before Christian substitutes, whose special days of
Christ was ever crucified! worship in some cases can be clearly shown
“The infallibility of the pope which was not to have been the days dedicated to their pagan
declared until 1870 could not be a Christian predecessors. In Some instances the Christian
doctrine. Many historians believe that the idea saints inherited the very temples of their
for the powers of the pope with the College of predecessors.”—Thompson and Johnson, An
Cardinals came from the pagan College of Introduction to Medieval Europe, p. 33.
Pontiffs with its Sovereign Pontiff which CONDITIONS IN THE CHURCH
had been in pagan Rome from the earliest JUST BEFORE CONSTANTINE
times, and was probably framed on the order Worldliness and pagan practices were pouring
of the original Council of Pontiffs at Babylon. into the Christian church, even before the time of
The infallibility of the pope really sounds pa- Constantine.
gan when one observes that at one time there “In the interval between the Decian and
were three popes, Urban VI, Clement VII, and the Dioclecian persecution, the Church had
Alexander V! become the richest religious organization in
“All aspects of the pagan religions the Empire, and had moderated its rebukes
marched into the Christian Church; halted against those who gained great wealth. Cyprian
momentarily to change their outer garments, com­plained that his parishioners were mad
and then entered under the guise of Christi- about money, that Christian women painted
anity. Multitudes have come into the Catholic their faces, that bishops held lucrative offices
fold thinking they have embraced the religion of state, made fortunes, lent money at usuri-
of Christ. What a tragedy! True Christianity ous interest, and denied their faith at the first
is found in the teachings of the Bible and sign of danger. Eusebius mourned that priests
not in the tradition of a church, pregnant with quarrelled violently in their competition for
paganism which will eventually give birth to ecclesiastical preferment. While Christianity
the rule of the Antichrist. Salvation is in the converted the world, the world converted
Christ of the Bible.”—Paul Goodwin and Bob Christianity, and displayed the natural pa-
Frazier, Baptist Churches in all Ages, Chapter ganism of man­kind.”—Will Durant, Caesar
1, Catholicism More Pagan Than Christian. and Christ, Chapter 30, p. 657.
“Paganism as a distinct and separate religion CHANGES UNDER CONSTANTINE
may perhaps be said to have died, although,
After Constantine came to power, by A.D.
driven out of the cities, it found refuge in
the countryside, where it lingered long—and 315, pagans and their customs began flood-
whence, indeed, its very name is derived. ing into the Christian church,—for Emperor
Constan­tine favored the Christians and granted
“In a very real sense, however, it never died
 35
them many benefits. to be a spiritual, and became a legal festival.
“The Edict of Milan (313), issued jointly When he legalized Christian corporations,
by Constantine and Licinius, proclaimed lib- he presented a great temptation to Christian
erty of conscience and showed partiality for bishops to devote themselves largely to
Christianity. His [Constantine’s] policy at first the enrichment of the churches, which they
was not to interfere with pagan worship, but frequently accomplished by the most unfair
by filling the chief offices with Christians and means. When he offered temporal induce-
surrounding himself with Christian teachers ments to the profession of Christianity, he
to make the condition of Christians enviable. not only brought multitudes of unregenerate
“He exempted the Christian clergy from people into the churches, but he also aided in
military and municipal duties and their making it a part of public opinion to regard
property from taxation (313); legalized the profession of Christianity as a mere
bequests to Christian churches, a very im- form, and to attach a magical significance to
portant measure (321); enjoined the civil the ordinances. His efforts for church unity
observance of Sunday, though only as the day greatly interfered with freedom of thought
of the Sun (321); contributed largely toward and fostered the spirit of intolerance in the
the building of Christian houses of worship; favored party. The favors that he bestowed
and gave his sons a Christian education. In upon the bishops increased their pride and
325, he issued a general exhortation to his worldliness, and caused an unchristian
subjects to embrace Christianity.”—Albert striving for important bishoprics.”—Albert
Henry Newman, A Manual of Church History, Henry Newman, A Man­ual of Church History,
Vol. 1, p. 308. Vol. 1, p. 313.
“Christianity now became the state religion. NEAR THE END OF
Hea­­­thens were driven from their magnifi- THE FOURTH CENTURY
cent temples and these were given to the But it was near end of that same fourth cen-
Christians. These temples were filled with tury that a decided effort was made to either
beautiful pagan sculpture, so the names rename pagan temples as Christian churches,
were changed and they began to be venerated or tear them down entirely. While all the basic
as the Virgin Mary and various saints. forms of heathenism were being absorbed into the
“Christianity was now popular and mil- church, under Emperor Theodosius (379- 395)
lions forsook heathenism and were soon the practicing of paganism outside the church
prominent in the ‘Christian’ cause. The became forbidden.
apostasy which had grown steadily under “Many pagan temples were destroyed at
persecution now spread much more rapid- this time by fanatical bands of Christians,
ly. Unconverted pagans flocked into ‘the with the approval of bishops and emperor.
Church’ in countless thousands and began . . Ambrose [bishop of Milan, 340-397] and
clamoring for the retention of their time hon- Augustine [354-430] now advocated the forc-
ored ‘traditions.’ The result was a hybrid ible suppression of paganism and heresy.
religion, becoming more like heathenism Many bishops led their people in their violent
and less like Christianity as time went on. onslaughts on pagan sanctuaries and did not
Christi­anity possessed none of the mysterious shrink even from bloodshed in the accom-
and pompous ceremonies so desirable in state plishment of their purposes. Paganism made
religion, so heathenism adorned it for its new a desperate struggle for existence, but . . it
role.”—O.C. Lambert, Catholicism Against had its revenge in the almost complete pa­
Itself, p. 12. ganization of the Christian churches that
THE FORCED CONVERSION OF PAGANS speedily followed the enforced conversion
BROUGHT THEIR RELIGIOUS PRACTICES of its unwilling adherents.”—Albert Henry
INTO THE CHURCH New­man, A Manual of Church History, Vol.
“The points in which Constantine and his 1, p. 311.
followers favored Christianity may also be re- This dramatic transformation of the Chris-
garded as involving evils. . . When he enjoined tian church primarily occurred between the
the universal observance of Sunday, it ceased years A.D. 313 and 400, and then continued
36 The Daily
on for centuries, as priests and bishops became vices of the early church than there is among
more and more corrupt. The surrounding na- us.”—Catholic Dictionary, p. 509.
tions had been steeped in paganism. All this was “One is forced to admit that the gradual
brought into the apostate church, which became corruption of Christianity began very ear-
headquartered in Rome. ly.”—Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 12, p. 414.
“We may particularize as follows: (1) “Writers of the fourth century were prone
Christianity was secularized. The doors of to describe many practices as apostolic in-
the church were thrown open so wide, that stitutions which certainly had no claim to be
the distinction between Christianity and the so regarded.”—Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol.
world was obliterated. 3, p. 484.
“Christian churches assumed the mag- “From its foundation, the Church had
nificence of heathen temples. In imitating grad­ua­ lly absorbed the best of the life, the
the pomp, Christians were sure to imitate organization, the institutions, the laws, the
the practices of heathenism, especially as learning, and whatever else of good and worth
the most influential Christians were now men there was in the Roman Empire.”—History of
that had been brought up pagans, and had the Church of God, pp. 378-379.
adopted Christianity chiefly because it was “To convert and civilize her new subjects,
the fashion. she descended to their level and employed
“(2) As pagans had been accustomed to means in keeping with their notions and cus-
worship a host of gods and goddesses, they toms.”—History of the Church of God, p. 407.
felt the need, after becoming Christians, of “It has been, and always will be, the intent
numerous objects of adoration. The most and tradition of the Apostolic See, to make a
honored characters of the early apostolic and large allowance in all that is right and good,
successive times were, of course, selected, for the primitive traditions and the special
such as Mary, the mother of Christ, the customs of every nation.”—Great Encyclical
apostles, and noted martyrs. Letters of Leo XIII, pp. 308-309.
“(3) As pagans had been accustomed to “It is interesting to note how often our
worship their gods under the form of images, Church has availed herself of practices which
the new converts naturally required images were in common use among pagans.”—Ex-
of the saints, and the churches were soon ternals of the Catholic Church, p. 156.
filled with these objects. That pagans so
“Again the pagan use of lights at funerals
readily gave up their religion and embraced
seems to have been taken over by the Church
Christianity can be accounted for only by
as a harmless piece of ceremonial to which a
the fact that Christianity adapted itself so
Christian color might be easily given.”—Cath-
entirely to their pagan ideas as to make the
olic Encyclopedia, Vol. 9, p. 246.
change little more than nominal.”—Albert
Henry Newman, A Manual of Church History, “We need not shrink from admitting that
Vol. 1, pp. 313-314. candles, like incense and lustral water,
were commonly employed in pagan worship
and the rites paid to the dead. But the Church
PART SEVEN from a very early period took them into her
service, just as she adopted many other things
HOW THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
BECAME PAGANIZED - 2
indifferent in themselves, which seemed
proper to enhance the splendour of religous
CATHOLIC STATEMENTS ceremonial. We must not forget that most of
THEY FREELY ADMIT IT these adjuncts to worship, like music, lights,
perfumes, ablutions, floral decorations,
All of the following statements are official
canopies, fans, screens, bells, vestments,
Roman Catholic admissions of the pagan infill­
etc., were not identified with any idolatrous
ing which occurred and so thoroughly changed
cult in particular, but they were common to
the church.
almost all pagan cults.”—Catholic Encyclo-
“There was a far more extensive and con- pedia, Vol. 3, p. 246.
tinuous use of Scripture in the public ser-
 37
“Moreover the use of holy water and keeps it with him as protection against disease,
incense also, no doubt, was suggested by plague, and accidents. Regarding this, we are
similar customs amongst pagans around told:
them.”—Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 76. “The origin of this sacramental is a matter
“Though the veneration of images was a of great obscurity. When the people of Italy
gradual growth in the Church—owing to the and other countries had been converted from
prevalence of heathen idolatry and the cau- idolatry, they retained some of their beliefs in
tion required to prevent their use from being charms and amulets; and it is probable that
misunder­tood by the pagan—sculptured the Agnus Dei was devised as substitute for
memorials of the Blessed Virgin are found these relics of paganism.”—Externals of the
as early as the third century.”—Practical Catholic Church, p. 205 (also see p. 233).
Preaching for Priest and People, pp. 89-90. It has frequently been admitted that ap-
“The whole tradition of venerating holy peasing pagans, and persecuting all who did
images gradually and naturally devel- not yield obedience to the pope, were the two
oped.”—Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 7. p. weapons used to control the people.
667. “The idolatrous and barbarous popula-
“The missionary history of the [Catholic] tions of the Middle Ages could not have been
Church clearly shows her adaptability to all converted by mere preaching.”—History of the
races, all continents, all nations. In her liturgy Church of God, p. 383.
and her art, in her tradition and the forming
of her doctrine, naturally enough she includes PART EIGHT
Jewish elements, but also elements that
are of pagan origin. In certain respects, she HOW THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
has copied her organization from that of BECAME PAGANIZED - 3
the Roman Empire, has preserved and made SPIRIT DF PRDPHECY
fruitful the philosophical intuitions of Soc-
rates, Plato, and Aristotle, borrowed from SOLID, CLEAR STATEMENTS
both Barbarians and the Byzantine Roman The papacy did not do away with paganism;
Empire—but always remains herself, thor- the historical truth is that paganism conquered
oughly digesting all elements drawn from ex- Chris­ti­anity!
ternal sources. . . In her laws, her ceremonies, Here, in a few brief statements, is the entire
her festivals, and her devotions, she makes transition from pagan Rome to the pagan Catholic
use of local customs after purifying them Church:
and baptiz­ing them.”—Twentieth Century “The chief agent of Satan in making war
Encyclopedia of Catholicism. upon Christ and His people during the first
In the Catholic Encyclopedia there is a l­ eng­thy centuries of the Christian Era was the Ro-
article on the cross and the crucifix, in which man Empire, in which paganism was the
it is admitted that the Egyptian Christians bor- prevailing religion. Thus while the dragon
rowed them from the pagans (Catholic Encyclo- primarily represents Satan, it is, in a second-
pedia, Vol. 4, p. 517). ary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome.”—Great
Speaking of monasteries, it is stated in Exter- Controversy, 438.
nals of the Catholic Church, p. 21, that “In pagan “The Roman Catholic Church, uniting
lands a similar custom existed.” The Cath­olic En- the forms of paganism and Christianity .
cyclopedia admits that the veneration of relics .”—Great Controversy, 569. (Read 569-570.)
is practiced by the heathen practically the same “Almost imperceptibly the customs of
as is done by Catholics (Catholic Encyclopedia, heathenism found their way into the Chris-
Vol. 7, p. 734). tian church. The spirit of compromise and
In the Roman Catholic Church, an Agnus Dei conformity was restrained for a time by the
is a disc of wax stamped with a representation fierce persecutions which the church endured
of Jesus as a lamb bearing a cross and blessed under paganism.
by the Pope as a sacramental. For a payment of “But as persecution ceased, and Christi-
money, it is given by the priest to a Catholic who
 38 The Daily
anity entered the courts and palaces of kings, for every day, in Bible times, there was the daily
she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ morning and evening burnt offerings, plus many
and His apostles for the pomp and pride of other blood offerings.
pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the The word, “sacrifice,” is found 91 times in
requirements of God, she substituted human Exo­­dus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy,
theories and traditions.
and all of them are connected with the tabernacle,
“The nominal conversion of Constantine in and usually about the sacrifices. “Sacrifice” is
the early part of the fourth century caused great found about 110 times in the rest of the Old Testa-
rejoicing; and the world, arrayed in robes of ment—and nearly all of it is about the sacrifices in
righteousness, walked into the church. Now the earthly sanctuary. (“Sacrifices,” “sacrificing,”
the work of corruption rapidly progressed. etc., would be another hundred or so.) The word,
Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, “continual” (tamid), in Daniel 8:10-14, is used 31
became the conqueror. times with “burnt offerings” in the Old Testament.
“Her spirit controlled the church. Her doc- Since Daniel 8:10-14 is about something con-
trines, ceremonies, and superstitions were tinuous taking place, and since the “sanctuary”
incorporated into the faith and worship of is mentioned three times in those verses,—it is
the professed followers of Christ.”—Story of understandable that the KJV translators would
Redemption, 326-327. (Great Controversy, add the word, “sacrifice,” after the word, “daily”
49-50, is almost identical.) (tamid: ongoing, continuous).
“Most of the Christians at last consented to The answer to the question is obvious. The
lower their standard, and a union was formed word, “daily,” in this prophecy of Daniel is
between Christianity and paganism.”—Great not referring to the Old Testament sanctuary
Controversy, 43. (Read Great Controversy, services, but to the ministry of Christ in the
43:1, for the full picture.) Sanctuary in heaven—which, as explained in
“In the sixth century [by A.D. 538] the pa- Hebrews 9:23-28,—has no daily blood sacri-
pacy had become firmly established. Its seat fices!
of power was fixed in the imperial city, and the Yes, Christ’s mediation in heaven is indeed
bishop of Rome was declared to be the head con­tinual (tamid); that is, it is a daily, ongoing
over the entire church. Paganism had given activity of mediation on our part, and it is
place to the papacy. taking place in the Sanctuary,—but it does
“The dragon had given to the beast ‘his pow- not involve sacrifices! So the passages in Daniel
er, and his seat. and great authority.’ Revelation should be translated as follows:
13:2. And now began the 1260 years of papal “Yea, he magnified himself even to the
oppression foretold in the prophecies of Dan- Prince [Christ] of the host [His followers], and
iel and the Revelation. Daniel 7:25; Revelation by him [the papacy] the DAILY SACRIFICE
13:5-7.”—Great Controversy, 54 (Story of was taken away, and the place of His Sanctu-
Redemption, 330-331, is almost identical.) ary was cast down.”—Daniel 8:11.
“And an host [a large number of dedicated
PART NINE followers) was given him [the papacy] against
the DAILY SACRIFICE by reason of trans-
CHRIST’S MEDIATION IN
THE SANCTUARY IN HEAVEN AND
gression, and it cast down the truth [correct
WHY THERE IS NO “SACRIFICE” IN THE beliefs] to the ground; and it practiced, and
ANTITYPICAL “DAILY” prospered.”—Daniel 8:12.
Before continuing, we should pause and ask “Then I heard one saint speaking, and an-
this question: Why did Ellen White say, in Early other saint said unto that certain saint which
Writings, that the supplied word, “sacrifice,” spake [the question:], How long shall be the
must not to be added to the “daily”? Is not sacri- vision concerning the DAILY SACRIFICE,
fice an integral part of the Old Testament sanctuary and the transgression of desolation, to give
service? both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden
Anyone familiar with those services would reply under foot?”—­Daniel 8:13.
that “sacrifice” should be associated with “daily”— “And he said unto me, [the answer:] Unto
 39
two thousand and three hundred days; then Priest entered the most holy, to perform the
shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”—Daniel last division of His solemn work—to cleanse
8:14. the sanctuary.”—Great Controversy, 420-421.
The Great Antitypical Sacrifice was provid- THE IMPORTANCE OF
ed and completed on Calvary—before Christ CHRIST’S MEDIATION
ascended to heaven to become a great High “The archdeceiver hates the great truths
Priest. that bring to view an atoning sacrifice and
an all-powerful mediator. He knows that with
Please, please, think not that Christ’s
Him everything depends on his diverting
mediation in the heavenly Sanctuary is unim- minds from Jesus and His truth.
portant! Daniel 8:10-14 is opening up before us
“Those who would share the benefits of the
a glorious truth! Here, briefly told, is an overview
Saviour’s mediation should permit nothing
of this entire truth:
to interfere with their duty to perfect holi-
THE BEGINNING OF ness in the fear of God. The precious hours,
CHRIST’S MEDIATION
instead of being given to pleasure, to display,
Christ began His mediation in the first or to gain seeking, should be devoted to an
apartment of the heavenly Sanctuary when earnest, prayerful study of the Word of truth.
He ascended to heaven. This was the “daily The subject of the sanctuary and the investi-
mediation.” gative judgment should be clearly understood
“After His ascension our Saviour began His by the people of God. All need a knowledge
work as our high priest. . . The ministration for themselves of the position and work of
of the priest throughout the year in the first their great High Priest. Otherwise it will be
apartment of the sanctuary . . represents impossible for them to exercise the faith
the work of ministration upon which Christ which is essential at this time or to occupy the
entered at His ascension. position which God designs them to fill. Every
“It was the work of the priest in the individual has a soul to save or to lose. Each
daily ministration to present before God has a case pending at the bar of God.”—Great
the blood of the sin offering, also the incense Controversy, 488.
which ascended with the prayers of Israel. THE POWER OF CHRIST’S MEDIATION
So did Christ plead His blood before the
“Christ as the precious pearl, and our priv-
Father in behalf of sinners, and present
ilege of possessing this heavenly treasure, is
before Him also, with the precious fragrance
the theme on which we most need to dwell.
of His own righteousness, the prayers of
It is the Holy Spirit that reveals to men the pre-
penitent believers. Such was the work of
ciousness of the goodly pearl. The time of the
ministration in the first apartment of the
Holy Spirit’s power is the time when in a special
sanctuary in heaven. . .
sense the heavenly gift is sought and found.
“For eighteen centuries this work of min-
“In Christ’s day, many heard the gospel but
istration continued in the first apartment of
their minds were darkened by false teaching,
the sanctuary.
and they did not recognize in the humble Teach-
“The blood of Christ, pleaded in behalf er of Galilee the Sent of God. But after Christ’s
of penitent believers, secured their pardon ascension His enthronement in His mediatorial
and acceptance with the Father, yet their kingdom was signalized by the outpouring of
sins still remained upon the books of record. the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost the
As in the typical service there was a work Spirit was given.
of atonement at the close of the year, so
“Christ’s witnesses proclaimed the power of
before Christ’s work for the redemption
the risen Saviour. The light of heaven penetrat-
of men is completed there is a work of
ed the darkened minds of those who had been
atonement for the removal of sin from the
deceived by the enemies of Christ.”—Christ’s
sanctuary.
Object Lessons, 118-120.
“This is the service which began when
the 2300 days ended. At that time, as
foretold by Daniel the prophet, our High
40 The Daily
AFTER THE DAILY MEDIATION angels, saying: I know them by name. I have
ENDED IN 1844 graven them on the palms of My hands.”—
But if the “daily mediation” ended in 1844, Great Controversy, 484.
what happened after that? In 1844, the daily me- “The intercession of Christ in man’s be-
diation in the holy place ended, and the yearly half in the Sanctuary above is as essential
mediation began in the most holy place—until to the plan of salvation as was His death
the Investigative Judgment is finished. Then upon the cross. By His death He began that
Christ will return for His people. Speaking of work which after His resurrection He ascend-
this mediation in the second apartment, we are ed to complete in heaven.
told: “We must by faith enter within the veil,
“As the books of record are opened in the ‘whither the forerunner is for us entered.’
judgment, the lives of all who have believed Hebrews 6:20. There the light from the cross
on Jesus come in review before God. Begin- of Calvary is reflected.
ning with those who first lived upon the “There we may gain a clearer insight into
earth, our Advocate presents the cases of the mysteries of redemption. The salvation of
each successive generation, and closes with man is accomplished at an infinite expense
the living. . . to heaven; the sacrifice made is equal to the
“All who have truly repented of sin, and by broadest demands of the broken law of God.
faith claimed the blood of Christ as their aton- Jesus has opened the way to the Father’s
ing sacrifice, have had pardon entered against throne, and through His mediation the
their names in the books of heaven; as they sincere desire of all who come to Him in
have become partakers of the righteousness faith may be presented before God.”—Great
of Christ, and their characters are found to Controversy, 489.
be in harmony with the law of God, their sins TRYING TO CAST DOWN
will be blotted out, and they themselves will THE MEDIATION
be accounted worthy of eternal life. . .
But what is the meaning of “cast down”?
“The deepest interest manifested among How was the mediation of Christ cast down?
men in the decisions of earthly tribunals but Here is the answer:
faintly represents the interest evinced in the
“In the sixth century the papacy had be-
heavenly courts when the names entered in
come firmly established. . . Paganism had
the book of life come up in review before the
given place to the papacy. . . Faith was trans-
Judge of all the earth. The divine lntercessor
ferred from Christ, the true foundation, to the
presents the plea that all who have overcome
pope of Rome. Instead of trusting in the Son
through faith in His blood be forgiven their
of God for forgiveness of sins and for eternal
transgressions, that they be restored to their
salvation, the people looked to the pope, and
Eden home, and crowned as joint heirs with
to the priests and prelates to whom he dele-
Himself to ‘the first dominion.’ . . He asks for
gated authority. They were taught that the
His people not only pardon and justifica-
pope was their earthly mediator and that
tion, full and complete, but a share in His
none could approach God except through
glory and a seat upon His throne.”—Great
Him; and, further, that he stood in the
Controversy, 483-484.
place of God to them and was therefore to
“While Jesus is pleading for the subjects be implicitly obeyed.”—Great Controversy,
of His grace, Satan accuses them before 54-55 (Story of Redemption, 331-332, is
God as transgressors. The great deceiver has almost the same.)
sought to lead them into skepticism, to cause
them to lose confidence in God, to separate “In the name of Jesus we may come into God’s
themselves from His love, and to break His presence with the confidence of a child. No man
law. . . is needed to act as a mediator. Through Jesus
“Jesus does not excuse their sins, but we may open our hearts to God as to one who
shows their penitence and faith, and, knows and loves us.”—Mount of Blessing, 84.
claiming for them forgiveness. He lifts His
wounded hands before the Father and the holy
 41
THE ONLY MEDIATION surety, and He is fully able to save all who
AVAILABLE TO US repent and return to their allegiance. Because
“Jesus alone could give security to God; of His righteousness, He is able to place man
for He was equal to God. He alone could be on vantage ground.
a mediator between God and man; for He “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed
possessed divinity and humanity.”—Review, for us. He gave His precious, innocent life to
April 3, 1894; 7 Bible Commentary, 914. save guilty human beings from eternal ruin,
“God is approached through Jesus Christ, that through faith in Him they might stand
the Mediator, the only way through which He guiltless before the throne of God.”—Manu-
forgives sins. God cannot forgive sins at the script 29, 1899; 7 Bible Commentary, 914.
expense of His justice, His holiness, and
His truth. PART TEN
“But He does forgive sins and that fully.
J.N. ANDREWS’ POSITION
There are no sins He will not forgive in
ON THE DAILY
and through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is
the sinner’s only hope, and if he rests here in AN OUTSTANOING
sincere faith, he is sure of pardon and that full RESEARCH STUDY
and free. There is only one channel and that In 1872, John N. Andrews’ book, The Sanc-
is accessible to all. And through that chan- tuary and the 2300 Days, was published by the
nel a rich and abundant forgiveness awaits Review. As you probably know, J.N. Andrews
the penitent, contrite soul and the darkest (1829-1883) was our leading researcher in the
sins are forgiven.”—Letter 12, 1892; 7 Bible 19th century. Indeed, he was one of the most ma-
Commentary, 912-913. ture scholars our denomination ever produced.
“Christ represented His Father to the world, Within that book is to be found the first full-
and He represents before God the chosen sized clarification of the Bible truth about the
ones in whom He has restored the moral im- “daily” in Daniel 8. All of Andrews’ comments
age of God. They are His heritage. . . on this subject are reprinted here.
“Men have only one Advocate, one Inter- Andrews very nicely links the two “deso-
cessor, who is able to pardon transgression. lations” in Daniel 8:13, and shows that Satan
Shall not our hearts swell with gratitude to worked through both to destroy God’s plan and
Him who gave Jesus to be the propitiation His people both before and after the papacy came
for our sins? to power.
“Think deeply upon the love the Father has Andrews first mentions the daily on pages
manifested in our behalf, the love that He has 8-9 of The Sanctuary and the 2300 Days, but
expressed for us. We cannot measure this he does not begin to explain it there. We have to
love. Measurement there is none. We can go to page 33 to begin his explanation, which he
only point to Calvary, to the Lamb slain from introduces by quoting the positions of Josiah
the foundation of the world. It is an infinite Litch and then William Miller.
sacrifice. Can we comprehend and measure Here now is J.N. Andrews on the daily:
infinity? . . [John 17:19-21, 24-26 quoted.] THERE ARE TWO DESOLATIONS
“Here we see the great Intercessor present- IN DANIEL EIGHT
ing His petition to His Father. No middle man “This fact is made so plain by Josiah Litch
comes between the sinner and Christ. No that we present his words:
dead prophet, no buried saint is seen. Christ “The ‘daily sacrifice’ is the present reading of
Himself is our Advocate. All that the Father the English text. But no such thing as sacrifice is
is to His Son, He is to those whom His Son found in the original. This is acknowledged on all
in His humanity represented.”—Manuscript hands. It is a gloss or construction put on it by
128, 1897: 7 Bible Commentary, 914. the translators. The true reading is, ‘the daily
“Christ is the representative of God to and the transgression of desolation,’ daily and
man and the representative of man to God. transgression being connected together by ‘and;’
He came to this world as man’s substitute and the daily and the transgression of desolation.
42 The Daily
They are two desolating powers, which were “When the Christian form of worship took the
to desolate the sanctuary and the host (Josiah place of the Levitical, a change in Satan’s form
Litch, Prophetic Expositions, Vol. 1, p. 127). of opposition, and counterfeit worship, became
“It is plain that the sanctuary and the host necessary, if he would successfully oppose the
were to be trodden under foot by the daily and the worship of the great God. It is in the light of these
transgression of desolation. The careful reading facts that we are able to understand our Lord’s
of verse 13 settles this point. And this fact estab- reference to the abomination of desolation in
lishes another, viz.: that these two desolations Matt. 24:15. It is evident that he there cites Dan.
are the two grand forms under which Satan 9:26, 27. Now, although we do not understand
has attempted to overthrow the worship and [agree] that paganism in the year 70 had given
the cause of Jehovah. place to popery, we do understand that that same
“Mr. [William] Miller’s remarks on the mean- power [paganism] which then appeared, modified
ing of these two terms, and the course pursued by somewhat in name and form [to papacy], was the
himself in ascertaining that meaning, is presented very power that should, as the abomination of
under the following head: ‘The Two Desolations desolation, wear out the saints of the Most High.
are Paganism and Papacy.’ —I read on, and could “The language of Paul is to the point: ‘For the
find no other case [Bible location] in which it [the mystery of iniquity [popery] doth already work;
daily] was found, but in Daniel. I then [by the aid only he who now letteth will let, until he be tak-
of a concordance] took those words which stood en out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be
in connection with it, ‘take away;’ ‘he shall take revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
away the daily’; ‘from the time the daily shall be the Spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with
taken away,’ etc. I read on, and thought I should the brightness of his coming.’ 2 Thess. 2:7, 8.
find no light on the text. Finally, I came to 2 Thess. That Paul refers to paganism and popery, none
2:7, 8. ‘For the mystery of iniquity doth already question.
work; only he who now letteth will let, until he “And here is direct proof that popery, the
be taken out of the way, and then shall that abomination of desolation, had in Paul’s day
wicked be revealed,’ etc. And when I had come already begun to work. Nor was it a very great
to that text, oh! how clear and glorious the truth change of character when Satan transformed his
appeared! There it is! That is ‘the daily!’ Well now, counterfeit worship from paganism to popery.
what does Paul mean by ‘he who now letteth,’ or “The same temples, altars, incense, priests,
hindereth? By ‘the man of sin,’ and the ‘wicked’? and worshipers were ready, with little change,
Popery is meant. Well, what is it which hinders to serve as the appendages of the papal abom-
popery from being revealed? Why, it is pagan- ination.
ism; well, then, ‘the daily’ must mean paganism “The statue of Jupiter readily changed to
(William Miller, quoted in Apollos Hale, Second that of Peter, the prince of the apostles; and the
Advent Manual, p. 66). Pantheon, which had been the temple of all the
“It needs no argument to prove that the two gods, without difficulty became the sanctuary of
grand forms of opposition, by which Satan has all the saints. Thus the same abomination [secular
desolated the church and trod under foot the paganism] that desolated Jerusalem, in a degree
sanctuary of the living God, are none other changed and modified [to papal paganism], be-
than paganism and popery. It is also a clear point came the wonderful desolater of the saints and
that the change from one of these desolations to martyrs of Jesus.
the other did occur under the Roman power. “And in its so-called temple of God, it set at
“Paganism, from the days of the kings of As- naught and trod under foot the true temple of
syria, down to the period when it became so far Jehovah [the heavenly Sanctuary], and He who
modified that it took the name of popery, had is its minister, Jesus Christ. The change from
been the daily (or, as Prof. Whiting renders it, “the paganism to popery is clearly shown in John’s
continual”) desolation, by which Satan had stood view of the transfer of power from the dragon
up against the cause of Jehovah. And, indeed, of Rev. 12, to the beast of Rev. 13. And that they
in its priests, its altars and its sacrifices, it bore are es­sen­tially the same thing is evident from
resemblance to the Levitical form of Jeho­vah’s the fact that both the dragon and the beast are
worship. represented with the seven heads; thus showing
 43
that, in a certain sense, either may be understood was more strikingly ‘his sanctuary’? Was Rome,
to cover the whole time. And in the same sense the city or place of the Pantheon, ‘cast down’ by
we understand that either abomination covers all the authority of the State? Read the following
the period. Christ’s reference to the abomination well-known and remarkable facts in history:
of desolation (Matt. 24:15; Luke 21:20) is an “The death of the last rival of Constan-
absolute demonstration that Rome is the little tine had sealed the peace of the empire. Rome
horn of Dan. 8:9-12. Having shown that there are was once more the undisputed queen of nations.
two desolations, by which the sanctuary and the But, in the hour of elevation and splendor, she
host are trodden down, we now notice the fact had been raised to the edge of a precipice. Her
that there are— next step was to be downward and irrecoverable.
TWO OPPOSING SANCTUARIES The change of the government to Constantin­ople
IN DANIEL EIGHT still perplexes the historian.
“To the careful reader this fact will at once “Constantine abandoned Rome, the great cit-
appear. They are as follows: First, the sanctuary of adel and throne of the Caesars, for an obscure
the daily desolation. Verse 11; 11:31. Second, the corner of Thrace, and expended the remainder of
Sanctuary which the daily and the transgression his vigorous and ambitious life in the double toil
of desolation were to tread under foot. of raising a colony into the capital of his empire,
“Verses 13, 14. The one is the sanctuary of and degrading the capital into the feeble honors
Satan; the other is the Sanctuary of the Lord of and humiliated strength of a colony (Apollos Hale,
hosts. The one is the dwelling place of ‘all the Second Advent Manual, p. 68). And not only did
gods;’ the other is the habitation of the only living Satan possess himself of a rival to the sanctuary
and true God. of Jehovah in the period of pagan worship, but,
“If it be said that a sanctuary is never connect- throughout the Christian dispensation, has that
ed with heathen and idolatrous worship, we cite arch fiend possessed a rival temple of God. 2
the direct testimony of the Bible. Heathen Moab Thess. 2:4. So much for the rival sanctuary of
had a sanctuary. And that sanctuary was a place Satan. The sanctuary of God remains to be no-
of prayer and worship for that heathen nation. ticed at length.
Isa. 16:12. The chapel erected by the king of Is- THERE ARE TWO HOSTS IN DAN. 8:9-13
rael at Bethel, as a rival to the temple of God at “The one is the host [immense number of ded-
Jerusalem (l Kings 12:27, 31-33) was called his icated followers] that was given to the little horn
sanctuary. Amos 7:13, margin. And the places in against the daily, when it had filled its measure of
which idolatrous Israel (the ten tribes) worshiped, transgression; and by the aid of this host, the little
are called sanctuaries. (Amos 7:9). The same is horn was able to cast down the truth. Verse 12.
true of idolatrous Tyre. Eze. 28:18. “This host is mentioned in Dan. 11:31. By this
“Attention is called to the following [statement] host, the sanctuary of the daily desolation, and its
from Apollos Hale: What can be meant by the services, were transferred to the transgression,
‘sanctuary’ of paganism? Paganism, and error of or abomination of desolation. This host is the
every kind, have their sanctuaries as well as truth. forces of Satan, and it is intimately associated
These are the temples or asylums consecrated with his sanctuary.
to their service. Some particular and renowned “The other host is the host of heaven. Verse
temple of paganism may, then, be supposed to 10. Michael is the Prince of this host. Dan. 10:21.
be here spoken of. Which of its numerous dis- “Against the Prince of this host, the little horn
tinguished temples may it be? One of the most stands up. Verses 11:25. (Prof. Whiting remarks
magnificent specimens of classic architecture that, in the original, ‘Prince of the host’ occurs
is called the Pantheon. The name signifies ‘the in Josh. 5:14.) None dispute that the host, of
temple or asylum of all the gods.’ The ‘place’ of whom Michael (Christ) is Prince, is the church
its location is Rome. of the living God. Dan. 12:l. This host, the true
“The idols of the nations conquered by the church, is fitly represented by a green olive tree.
Romans were sacredly deposited in some niche Jer. 11:15-17. And when some of the branches
or apartment of this temple, and in many cases (members of the Jewish church) were broken
became objects of worship by the Romans them- off through unbelief, others were grafted in from
selves. Could we find a temple of paganism that
44 The Daily
the Gentiles, and thus the host continues to ex- 5. After Solomon erected a glorious sanctuary
ist. Rom. 11:17-20. This host, or church, is the upon Mount Moriah, Jeroboam, who made Israel
worshipers of God, and is intimately connected to sin, erected a rival sanctuary at Bethel, and
with his sanctuary (J.N. Andrews, The Sanctuary thus drew away ten of the twelve tribes from the
and the 2300 Days, 1872, pp. 33-39). worship of the living God, to that of the golden
[At this juncture, Andrews goes into a lengthy calves. 1 Kings 12:26-33; Amos 7:13, margin. In
discussion of the true Sanctuary in heaven. Then, the days of Nebuchadnezzar, the rival to the sanc-
about 38 pages later in his book, he returns to tuary of God [Solomon’s Temple] was the temple
the daily:] of Nebu­chad­nezzar’s god at Babylon. And into
THE TREADING DOWN OF THE SANCTUARY this temple he carried the vessels of the Lord’s
“The agents by which the sanctuary is trodden sanctuary, when he laid it desolate. Dan. 1:2; Ezra
under foot are the daily, or continual desolation, 1:7; 5:14; 2 Chron. 36:7. At a still later period,
and the transgression, or abomination of deso- Satan established at Rome a temple or sanctuary
lation. Dan. 8:13; 11:31; 12:11. These two des- of ‘all the gods.’ Dan. 8:11; 11:31.
olations, as we have already seen, are paganism “After the typical sanctuary of the first cove-
and papacy. nant had given place to the true sanctuary of God,
“It is often urged as a sufficient argument Satan baptized his pagan sanctuary and heathen
against the view of the sanctuary of God in Heav- rites and ceremonies, calling them Christianity.
en that such a sanctuary is not susceptible of “Thenceforward he had at Rome a ‘temple of
being trodden under foot. But we answer, this is God’ [the papacy], and in that temple, a being
not impossible, when the New Testament shows exalted above all that is called God or that is wor-
us that wicked men (apostates) tread under foot shiped. 2 Thess. 2:4. And this papal abomination
the Minister of the heavenly sanctuary, our Lord has trodden under foot the holy city (Rev. 11:2;
Jesus Christ. Heb. 10:29; 8:1, 2. If they can tread 21:2) by persuading a large portion of the human
under foot the Minister of that Sanctuary, then family that Rome, the place of this counterfeit tem-
they can tread under foot the sanctuary itself. It ple of God, was ‘the holy city,’ or ‘the eternal city.’
is not impossible that the pagan and papal deso- And it has trodden under foot and blasphemed
lations should be represented as treading under God’s sanctuary or tabernacle (Rev. 13:6, Heb.
foot the heavenly sanctuary, when the same vision 8:2) by calling its own sanctuary the temple of
represents the little horn as stamping upon the God, and by turning away the worship of them
stars; Dan. 8:10; and when it is expressly predict- that dwell on the earth, from ‘the temple of God in
ed that the papal power should war against the heaven,’ to the sanctuary of Satan at Rome. It has
tabernacle of God in heaven. Rev. 13:5-7. trodden under foot the Son of God, the Minister
“The language of this vision, that these blas- of the heavenly sanctuary (Heb. 10:29; 8:2), by
phemous powers should cast down the truth to making the pope the head of the church, instead
the ground, stamp upon the stars, and tread un- of Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:23), and by leading men
der foot the sanctuary and the host, is certainly to the worship of that ‘son of perdition,’ as one
figurative, as it would otherwise involve complete able to forgive past sins, and confer the right to
absurdities. commit them in the future, and thus turning men
“Let us now briefly trace the manner in which from Him who alone has power on earth to forgive
Satan has, by paganism and papacy, trodden sins, and to pardon iniquity and transgression.
under foot the sanctuary of the Lord. We have Such has been the nature of the warfare which
already seen that he has done this by erecting Satan has maintained against the sanctuary and
rival sanctuaries where, in the place of the only the cause of God, in his vain attempts to defeat
living and true God, he has established ‘new the great plan of redemption which God has
gods that came newly up.’ Deut. 32:16, 17. In been carrying forward in his sanctuary.”—J.N.
the days of the Judges and of Samuel, Satan’s Andrews, The Sanctuary and the 2300 Days,
rival sanctuary was the temple of Dagon, where 1872, pp. 76-78.
the Philistines worshiped. Judges 16:23, 24. And
when they had taken the ark of God from Israel, That concludes the presentation by J.N.
the Philistines deposited it in this temple. 1 Sam. Andrews on the true meaning of the daily in
 45
Daniel 8:13. was “paganism.” In searching for the meaning
Let us now return to the word, “daily,” in of the daily, Miller erred in trying to find some
Daniel, Chapter 8: other passage which spoke about a “taking away.”
Instead, he should have looked for the meaning of
PART ELEVEN the “daily” itself. But, obviously, it would not be
until after October 22, 1844, that the full blaze
RELATED STUDIES
of light on Christ’s ministry in the heavenly
IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL
Sanctuary would be revealed. William Miller’s
THE “DAILY” IN DANIEL 8:11-13 IS A
SANCTUARY WORD
paganism view has been very helpful, but he could
not know the Sanctuary view of the daily until
Daniel 8:13 specifically asks a question about after October 22!
the “daily.” And 8:14 says that the cleansing of Of the 129 times in which it is found in the
the Sanctuary solves the problem of the daily. Old Testament, tamid is only used 35 times as an
The problem was that the little horn had dared adjective. Five are the “daily” passages in Daniel.
to take away the daily. (The other 94 are in the adverbial form.) In these
A clear understanding of the word, “daily,” is 35 passages, tamid is translated “continual”
important in order to properly connect 8:14 with (26 times), “daily” (7 times), and “perpetual”
8:11-13. The Hebrew word, tamid (the “daily” in (2 times).
Hebrew), is mentioned three times in 8:11-13. In 28 of the 35, tamid is consistently used
Throughout the Old Testament, tamid is in relation to the first (never the second)
used both adverbially (“continually,” “always,” apartment services of the earthly sanctuary.
“ever”) and adjectivally (“continual”). In the The Lord provided that as a powerful clue. The
five places in which it is found in Daniel (8:11, threefold mention of the word, “Sanctuary,”
12, 13; 11:31; 12:11), tamid is only used in Daniel 8:11-14 was another clue, nudging the
adjectivally and should be translated as “con- searcher in the right direction.
tinual” (The Hebrew inflexion of tamid in those Of the 35 times, that the adjectival form is used
passages is hatamid, which translates as not in the Old Testament, all but seven describe ob-
“continual,” but “the continual.”) The definite jects in the first apartment sanctuary ministry.
article (“the”) before it makes it an adjective. What are the other seven passages? Aside from
But the noun or noun phrase that it modifies the five in Daniel (8:11, 12, 13; 11:31; 12:11),
(the word or word phrase that it refers to) is the only adjectival exceptions to tamid’s con­sis­
not mentioned, so that word or words must be tent application to the first apartment sanctuary
supplied. ministry are Proverbs 15:15 and Jeremiah 52:34.
The Bible is an inspired book; so there must These two apparently non-Sanctuary passag-
be a reason for always placing tamid as an es, in which the adjectival tamid is found, speak
adjective in Daniel. The problem, of course, is of a luxurious and nourishing feast that a person
that the Lord did not supply the missing word could partake of. We are given something similar
or phrase that goes with it. This was obviously from God when, as humble petitioners, we come
done so the faithful would have to figure it out. to the Sanctuary pleading for help. So there is
“The wise shall understand” (Dan 12:10). some kind of connection here. The adjectival
The KJV translators thought it was “sacri- tamid always seems to apply to something sacred
fice,” which is not correct. The earthly sacrifices or good, a wonderful feast of good things which
in the Temple at Jerusalem ended in A.D. 70. No we would not want taken away. Both the services
sacrifices are offered in the heavenly Sanctuary; of the earthly tabernacle and those of the heavenly
for Christ was only to shed His blood once (Heb Sanctuary were designed to provide the people
9:12, 25-26). In addition, Ellen White said “sac- with a feast of spiritual blessings: a feast which,
rifice” was not the correct word (EW 74:2). if humans will keep partaking of, will ultimately
“Then I saw in relation to the ‘daily’ (Daniel lead to their salvation.
8:12) that the word ‘sacrifice’ was supplied This fact of how tamid, as an adjective is used
by man’s wisdom, and does not belong to the elsewhere in the Bible, would indicate that, in the
text.”—Early Writings, 74. tamid passages in Daniel, Christ’s first apart-
William Miller thought the missing noun
46 The Daily
ment priestly ministry in heaven (in progress Searching for the clue: Now, if this view
throughout the 1260 years) was the CENTER of (which is commonly called the Sanctuary view,
what the papacy was attacking. but more accurately should be termed the in-
So we have found that the adjectival tamid is tercession view) is correct, then we should expect
especially used in relation to the daily services to find some hidden signals to guide us toward
in the sanctuary throughout the year. Not once, the correct path.
in the Bible, is the adjectival tamid used of The solution to “Sanctuary” in Daniel 8:14: In
paganism or false worship! 8:14 the phrase, “cleansing of the Sanctuary,”
was a signal to lead us to Leviticus 16 and
THE ANSWER IS FOUND IN THE DAILY!
thence to Exodus 25:8, 40 and Hebrews 8:1-6.
So at last, the mystery of the daily is solved. —And there it is—the truth about the heavenly
Looking over what we have discovered about the Sanctuary ministry of Christ and the yearly
tamid, we are astonished! cleansing, which was a work of judgment.
In the Hebrew Bible, tamid is applied to The solution to “daily” in Daniel 8:11-13: If
each of the four aspects of the first apartment the solution (8:14) was found in the second apart-
ministry! ment ministry in the heavenly Sanctuary and the
1 - In the outer court. the priest would first adjectival “daily” was almost always applied to
come to the altar. Tamid was used of the fire on the first apartment work in the earthly sanctuary
the altar of burnt offering: “The fire shall ever (and never to anything in the second apartment)
(tamid) be burning upon the altar; it shall never then, in the antitype (which 8:11-14 was obvi-
go out.”—Leviticus 6:13. ously referring to, since it would conclude at the
2 - Stepping inside the first apartment of “time of the end” and the earthly sanctuary was
the tabernacle, he would then go to the table of long since gone by then), the daily must refer to
shewbread. The word, tamid, was used of the something in the first apartment of the heav-
shewbread: “And thou shalt set upon the table enly Sanctuary. For your information, here is a
shewbread before Me alway (tamid).”—Exodus larger list of many of the instances in which
25:30. tamid (either as an adverb or adjective) is used
“And upon the table of shewbread . . the con- in relation to the daily ministry in the first
tinual (tamid) bread shall be thereon.”—Numbers apartment service of the tabernacle or temple.
4:7. (The KJV translation is given.) They are all about
3 - He would then place oil in the seven the sanctuary! There are 40, although it is not a
branched lampstand. Tamid is used of the seven complete list; there are many more.
lamps: “Bring thee pure olive oil beaten for the ALWAYS - Ex. 25:30 (shewbread), Ex. 27:20
light, to cause the lamp to burn always (tamid).”— (lamps), Ex. 28:37-38 (plate on mitre)
Exodus 27:20. CONTINUAL - Ex. 29:42 (burnt offering), Lev.
“. . to cause the lamps to burn continually 24:2-4 (lamps), Num. 4:7 (shewbread), Num. 28:3
(tamid).”—Leviticus 24:1-4. (lambs for burnt offering), Num. 28:6 (burnt of-
“Before the Lord continually (tamid).”—Le- fering), Num. 28:10 (burnt offering), Num. 28:23
viticus 24:4. (burnt offering), Num. 28:31 (burnt offering),
4 - But, equally important with the sacrifices, Num. 29:11 (burnt offering), Num. 29:16 (burnt
the priest would go to the golden altar and burn offering), Num. 29:28 (burnt offering), 2 Chron.
incense upon it. Tamid is used of the incense: 2:4 (shewbread), Ezra 3:5 (burnt offering), Neh.
“Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every 10:33 (meat [meal] offering), Neh. 10:33 (burnt
morning . . a perpetual (tamid) incense before offering), Eze. 46:15 (burnt offering)
the Lord.”—Exodus 30:7-8. Forty texts refer to the first apartment service.
William Miller thought the missing noun was And, in nearly every instance, they refer to the
“paganism.” He only had Cruden’s Concordance morning and evening burnt offering, which was
to help him. But the flood of new light, follow- the high point of the daily ministry of the priests
ing October 22, 1844, reveals it to be “Christ’s in the first apartment ministry. This is why the
intercession” or some similar phrase describing KJV translators supplied “sacrifice” in Daniel—
Jesus as the sinner’s only avenue to forgiveness, because they recognized, as William Miller did
empowered obedience, and ultimate redemption.
 47
not, that the tamid in Daniel was connected to WHY DID THE KJV TRANSLATORS
the first apartment tabernacle ministry. The of- ADD “SACRIFICE” TO DAILY?
fering up of the tamid (“continual”) burnt offering First, “daily” (tamid) is in the adjectival form
typified the first apartment ministry of Christ in (hatamid) in Daniel; so something had to be
the heavenly Sanctuary—after His sacrifice had added to it. The word, “hatamid,” meant “the
been made on earth. continual”; we do not just say, “He took away the
CONTINUALLY - Ex. 29:38 (lamps for the continual.” A noun or noun phrase must be add-
burnt offering), Lev. 24:2 (burning lamp oil), Eze. ed. Not knowing what it was, the KJV translators
46:14 (meat [meal] offering) checked on how hatamid is used elsewhere in the
DAILY - Num. 4:16 (office work of high priest) Hebrew Old Testament, and found that it is almost
and 29:6 (burnt offering) always used in regard to the Old Testament sanc-
Now read Daniel 8:11, 12, 13; 11:31; 12:11. tuary services. In this study, we have found that
PERPETUAL - Ex. 29:9 (Aaronite priesthood); hatamid is also applied to many other aspects of
Ex. 30:8 (incense for lamps); Lev. 6:20 (meat the priest’s ministry in the daily (not yearly) earth-
[meal] offering) ly tabernacle service. So, instead of “sacrifice,”
lt is clear that tamid is repeatedly applied the supplied phrase should be “first apartment
to the first apartment service, as we find in this Sanctuary ministry,” or “the ministry of Christ
typical passage: “. . a meat offering continually in the holy place in the heavenly Sanctuary.”
(tamid) by a perpetual (tamid) ordinance unto OTHER SANCTUARY WORDS
the Lord . . and the oil, every morning IN DANIEL 8:10-13
for a continual (tamid) burnt offering.”—Ezekiel Daniel 8:10-13 is filled with special Hebrew
46:14-15. words about the sanctuary! In addition to tamid,
Not once is tamid used in Leviticus 16! It is these sanctuary words powerfully connect Daniel
repeatedly applied only to the first apartment 8:10-13 to 8:14, which focuses on the heavenly
ministry,—and never to the second apartment Sanctuary.
ministry. This is of the highest importance; for Each of the verses in 8:10-13 refers to some-
Daniel 8:11-13 is referring to Christ’s antityp- thing very important which was to occur during
ical first apartment ministry in the heavenly the Dark Ages. Clarification of the meaning of
Sanctuary, prior to October 22, 1844. Tamid is these special words will help establish the extreme
not used in 8:14, because that is talking about importance of this entire passage—and show how
the yearly service. closely it is all locked together.
Do you see the picture? Tamid was planned
8:9: “And out of one of them came forth
as a code word for God’s people to unravel near a little horn, which waxed exceeding great,
the end of time. toward the south, and toward the east, and
The noun, which tamid referred to, was toward the pleasant land.
purposely omitted, because God planned for
8:10: “And it waxed great, even to the host
the Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844,
(saba) of heaven; and it cast down some of
to occur as a test to the people. Only after that
the host and of the stars to the ground and
event would they be able to figure out the true
stamped (mirmas) upon them.
meaning of tamid in Daniel 8. It was impossible
8:11: “Yea, he magnified himself even to the
for the Millerites before that date to correctly
Prince of the host (saba), and by him the daily
understand it.
[sacrifice] was taken away (huraym), and the
Not only is tamid repeatedly used in Dan-
place (mekon) of His sanctuary (miqdas)
iel 8:11-13 in reference to the first apartment
was cast down.
of the Sanctuary—but a number of the other
words in those verses are also sanctuary words. 8:12: “And an host was given him against
This is what we would expect. Daniel 8:11- the daily [sacrifice] by reason of transgres-
13 discusses events and activities of the papacy sion (pesa), and it cast down the truth to the
ground; and it practiced and prospered.
during the 1260 years—and his great counterfeit
system was focused on destroying the true plan 8:13: “Then I heard one saint speaking,
of salvation. and another saint said unto that certain saint
48 The Daily
which spake, ‘How long shall be the vision designate the place where God’s earthly sanctuary
concerning the daily [sacrifice] and the trans- (Ezra 2:68, Isa. 4:5) or His heavenly Sanctuary is
gression of desolation (wehappesa’ somem) located (1 Kgs. 8:39, 43, 49; 2 Chron. 6:30, 33,
[“desolating transgression”], to give both the 39; Ps. 33:14).
sanctuary (qodes) and the host (saba) to be “Host” can refer to the Levites or to the host
trodden under foot?’ of the Lord. “Host” (saba) is a military term to
8:14: “And he said unto me, Unto two thou- denote an army. It is also used to denote the work
sand and three hundred days; then shall the of the Levites in the sanctuary (Num. 4:3, 23, 30;
sanctuary (qodes) be cleansed (nisdaq).” 8:24-25). In its plural form, it is used as a name
In the above quotation from the KJV, the word, for God (Yahweh sebaot, “Lord of hosts”).
“sacrifice,” is placed within brackets. This is be- “Taken away” can mean something important
cause we all recognize that it is a supplied word removed from the sanctuary. “Was taken away”
and not the correct noun which should be there. (huraym) comes from the root word, rum, which
Here are several sanctuary words found in means “to lift, to carry.” It can be used in “to
Daniel 8:11-13 about where the “place” of the donate, give a gift.” But, in 8:11, Daniel uses it
Sanc­tuary is located. in the hophal (huraym, causative passive form
“Place” (mekon), in 8:11, is repeatedly used of the verb), rum. Huraym means “to remove,
in the Bible as referring to the place where the take away.” In the context of the sanctuary, that
sanctuary is located. “Righteousness and judg- word means to remove from the sacrifice that
ment are the habitation (mekon) of His throne” part which belongs in a special way to God (Lev.
(Ps. 97:2; 89:14). 4:10; 22:15) or to the priests (Ex. 29:27). Only
Of the 17 times that mekon is used in the Old the priests were permitted to remove these from
Testament, 16 refer to God’s dwelling or sanctu- the sacrifices. But, in 8:11, the little horn attempts
ary. However, mekon refers to the foundation a major removal.
upon which the building rests, not just to the It is an error to suggest that rum can only
location. The prediction indicates that the lit- mean “to exalt, lift up, go on high.” As already
tle horn would cast down the very foundation mentioned in Daniel 8:11, it is used in the caus-
principles upon which it is based, not only the ative passive form, to mean to remove something
location of the sanctuary. that belongs to God (Isa. 57:14, Eze. 21:26).
“Sanctuary” (miqdas), in 8:11, is the actual It is obvious that everything in 8:10-13 is
building. It can also mean “abode” (Ex. 15:17, leading the reader toward the Sanctuary cleans-
1 Kgs. 8:13, 2 Chron. 6:2, Isa. 18:4). Miqdas ing and restoration of 8:14, which, before it is
is translated “sanctuary” 67 times in the KJV completed, will plunge the world into the final
in regard to God’s sanctuary or that He will be crisis of the ages.
a sanctuary to His people. This is the word, for Here are two important sanctuary words
example, that is used in Ex. 25:8, Lev. 16:33, and found in Daniel 8:14:
Dan. 9:17; these are all key “sanctuary” verses. “Sanctuary”—It is quite significant that, in-
It is an error to claim that miqdas, one of two stead of miqdas (“sanctuary”), which is found
Hebrew words for “sanctuary” (and the word used in Daniel 8:11-13, a different word, qodes (also
in Dan. 8:11), can only mean “Satan’s dedicated translated “sanctuary”), is used in 8:13-14. This
place.” Of the 74 times miqdas appears in the was purposely done to direct our attention to
O1d Testament, it is applied 66 times to God’s Leviticus 16—the day of atonement—which
sanctuary (Ex. 25:8, Num. 18:1, Ps. 73:17, Ps. is the magnificent heart of the Daniel 8:14
96:6, etc.). Only twice is it used of a pagan temple. message. Qodes, the word used in 8:14, is the
Confusion over the meaning of the “daily,” in only word used for “sanctuary” in the yearly day
Daniel 8:11-13 led to confusion over the mean- of atonement service (Lev. 16:2-4, 16-17, 20, 23-
ing of “sanctuary” in those verses. Because some 24, 27, 32-33).
thought that the daily does not refer to Christ’s In contrast, miqdas is the word used when
ministry in heaven, they were led to think that speaking about the first apartment ministry or
“sanctuary,” in 8:11, does not refer to Christ’s about the sanctuary as a whole.
Sanctuary in heaven. These facts powerfully (powerfully!) con-
When mekon is used with sanctuary, it can nect Daniel 8:14 with Leviticus 16, showing
 49
8:14 to be its antitypical fulfillment of the have been taught that they will be able to sin
“cleansing” of the sanctuary. In striking contrast, with impunity until the very day that they see
the sanctuary words in 8:10-12 tend to connect us Jesus returning in the skies. But all who trust
to the first apartment. their souls to that error will be lost. Therefore,
Qodes is used in Daniel 8:13, where the focus a totally different word had to be used and only
is on the first apartment ministry of Christ during one was fitted for the task: nisdaq, which not
the Dark Ages. In the Old Testament, qodes is only includes cleansing, but also a complete
applied to both the earthly tabernacle (Ex. 36:l, restoration to original purity and perfection.
3-4, 6) and to the heavenly Sanctuary (Ps. 60:6; Daniel 8:14 is the only time that nisdaq
68:5; 102:19; 150:l). is used in the Bible, and for a special reason:
It is an error to claim that, because the word Daniel 8:14 is the only time the cleansing of
for “sanctuary,” in 8:11-13 (miqdas), is different the antitypical Sanctuary is mentioned.
than the word for “sanctuary” in 8:14 (qodes), that
OTHER IMPORTANT WORDS
miqdas does not refer to God’s heavenly Sanctuary.
Divine coding is here. As stated above, qodes is In view of the many sanctuary related words
the only word used for “sanctuary” in the yearly in Daniel 8:10-13, Gabriel was directing Daniel’s
service: the day of atonement (Lev. 16:2-4, 16-17, attention to the heavenly Sanctuary, of which He
20, 23-24, 27, 32-33). These two Hebrew words was about to speak of in 8:14. It was the climax
point us to the fact that the first apartment of the he was building up to. Here are more sanctuary
heavenly Sanctuary is referred to in 8:11-13; related words:
and the second apartment in 8:14. (Also, con- “The transgression”—Notice the phrase, “the
trary to what the critics claim, not once is qodes transgression causing horror” (wehappesa’
used for collective “religious arrangements and somem) in 8:13: “How long shall be the vision
institutions,” “holy teachings,” or “truth.”) concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgres-
“Nisdaq”—the word, “cleansed,” in 8:14—is sion of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and
the Hebrew word, nisdaq. It is derived from sadaq, the host to be trodden under foot?” The word,
which generally means “be just.” Nisdaq involves “transgression” (pesa), is the most terrible word
cleansing, vindicating, justifying, setting right, for sin in the Old Testament. It basically means
and restoring. All of this is part of what is accom- a rebellion or revolt. It consists of acts in which
plished by the Investigative Judgment. For more one breaks with God by taking away what is
on this, see my book, Biblical Defense, 120-126. His, by robbing and seizing what belongs to
In nisdaq, we find something unusual. Whereas Him. This is the sin of the little horn power and
the other sanctuary words were generally used in all who have followed in its path.
reference to the tabernacle and its services, nisdaq It is highly significant that the word, pesa
is different. It stands in splendid isolation. (“transgression”), which is the heart of the above
Why? phrase, is also used in regard to the day of atone-
In Leviticus 16:19 and 30, taher is used. It ment cleansing which took place in the earthly
means “to cleanse or declare clean.” In Numbers sanctuary (Lev. 16:16, 21). In both Daniel 9:24
8, it refers to the cleansing of lepers; and Leviticus and Leviticus 16:16, 21, the word is used in
14 refers to the ritual cleansing of the Levites, to connection with God’s people.
set them apart for their work. All three of those In Daniel 8:13; 9:27; 11:31; and 12:11, we
chapters are about cleaning something that, inev- find this same phrase (wehappesa’ somem),
itably, will become soiled again later. which the K.J.V. translates as “abomination of
But the cleansing of the heavenly Sanctuary desolation.” The fact that Christ mentions “the
is far different! It is a total cleansing, which abomination of desolation” (Matt. 24:15) as
involves a complete restoration—a cleaning something in the future clearly shows that it
which will last for eternity. The object cleaned had not yet happened when He spoke. So it
will never again be marred. When the Investigative could not apply to Antiochus.
Judgment comes to its end, never again will it be “Host”—The word, “host” (saba), is associ-
defiled with sin. Mediation for sin will have forever ated with “sanctuary” (qodes) as being trampled
ended. (lf you doubt that, read Early Writings, 71.) underfoot. 8:10 speaks of the persecution of the
Unfortunately, many in our denomination host (saba) and 8:24 defines it as being the saints,
50 The Daily
“the mighty and holy people.” “HOW LONG IS THIS TO CONTINUE?”
But the “host” of 8:12 is different; it is the This was the question asked in Daniel 8:13:
host of the little horn which is opposed to the “Then I heard one saint speaking, and an-
daily (Christ’s mediation) and is trying to blot other saint said unto that certain saint which
Christ’s mediation from men’s minds. This host spake, How long shall be the vision concern-
represents the Roman Catholic clergy around ing the daily [sacrifice] and the transgression
the world. of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and
“Seek where you will, through heaven and the host to be trodden under foot?”—Daniel
earth, and you will find but one created being 8:13.
who can forg¡ve the sinner. . . That extraordi- The pope substituted the “idolatrous sacrifice
nary being is the priest, the Catholic priest.”— of the mass” (GC 59) and the confessional (GC
Michael Mueller, The Catholic Priest (Kreuzer 567-568), in place of Christ’s mediation, for over
Eros., 1876). a thousand years. The papacy removed the grace
“The priest not only declares that the sin- of Christ and His intercession in the Sanctuary
ner is forgiven, but he really forgives him. . . above from the minds of millions of human be-
So great is the power of the priest . . that the ings. It was the crowning evil of the papacy.
judgments of heaven itself are subject to his The primary activity of the papacy which,
decision.”—Ibid. in 538 it immediately began in earnest, was
“Trampled”—Both the sanctuary and host are the removal of Christ’s intercession and me-
trampled (mirmas). In the Old Testament, this diation from the people, to be replaced by a
word is only used of being trampled to the ground remarkable collection of shallow foolishness,
by animals (lsa. 5:5; 7:25; Eze. 34:19) or God’s including worshiping idols, praying to beads, con-
rebellious people being trampled by an enemy fessing sins to a man, and falling down in worship
(Isa. 10:6; 28:18; Micah 7:10). before the sacrifice of the mass. Everything was
“From”—Before concluding this section, we designed to keep people from the heavenly priestly
should notice the word, “by,” in Daniel 8:11, The ministry of Christ. That is why it is a masterpiece
KJV inaccurately translates it: “By him the daily of deception.
was taken away.” It should be translated “from The pope did not do this removing of the daily
Him [Christ, the Prince of the host] the daily was only once, at the beginning of the 1260 years. Even
taken away.” This correct translation demands a casual reading of Great Controversy reveals
the rejection of paganism as the meaning of the that the papacy was blotting out Christ’s heav-
daily. enly mediation from men’s minds for centuries.
What did Christ, “the Prince of the host,” Looking prophetically over this entire period of
possess that the little horn took away? It could the Dark Ages, in Daniel 8:13, the question is
not possibly be paganism. In a symbolic sense, asked, How long is this to continue? Then, in
the papacy took away the vital truth of Christ’s 8:14, the answer is given: The judgment will
continual mediation. In its place was set up a huge begin in 1844! This, of course, refers to the
counterfeit. This commenced in A.D. 508, when antitypical. In Leviticus 16, every Jew called
Pope Symmachus, who had been proclaimed this “the day of judgment.” To fully understand
as the Vicar of Christ in A.D. 503, was able to the solemn announcement of Daniel 8:14, read
assert his blasphemous authority, because his Great Controversy, Chapters 23-24, and 28.
opponents were being removed. When we examine the original language of this
“The essential principle of the papacy, that verse, we find that the phrase (“how long?”) is
the Roman pontiff is the Vicar of Christ upon ‘admatay in the Hebrew. It means “until when?”
earth, necessarily obtrudes his personal rela- The main point of the question is thus changed
tions on us. [According to Merriam Webster’s from “how long will the time span be?” to
Dictionary, to obtrude is “to force or impose “when will the time span end?” The emphasis
oneself, one’s ideas, etc., without warrant is not on its beginning nor on its duration, but
or request”].”—Dr. J.W. Draper, History of on when it will end.
Intellectual Development in Europe, Vol. 1, The stress of the question is about the end
p. 378. point and what happens from then on. To say
 51
it again: The emphasis is not duration (how THE DAILY IN DANIEL12:11
long), but the termination (until when) and The daily is also mentioned in Daniel 12:11,
what follows. Thus the question was especially 12:9 “And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for
asked about the treading down of the daily, which the words are closed up and sealed till the
would continue through long centuries. The an- time of the end.”
swer shows that the fulfillment of 8:14 was not 12:10 “Many shall be purified, and made
to be expected in Daniel’s day. “At the time of the white, and tried; but the wicked shall do
end shall be the vision” (8:17). wickedly: and none of the wicked shall un-
So, while the “abomination” would continue derstand; but the wise shall understand.”
for long centuries, the focus of the question was 12:11 “And from the time that the daily
“when would it end, and what would happen after sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomi-
that?” nation that maketh desolate set up, there shall
This point, about the termination of the be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”
time span, is repeated to Daniel three more It is asserted by some critics, who wish to de-
times in chapter 8: “For at the time of the end stroy our historic beliefs and our denomination,
shall be the vision” (8:17). And again: “The vision that 12:11 demands a dependable starting date
of the evening and the morning . . is true” . . for for the taking away of Christ’s continual ministry,
“it shall be for many days” (8:26). “At the time and that no such date can be found.
appointed the end shall be” (8:19). It is the Here is an answer to this apparent quandry:
end time which is emphasized by Gabriel, in his Near the end of the fifth century (the late
question and several replies. 400s), the Arian Ostrogoths ruled Italy. North of
“EVENINGS AND MORNINGS” the Alps were six main kingdoms: the Visigoths,
This is discussed in detail in our book, Bibli- Franks, Alemanni, Burgundians, Gallo-Romans,
cal Defense, 107-115. But, briefly, the Hebrew of and the Amor­i­cans. The great majority of these
“2300 days” is “2300 evenings-mornings.” The were of the Arian branch of the Christian faith
critics who wish to destroy the Spirit of Prophe- and opposed to the papacy.
cy and our church contend that this represents Only two were pagan: the Franks and Ale­
the morning and evening sacrifices (and would manni.
thus amount to only 1150 days). The theoretical As mentioned earlier, the situation radically
“1150 days” fits no time period in history that changed when, in A.D. 496, Clovis, king of the
is associated either with Antiochus or Rome,— Franks, with 3,000 of his warlike subjects,
imperial or papal. Hebrew scholars recognize were baptized into the Catholic Church. Clo­vis
that, from the first chapter of Genesis onward, immediately set to work to “convert” all the other
“evening-morning” consistently stands for one tribes, with great success. The two most formi-
24-hour day because the day begins at sunset. dable were the Arian Visigoths in part of Gaul
In contrast, “morning-evening” is consistently (France), most of Spain, and the powerful Arian
used for the morning and evening burnt offer- Ostrogoths in Italy. In A.D. 507, Clovis defeated
ings in the earthly sanctuary because they were the Visigoths. He then waged war against the
offered during the daytime, with the morning of- Arian Ostrogoths.
fering coming first. The term, “continual burnt It was the earnest work of Clovis, king of the
offering” (singular), was used to denote those Franks, in using force and coercion to “convert”
two offerings as one whole. a number of independent tribes to Catholicism,
When the Hebrew speaks of day and night which earned him the title, “The eldest son of the
separately, it says, for examp1e, “forty days and Church.”
forty nights” or “three days and three nights.” The His efforts were significant in making possible
word, “day” in Hebrew, means daytime only. this papal claim to sweeping power and grandeur
Only “evening-morning” denotes a complete over the nations. It finally resulted in establishing
24-hour day. the pope as the head of the Roman priesthood
CONNECTING DANIEL 8:14 TO 8:11-13 and totally usurping the priestly work of Christ in
This point is discussed in considerable depth the minds of millions for over a thousand years.
in my book, Biblical Defense, pp. 95-104. While Clovis was fighting those battles on
52 The Daily
behalf of the pope, an official decree of an ec- The 1260 years (A.D. 538-1798) of papal
clesiastical council was issued in A.D. 503, by supremacy, during which time the papacy perse-
which it was declared “that the Pope was judge cuted God’s faithful ones who prayed directly to
as God’s vicar and could himself be judged by Jesus (Daniel 7:25, 12:7).
no one.” (See Hardouin’s Councils, Vol. 11, p. The 1290 years (A.D. 508-1798), when Rome
983; Labbe and Cossart’s Councils, Vol. 4, Col. attacked and sought to pollute Christ’s Sanctuary
1364; Bower’s History of the Popes, 3 ed., Vol. (Daniel 12:11).
1, pp. 304-305.) The 1335 years (A.D. 508-1844), when Rome
The work of Clovis reached its climax in deceived the world regarding the heavenly minis-
the period A.D. 503-508. It was not until 508 try of Jesus Christ (Daniel 12:12).
that Clovis met the Arian Ostrogoths, under The 2300 years (457 B.C.-A.D. 1844), a time
Theo­doric, in battle. The resulting peace treaty span which revealed the year of the restoration
opened the way for the pope to begin exercising of the Sanctuary truth and the beginning of the
his newly bestowed authority. Not until that date Investigative Judgment (Daniel 8:14).
could the official decree go into effect. Then he The ministry of Christ in the heavenly Sanctu-
could begin, more fully than ever before, to take ary was the great center of attraction, as well as
away the daily from men’s minds. Thus, A.D. 508 the focus of the longest Bible prophecies.
marks the beginning of the 1290-year prophecy “The scripture which above all others had
and the 1335-year prophecy. been both the foundation and the central
12:11 “And from the time that the daily pillar of the advent faith was the declaration:
sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomi- ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred
nation that maketh desolate set up, there shall days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.’
be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” Daniel 8:14. . . This prophecy . . [was] the
12:12 “Blessed is he that waiteth, and com- watchword of their faith.”—Great Contro-
eth to the thousand three hundred and five versy, 409.
and thirty days.” “The subject of the Sanctuary was the
A “blessing,” indeed, was reserved for those key which unlocked the mystery of the
who lived during the final years of the Millerite disappointment of 1844. It opened to view
movement. For those willing to accept them, came a complete system of truth, connected and
the Midnight Cry, the discovery of the Sanctuary harmonious, showing that God’s hand had
in heaven, and the finding of the Sabbath in the directed the great advent movement and re-
most holy place shining more brightly than the vealing present duty as it brought to light
other commandments. Each of these brought new the position and work of His people. . .
light and required obedience. “Light from the Sanctuary illumined the
It should be mentioned that the later battles past, the present. and the future.”—Ibid., 423.
by Belisarius (Justinian’s general) effectively The precious Sanctuary and the wonderful
resulted in A.D. 538 with the withdrawal of the truth about Jesus our Mediator is still illuminat-
Ostrogoths, establishing the beginning of the ing our path. We thank God for it.
1260-year prophecy. THE DAILY IN DANIEL 11:31
The third of the three horns that stood in the
Five times “the daily” is found in the book
way of the little horn power had been “plucked
of Daniel. Three are in 8:11-13, another in 12:11
up.” In addition, Justinian’s legal code of A.D.
(discussed above), and the last one is in 11:31.
533 granted the pope ecclesiastical supremacy
“And arms shall stand on his part, and they
as “head of all the churches” in both the East
shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall
and the West. But it could not go into effect
take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place
until A.D. 538, when the Ostrogoths were driven
the abomination that maketh desolate.”—Daniel
away from Rome.
11:31.
FOUR PROPHECIES ABOUT In view of all that we have learned in this
CHRIST IN HIS SANCTUARY study, the historical meaning of Daniel 11:31 is
Altogether there are four main time periods quite obvious.
mentioned in the book of Daniel: This passage is speaking about the “arms”
 53
(military forces) supplied by governments throne of the Caesars, for an obscure corner
throughout Europe which, for centuries, aided of Thrace, and expanded the remainder of
the papacy in its persecution and slaying of the his vigorous and ambitious life in the double
people of God. toil of raising a colony into the capital of his
Through the help of these wicked men, the empire, and the degrading of the capital into
papal leaders were able to establish a gigantic the feeble honors and humiliated strength of
counterfeit sanctuary and priesthood, an abom- a colony.”—J.N. Andrews, Review, January
ination which spawned desolation throughout 6, 1853.
Europe for over a thousand years. The papacy received its great authority in A.D.
“Sanctuary of strength.” That phrase tells 508, with the imperial decree “that the Pope was
which sanctuary it is: the one in heaven. The judge as God’s vicar and could himself be judged
phrases, “take away the daily” and “abomina- by no one.”
tion that maketh desolate,” direct us back to the The papacy received its power in A.D. 538,
Sanctuary passage in Daniel 8:11-13, where those with the defeat of the last of the three horns and
phrases are repeated. the beginning of the 1260 years.
Like Daniel 8:11-13, the daily in 11:31 is “In the sixth century the papacy had become
incomprehensible if we do not accept the clear firmly established. Its seat of power was fixed
connections to the heavenly Sanctuary. in the imperial city, and the bishop of Rome
was declared to be the head over the entire
PART TWELVE church. . . The dragon had given to the beast
‘his power, and his seat, and great authority.’
ADDITIONAL . . And now began the 1260 years of papal
HISTORICAL FACTS oppression.”—Great Controversy, 54:2.
HISTORICAL FACTS ABOUT So empowered, the papacy set to work, with
THE BEGINNING OF THE 1290- AND
1335-YEAR PROPHECIES
greatly increased religious and political strength,
to blot out the knowledge of Christ as the direct
The attempted “taking away of the daily” by Saviour through the substitution of statues,
the papacy has had vast consequences—that beads, candles, masses, and the confessional.
extend far beyond a starting date for some time We have found that the Spirit of Prophecy
prophecies. For over a thousand years, millions clearly emphasizes, in a lengthy passage, that it
of souls have been kept from a saving knowledge was not until the sixth century that the papacy
of Jesus Christ. We are told that, in regard to the began to more effectively abolish the Sanctuary
value of even one soul, worlds sink into insignif- ministry of Christ from men’s minds (Great Con-
icance. The daily is very important! For over a troversy, 54-55).
thousand years the daily (continual) ministry of The 1290-year prophecy was very important;
Christ to provide salvation was taken away from because it ended in 1798, it provided added con-
many people. firmation to the 1260-year terminal date. But,
“And the dragon [the Roman Imperial gov- because its initial date of A.D. 508 was thus ver-
ernment] gave him his power, and his seat, ified, that provided strong confirmation that the
and great authority.”—Revelation 13:2. 1335-year span reached from A.D. 508 to 1844.
The papacy received its seat in A.D. 330, when Can you see how God arranged these interlocking
Emperor Constantine moved the imperial capital prophecies—so that, working together, they would
to Constantinople, a thousand miles east. leaving provide powerful confirmation of the 1844 date!
the city of Rome in the hands of the pope. Unfortu­nately, there are some today who deny
But it was not “fixed” until that A.D. 508 de- this interlocking arrangement and maintain that
cree early in the sixth century. Here is an early the 1335 years ended in 1888. But such an appli-
comment by J.N. Andrews on the amazing fact cation breaks up the beautifully interconnected
that Constantine would give the “seat” to the pope, pattern given us by God. Fortunately, we have
by handing the city of Rome to him: Spirit of Prophecy statements that say the final
“The change of the government to Constan­ date for the end of the last predicted time period
tinople still perplexes the historian. Constan­ would be 1844. This confirms that the terminal
tine abandoned Rome, the great citadel and
54 The Daily
date of the 1335 years could not be after that year: BOTH THE SANCTUARY
“The longest reckoning reaches to the au- ANO CHRIST’S MINISTRY WITHIN IT
WERE CAST COWN
tumn of 1844.”—7 Bible Commentary, 971.
“Miller and his associates proclaimed that the “By him the daily [sacrifice] was taken
longest and last prophetic period brought to view away, and the place of His Sanctuary was cast
in the Bible was about to expire, that the judgment down.”—Daniel 8:11.
was at hand, and the everlasting kingdom was to The papacy attempted to replace both the
be ushered in. The preaching of the disciples in location of the true Sanctuary and the inter-
regard to time was based on the seventy weeks ceding, forgiving, enabling Priest within it. The
of Daniel 9. The message, given by Miller and replacement for the Sanctuary was earthly Cath-
his associates, announced the termination of the olic churches and the worship of statues of dead
2300 days of Daniel 8:14, of which the seventy people within them. The replacement for Christ’s
weeks form a part.”—Great Controversy, 351. ministry was the intercession of saints, the con-
That “longest” time prophecy which ended in fessional, the sacrifice of the mass, and extreme
1844 is the 2300-year prophecy (EW 236-237, unction. Both attempted changes were important
243, 246, 251, 253; GC 417, 421-422, 429, 480, aspects of the papal apostasy. (A third attempted
486; SR 377-378; 1T 58). change concerned the law of God in Daniel 7:25:
THREE TYPES OF “PAGANISM”
the substitution of the first day of the week for
the seventh.) The papacy did not just attempt
There are three possible interpretations of to cast down the place of the Sanctuary to the
the paganism view; and, over the years, all three ground; it tried to hurl the ministry within it
have been actively held by different individuals. to the earth and crush it into oblivion.
Frequently, the same person has interpreted daily Satan rejoiced at the wonderful success the
in two or three of the different meanings! papacy had in doing this in the lives of so many.
1 - “Pagan Rome.” This view of the daily is
incorrect, because we have found that, in A.D. WHAT WAS THE LIGHT
OF THE MIDNIGHT CRY?
508, the Roman Empire was not pagan. Emperor
Justinian and all his subjects throughout the em- Read again that glorious passage in Ellen
pire were nominal Catholics or non-Arian Chris- White’s first vision: Early Writings, 14:1-15:0.
tians. Only the invading tribes were not Catholic What was this wonderful light which shone
or non-Arian Christians. upon the faithful, which, if they remained true
2 - “Pagan tribes.” This view of the daily is to it, would lead them all the way up the path
only partially correct, because we have discov- to the City of God?
ered that, while some of the northern tribes were lt was the truth about the Sanctuary Mes-
pagan, the invading tribes which threatened the sage! William Miller had done his work well. He
papacy in Italy during the sixth century were Ar- had earnestly proclaimed the message of Daniel
ian, not pagan. They were Christians who held a 8:14, that the Sanctuary would be cleansed,
different theology. although without any knowledge of what that
3 - “Paganism.” This view of the daily is only Sanctuary was.
partially correct in the sense that, according to But his message was not the Midnight Cry.
both historians and the Spirit of Prophecy, pa- The Midnight Cry message began in August
ganism was being taken away—by being absorbed 1844. A five-day camp meeting had opened in
into the papacy. lt occurred over a period of time. Exeter, New Hampshire, on August 12. Samuel
It did not all occur instantaneously in A.D. 508. Snow was asked to speak—and the Midnight
Great Controversy, 49-54, reveals that pagan- Cry began! What Snow did was to connect the
ism, its practices and customs, were gradually “Sanctuary” of Daniel 8:14 with the Leviticus
absorbed by the papacy for hundreds of years 16 yearly cleansing service in the earthly sanc-
before the sixth century. tuary (Review, August 21, 1844). See my book,
So paganism was not annihilated, but only The Advent Awakening, which provides a nice
accepted as part of Christianity,—thus making history of the entire Millerite Movement.
those heathen rites all the more dangerous! That message about the Sanctuary did not
end on October 22 either, for it was amplified
 55
the next day when Hiram Edson was shown was not the daily—but the force which tried
that the “Sanctuary” was in heaven! Later still, to destroy the daily. Daniel 8:11 is not about
Ellen White was shown inside that structure, the Protestants taking away the mass, but the
and saw the Law of God and the Sabbath. Both devastating mass by which Rome sought to do
are part of the Sanctuary Message (Rev. 11:19). away with the true daily—the ministry of Christ
Some today claim that William Miller’s mes- on behalf of a world sunken in sin.
sage about the daily being paganism was the light “Wherefore He is able also to save them to
of the Midnight Cry. That definitely is not correct. the uttermost that come unto God by Him,
It was not the taking away of paganism and/or the seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for
three horns in A.D. 508. them.”—Hebrews 7:25.
That concept was held by many prior to the THE 16th-18th CENTURY REFORMERS
summer of 1844, yet we are told that the Midnight BELIEVED THE DAILY WAS
Cry did not begin until that summer. THE MINISTRY OF CHRIST THAT WAS
“Our hopes now centered on the coming of TAKEN AWAY BY THE PAPACY
the Lord in 1844. This was also the time for A view, very close to the Sanctuary position,
the message of the second angel, who, flying pre­­dates, by several centuries, the view held by
through the midst of heaven, cried, ‘Babylon William Miller. Read this: At the time of the Great
is fallen, is fallen, that great city.’ Revelation Reformation in the sixteenth century, most
14:8. That message was first proclaimed by Reformers interpreted the daily in this way:
the servants of God in the summer of 1844. The papacy had taken away the daily, which
As a result, many left the fallen churches. In was the true worship of God and the ministry
connection with this message, the ‘Midnight of Christ, and substituted the mass in its place.
Cry’ was given.”—Life Sketches, 59. That position was widely held by every Reformer
TWO OTHER I could locate.
ADVENTIST VIEWS So that which some today term the “new view”
OF THE DAILY is actually much older than the “old view.” In or-
Here are two incorrect positions on the mean- der to counteract it, the Jesuits came up with
ing of the daily, held by some Adventist believers: two theories.
The first is the “crucifixion view” of the daily, One theory was that the Reformers were the
which you will find discussed in my book, Biblical ones who had taken away the true daily, which
Defense, pp. 60:4-61:7. was the Catholic mass.
The second is the “pagan temple” view, replied The other theory is one you hear a lot about
to in Biblical Defense, 78:4-80:0. today from liberal theologians: Antiochus Epi­
NOW, TWO PROTESTANT POSiTIONS phanes took away the sacrifices at Jerusalem
for three and a half years.
The leading Protestant position today, held Notice that each of those views recognized the
by the liberal churches as well as by most of “daily,” in Daniel 8:11-13, as something very good
the evangelicals, is that the little horn applies which was being removed by an evil power. It was
to Antiochus Epiphanes (an unimportant Syrian not until that fateful day when Miller tried to figure
king who only ruled less than 12 years, during out a new, original meaning, that he decided the
175 to 164 B.C.) because he briefly “took away daily was something evil which was taken away
the daily,” by stopping the Jewish sacrifices at by something else that was evil.
Jerusalem. Jewish interpreters had a different view of
They apply the antichrist power to a mys- the daily: They declared that it referred to the
terious evil man who will arise at the end of sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem, which
time, just before the coming of Christ. He will were terminated by the conquest of Titus in
go to Jerusalem and once again fulfill prophecy. A.D. 70.
Some Protestant theologians claim that their In the first centuries after Christ, a few
denominations are the fulfillment of the “daily Christians held that view; but most believed that
sacrifice” of Daniel 8:11. They say they took away pagan Rome, in persecuting Christians, were tak-
the “daily sacrifice,” which is the Roman Catholic ing away the gospel message. As the Dark Ages
mass. We agree that the mass is evil; yet the mass
56 The Daily
progressed, the daily (and Daniel 8:11-13) was tradition) will be put in its place. This sign
interpreted as a parallel of Revelation 12:13-16, is being fulfilled right in our time, not only
about how the papacy was harassing God’s people among the papists but even among us—wher-
and keeping them from Christ. ever people command to believe, preach, and
William Miller was the first and only person accept besides the gospel human traditions,
in history who came up with the new idea that as a certain kind of mass. . . And those who
the daily was something vile and evil. refuse to accept besides the gospel the mark
It should be mentioned that a majority of the of the Antichrist are chased away, deprived
Reformers, quoted below, used the words “con- of their offices, and hypocrites are accepted
tinual” or “continual sacrifice (of the gospel),” in their places. Therefore the daily sacrifice,
not “daily.” Tamid means “continual.” That is the undefiled preaching of the gospel, cannot
because “daily” was the word used in the KJV continue very long.”—Nicolaus Von Amos-
translation, which was not used on the Euro- dorf, quoted in Prophetic Faith, Vol. 2, pp.
pean continent or earlier in England prior to 305-306.
the KJV translation in 1611. Johann Funck (1518-1566) of Nurnberg (also
By “sacrifice,” the Christians meant Christ’s known as Nuremberg) studied theology at Witten­
sacrifice on Calvary made available through the berg. He declared that the “daily sacrifice is the
gospel to mankind. They knew nothing about His true worship” (ibid., 309).
priesthood in heaven. George Downham (d. 1634), an English theo-
John Wycliffe (c. 1330-1384) said the daily logian, wrote A Treatise Concerning Antichrist.
was the papal attempt to take away the “continual “This power in Daniel 8, Downham pres-
sacrifice” of Christ; that is, His sacrifice on Cal- ents as the exceeding great horn that takes
vary which was continually made available to His away the ‘daily,’ which he defines as the ‘true
people. He called the “abomination of desolation” Doctrine and Worship of God according to
the “doctrine of transubstantiation,” which he his Word.’ And which point is repeated and
called “this heresy about the host” (Wycliffe, The emphasized as the other characteristics of the
True Sacred Scriptures, Vol. 3, p. 272). Papacy are outlined.”—Prophetic Faith of Our
Walter Brut, a fourteenth-century Lollard (Wy­ Fathers, Vol. 2, p. 535.
clif­fite scholar), agreed that the papacy was taking Thomas Beverley (1670-1701), an English
away Christ’s sacrifice from the people: Reformer, wrote:
“The idol of desolation sitting in the Temple “The False Church hid the True, as in a
of God and taking away from Him the contin- wilderness. The Gentiles crowded the True
ual sacrifice . . which idol must be revealed worshippers into a clos’d Temple. The daily
to the Christian people by the Testimony of was taken away. The witnesses were in sack-
Daniel.”—Registrum, p. 287, quoted in Foxe’s loth. Where then could the True Church be
Acts, p. 545. seen? All was scatter’d.”—A Scripture-Line
Nicolaus von Amsdorf (1483-1565), a close of Time, Part 2, p. 79; quoted in ibid., Vol.
friend of Martin Luther, understood the pa- 2, p. 586.
pacy to be Antichrist: Sayer Rudd (d. 1757), a Reformer in London,
“Holding the papal apostasy to be Anti- wrote:
christ, he felt that the ‘daily sacrifice’ is the “By the daily sacrifice here (as it alludes
preaching of the gospel, the ‘desolation of to the Jewish state) I understand, the pure
abomination’ is human tradition, the real Bab- worship of God under the gospel; and by its
ylonian harlot is the Papacy, and the mark of being taken away, the suppression or cor-
the beast the enforced worship by papal can- ruption of that worship, by the antichristian
ons, decretals, and ceremonies.”—Nicolaus tyranny taking place on the rise of the papal
Von Amosdorf, quoted in Prophetic Faith of apostasy.”—Sayer Rudd, Doctrines of the
Our Fathers, Vol. 2, pp. 304-305. Resurrection, p. 14.
“The daily sacrifice (that is, the preaching John Fletcher (originally de la Fléchère, 1729-
of the gospel) shall cease, and as Daniel says, 1785), an associate of John Wesley, was a convert
the abomination of desolation (that is, human from Switzerland.
 57
“La Fléchère presents Daniel 8, with its the book of Daniel was not clearly unsealed until
Persian, Macedonian, and Roman powers— 1844.
the bishop of Rome waxing exceeding great, THE THREE JESUIT VIEWS
casting down kings and emperors, and taking OF THE DAILY
away the daily sacrifice, that is he ‘abolished In order to counteract the teachings of the
or quite disfigured the true worship of God Reformers, the Jesuits set to work to invent rad-
and Jesus, and cut down the truth to the ically different interpretations of those prophecies
ground, with his army.’ ”—Prophetic Faith of Daniel and Revelation which clearly pointed to
of Our Fathers, Vol. 2, p. 688.
the papacy as the great apostasy of the Dark Ages.
At about the same time, an anonymous 1787 Preterism (invented by Alcazar) was the Je-
book, signed “R.M.,” included this: suit teaching that those prophecies were fulfilled
“The taking away of the daily sacrifice, and at some time before the papacy rose to power.
the setting up of abomination, is the taking The primary preterist view was that Antiochus
away of the true Christian worship, as institut- Epiphanes (an unimportant Syrian king who only
ed by Christ and his Apostles, and the setting ruled less than 12 years, during 175-164 B.C.)
up of the doctrines and commandments of was the little horn. Antiochus briefly stopped the
men, superstition, and idolatry, &c. in lieu Jewish sacrifices at Jerusalem.
thereof, which is mentioned by St. John under The futurist view (invented by Francisco
the appellation of the woman’s flying into the
Ribera) was that, at some future time at the
wilderness. The daily sacrifice is a Mosaic
end of time, a Jew of the tribe of Dan will set
term for the true worship of God.”—R.M.,
himself up in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem,
Observations of Certain Prophecies, 8-9;
and will stop the sacrifices there for three and
quoted in ibid., Vol. 2, pp. 691-692.
a half years.
Hans Wood (d. 1803) was an Irish Christian Frequently, the Jesuits combined the two,
Reformer. declaring that Antiochus fulfilled Daniel 8 and
“Wood declares the 1290 years are to be 9, followed by a gap (during which the papacy
dated from the taking away of the daily sac- was not mentioned by Bible prophecy), after
rifice, which he defines as the substituted in- which an antichrist man of sin would arise at
novations in ‘divine worship’ brought forward the end of time.
by the eleventh horn [the little horn], and
A third Catholic view of the daily was that the
resulting in the ‘profanation of the temple.’
sixteenth-century Protestants were the aposta-
”—Ibid., p. 721.
sy which were taking away the continual sacrifice
George Bell (writing in 1796), of London, (daily) of the Catholic mass.
wrote that the papacy took away the daily, which Through careful placement of Jesuit agents
was the true worship and faith: in Protestant schools and churches over the
“The holy city is to be trodden under foot centuries, preterism (Antiochus Epi­ph­anes
by the Gentiles, or Papists, who, though they in Palestine) and futurism (a future brief an-
are Christians in name, are Gentiles in wor- tichrist in Palestine) have become standard
ship and practice; worshiping angels, saints, teachings in nearly all Protestant colleges,
and images, and persecuting the followers of seminaries, and churches.
Christ. These Gentiles take away the daily
Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) of Salaman-
sacrifice, and set up the abomination that
ca, Spain, was the Jesuit scholar who invented
maketh the visible church of Christ desolate
futurism. But he also mingled preterism with it,
for the space of 1260 years.”—George Bell.
as the following quotation reveals:
Article in The Evangelical Magazine, 1796,
“As there are granted to Antichrist three
Vol. 4, p. 54; Quoted in ibid., p. 742.
years and a half for the probation of the
In every instance that I could locate, from
good and the binding of the wicked . . so to
the time of Wycliffe to Wesley, the daily was be-
Antiochus was given a period of 2300 [literal]
lieved to be the true Christian faith, as taught days against the daily sacrifice [at Jerusa-
in the Bible. It was never paganism. Of course, lem]. Dan. 8&9.”—Francisco Ribera, Sacram
the Reformers could not have said that it was Beati Ioannis . . Apocalyps in Commentaria,
the heavenly Sanctuary mediation of Christ—for
58 The Daily
Chapter 9, p. 192, in Prophetic Faith of Our JAMES WHITE’S
Fathers, pp. 492-493. REMARKABLE STATEMENT DEFENDING
THE SANCTUARY VIEW OF THE DAILY
Blasius Viegas (1554-1599), a Portuguese
Jesuit scholar, taught this: Here is a remarkably clear statement as to
the position of James White on Daniel 8:11-14 in
“He interpreted ‘taking away of the daily’
1851. In the following quotation, he repeatedly
(Dan. 8:13; Dan. 12:11) as the abrogation
[rejection] of the mass [by the Protestants].”— emphasizes that the passage is referring to
Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, p. 502. the papacy’s effort to cast down both Christ’s
ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, as well as
THE 1848 BIBLE CONFERENCES the Sanctuary itself. Not once does he mention
By the end of the 1848 Bible conferences, a taking away of paganism by the papacy.
two primary views of the daily emerged. The Instead, his focus is on the overarching evil of
first was that it represented the elimination of that sinister power: the twofold casting down by
paganism by papal Rome. The second was that the papacy throughout the Dark Ages.
it represented the taking away of Christ’s me- James’ statement, quoted below, was written
diation in the most holy place of the heavenly only one year after Ellen White’s Early Writings,
Sanctuary. This second view is understandable, 74-76 passage, and obviously parallels it. This is
since, after October 22, 1844, the great truth because both are replying to the “Age to Come”
of Christ’s mediation in the heavenly Sanctuary error, calling on Adventists to return to Palestine
since A.D. 31 had dawned upon the faithful. and offer up animal sacrifices. Without mention-
Obviously, as a result, they could now bet- ing the word, “daily,” yet it is clearly the Sanc-
ter understand the meaning of Daniel 8:13-14. tuary view of the daily. Referring to the imagery
Indeed, the meaning is so obvious, when one of Daniel 8:11-14, his statement repeatedly
carefully reads the passage: speaks of how the papacy cast down and trod
“Then l heard one saint speaking, and an- down both Christ, the minister of the heavenly
other saint said unto that certain saint which Sanctuary, and the Sanctuary itself. Here is the
spake, [Question:] How long shall be the vi- statement. Remember that James White is talking
sion concerning the daily [sacrifice], and the about Daniel 8:11-14 (brackets and full caps in
transgression of desolation, to give both the the original):
sanctuary and the host to be trodden under “Those that teach that ‘the promised land’
foot? And he said unto me, [Answer:] Unto two [Palestine] is the Sanctuary must, therefore,
thousand and three hundred days: then shall admit that the words ‘trodden under foot,’
the sanctuary be cleansed.”—Daniel 8:13-14. and ‘trodden down,’ are figurative expres-
THE 1850 RHODES-NICHOLS CHART sions, and mean that the promised land has
been overrun with ‘the wicked agents of its
In December 1850, six years after the Great
desolation. Then they should not object to our
Disappointment, an evangelistic chart was printed
using the expressions figuratively, in applying
in Boston. It was made by Samuel W. Rhodes and
the words ‘trodden down’ [lsa. 68:18] to the
Otis Nichols. James White had carefully examined
typical sanctuary, and the words ‘trodden
the wording before granting that approval.
under foot’ [Daniel 8:13] to ‘the true Taber-
Once again, in order to avoid controversy be-
nacle’ or ‘Sanctuary’ in heaven.
cause of differing views of the daily by Advent­ists,
on the second column, the “daily” is not defined. “It may be said that the heavenly Sanctu-
ary is not ‘capable of being trodden under
Instead, we only find the words, “taken away”
foot.’ But we ask, is it not as capable of being
and “A.D. 508.” The closing explanation on the
trodden under foot as ‘the Son of God,’ who
chart also does not define the “daily,” but says
is the ‘MINISTER’ of the same Sanctuary?
it ended in “508-509.” (See Prophetic Faith of
Says Paul: ‘Of how much sorer punishment,
Our Fathers, Vol. 4, pp. 1073-1074).
suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who
Thus, in 1850, a clear division of opinion
hath TRODDEN UNDER FOOT THE SON OF
continued to exist as to the meaning of the
GOD, and hath counted the blood of the cove-
daily. Yet some today maintain that our early
nant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
Adventist leaders all uniformly held to the thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit
paganism view. That is not true.
 59
of Grace?” (Hebrews 10: 29). Vol. 4, p. 1064.
“We say, then, that the Sanctuary in URIAH SMITH CONVERTS THE CHURCH
heaven has been trodden under foot in the TO THE PAGANISM VIEW
same sense that the Son of God has been In 1855, at the age of 23, Uriah Smith (1832-
trodden under foot. In a similar manner 1903) moved to Battle Creek (the same year that
has the ‘host,’ the true church, also, been our publishing work moved there from New York)
trodden down. Those who have rejected the and joined the Review. He immediately began
Son of God have trodden him under foot, urging the paganism view of the daily, and
and of course have trodden under foot his spent the following nearly 50 years leading most
Sanctuary.
members and leaders toward that position.
“The Catholic Church has trodden un- In 1870, in his Thoughts on the Book of Dan-
der foot, not only the Holy City, but the iel, Uriah wrote: “By Him, the papal form, the
Sanctuary, and its Minister, or Priest, ‘the pagan form, was taken away. Pagan Rome gave
Son of God.’ Rome has been called ‘the Holy place to papal Rome.”
City,’ and the ‘Eternal City,’ which can only (Smith was also a semi-Arian. He did not
be said of the City of the living God, the New believe in the Holy Spirit, and, in his views on
Jerusalem. Turkey as the King of the North and a literal Ar-
“The Pope has professed to have ‘power on mageddon in the Near East, he disagreed with
earth to forgive sins,’ which power belongs the positions of Great Controversy.)
alone to Christ. The people have been taught Very early in our history, Uriah Smith became
to look to ‘the man of sin,’ seated in his the undisputed leader of Adventist theological
temple, or as Paul says, ‘so that he as God thinking, and greatly influenced the theological
sitteth in the temple of God,’ etc., instead of views of the entire denomination. Joining the Re-
looking to Jesus, seated at the right hand of view staff in 1853, he became its editor in chief
the Father in the heavenly Sanctuary. in 1855, and continued writing for the Review
“In thus turning away from Jesus, who (with the exception of an absence of one and a
alone could forgive sins, and give eternal half years) until 1903, when he died.
life, and in bestowing on the Pope such titles A man of strong convictions, who frequently
as MOST HOLY LORD, they have ‘trodden set them in print, it is little wonder that Smith
under foot the Son of God.’ And in calling took the entire church with him into almost total
Rome the ‘Eternal City,’ and the ‘Holy City,’ agreement with his view of the daily—which was
they have trodden down the City of the the destruction of paganism by the papacy.
living God, and the heavenly Sanctuary. It is believed by some that it was not just
“The ‘host,’ the true church that have overwork, but the constant opposition of Uri-
looked to Jesus in the true Sanctuary for ah Smith that led to James White’s physical
pardon of sins, and eternal life, has, as well collapse in August 1865. It was only three years
as their Divine Lord and his Sanctuary, later, in September 1868, that he was able to once
been trodden under foot. Yes, the true wor- again bear responsibilities.
shipers have been rejected and persecuted, Later, in 1888 at the Minneapolis Conference,
and some of the brightest ‘stars,’ or gospel Uriah led out in the opposition when he felt his
ministers, in the church have been ‘stamped theological supremacy in the church was threat-
upon’ by the little horn.”—James White, ened by the arrival of two young upstarts from
“Our Present Position,” Review and Herald,
Pacific Press (A.T. Jones and E.J. Wag­goner) who
January 1851, p. 28 [brackets and full caps
presented their findings from God’s Word.
in the original].
The underlying problem was that Uriah
A better description of the “daily” in Daniel Smith did not believe the Spirit of Prophecy.
8 could not be given. He subtly opposed a number of its teachings.
“So in 1851 James White held the unvary- When the 1884 edition of Great Controversy was
ing position that the treading down of the published, Smith refused to remove Turkey and
sanctuary and the taking away of the ‘daily’ a literal armageddon battle in the Near East from
typified the daring career of the little horn of his book on Daniel and Revelation.
Daniel 8.”—Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers,
60 The Daily
The only reason Ellen White recommended Unfortunately, Uriah does not here recognize
his book was because it was the only one avail- that, not only was every other aspect of God’s
able to the church for decades. Unfortunately, truth cast down, but the continual mediation
J.N. Andrews died before he could produce a of Christ in the Sanctuary above was, quite
good one. literally, removed from the minds of the people
We are dealing with a similar problem today by the papacy.
due to denominational books written by liberals Next, Uriah clearly sees that paganism had
who do not believe in the Spirit of Prophecy either. been attacking God’s truth and His people for
Like many today, Uriah considered himself smart thousands of years—not just since the founding
enough to be an “independent thinker.” I appeal of the Roman Empire.
to you who read this to not copy his example. “By the ‘continuance of desolation,’ or the
Read the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, and, perpetual desolation, we understand that
through them, let the God of heaven guide paganism, through all its history, is meant.
your thinking. When we consider the long ages through
URIAH SMITH’S POSITION which paganism had been the chief agency of
ON THE DAILY IN DANIEL 8 Satan’s opposition to the work of God in the
earth, the propriety of the term ‘continance’
It is generally believed that Uriah Smith orig-
or ‘perpetual,’ as applied to it, becomes ap-
inated the concept of the papacy taking away
parent.”—Smith, p. 165.
paganism in A.D. 538. Checking with Smith’s
But at this juncture, it at first may appear that
book (Daniel and Revelation), I find something
Uriah fails to carry the thought through—and
very different.
apply the continual also to the papal apostasy.
Uriah never made such a statement. Here is
Uriah’s definition of the “daily”: Uriah states that “We likewise understand that the ‘the trans-
the “little horn” is both the pagan and papal gression of desolation’ means the papacy. The
phrase describing this latter power is stronger
aspects of Rome. Then he says it again, only in
than that used to describe paganism. It is the
different words: The “daily” represents both pa-
transgression (or rebellion, as the word also
gan and papal Rome.
means) of desolation; as if under this period
“This little horn symbolizes Rome in its
of the history of the church the desolating
entire history, including its two phases, pa-
power had rebelled against all restraint pre-
gan and papal. These two phases are else-
viously imposed so upon it.”—Smith. p. 165.
where spoken of as the ‘daily’ (sacrifice is
If Uriah were to apply the continual only to
a supplied word) and the ‘transgression of
the paganism prior to A.D. 538 (and not also to
desolation:’ the daily (desolation) evidently
signifying the pagan form, and the transgres- the papal absorption of that paganism), then his
sion of desolation the papal. In the actions concept would be in violation of Dan. 8:13-14.
ascribed to this power, sometimes one form “How long shall be the vision concerning the
is spoken of, sometimes the other.”—Uriah daily . . and the transgression of desolation,
Smith, Daniel and Revelation, 159-161. to give both the sanctuary and the host to be
While recognizing the truth that the papacy trodden under foot? And he said unto me,
Unto two thousand and three hundred days;
only replaced (“had given place to,” GC 54) pagan-
then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”—Dan-
ism, yet Uriah appears not to have fully grasped
iel 8:13-14.
the historical truth, for, as he stated above, only
the daily was the “pagan form” when, in reality, The closest that we have to a transition point
both secular Rome and papal Rome were fully between the first and second forms of paganism
pagan. is this Inspired statement, in which secular pa-
But then, a few pages later in his book, Uriah ganism had “given place to,” that is, was replaced
returns to this subject of the daily and now more or absorbed by, papal paganism:
clearly states his point. He recognizes that the tak- “In the sixth century [by A.D. 538] the papa-
ing away of the daily (“the continual”) applies—not cy had become firmly established. Its seat of
to a single point of time, a certain year,—but to the power was fixed in the imperial city, and the
entire, lengthy span of time involved in this vision. bishop of Rome was declared to be the head
 61
over the entire church. Paganism had given The “host” of God’s faithful ones who refused to
place to the papacy. The dragon had given to yield to this worship were persecuted and slain.
the beast ‘his power, and his seat, and great I have a deep concern that we not under-
authority.’ Revelation 13:2. And now began rate the Bible truth that the papacy tried to
the 1260 years of papal oppression foretold in take away the daily ministry of Christ from the
the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation. people! Daniel 8:14 speaks about the beginning of
Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5-7.”—Great Con- the yearly service in the heavenly Sanctuary. The
troversy, 54 (Story of Redemption, 330-331, preceding verses, filled with Sanctuary imagery,
is almost identical). lead up to it.
Yes, “replaced”! The papacy did not do away The final capstone question, in that passage
with paganism, as many imagine. It absorbed in Daniel 8, is about the already twice repeated
it—all of it—into itself. tragedy, that the little horn would take away the
“The Roman Catholic Church, uniting “daily.”
the forms of paganism and Christianity . And the answer—the solution to that tragedy—
.”—Great Controversy, 569. (Read pages given by Christ Himself directly to the astonished
569-570.) Daniel is a brief, comprehensive statement of a
“Most of the Christians at last consented fi­nal event (the cleansing of the Sanctuary, which
to lower their standard, and a union was is the Investigative Judgment) which, when fin-
formed between Christianity and pagan- ished, will bring our world, as we now know it,
ism.”—Great Controversy, 43. (Read page to an end.
43:1 for the full picture.) “Light from the Sanctuary illumined the
“Paganism, while appearing to be van- past, the present, and the future.”—Great
quished, became the conqueror. Her spirit Controversy, 423.
controlled the church. Her doctrines, cere- CHRIST IS OUR DAILY
monies, and superstitions were incorporated
Although the word is not mentioned, here
into the faith and worship of the professed
are three examples of Daniel’s “daily,” as men-
followers of Christ.”—Story of Redemption,
tioned elsewhere in the Bible. Many more could
327. (Great Controversy, 49-50, is almost
be cited:
identical.)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life; no
man cometh unto the Father but by Me.”—
PART THIRTEEN John 14:6.
CONCLUSION “There is none other name under heav-
WHEN PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD, en, given among men, whereby we must be
BOTH VIEWS COMBINE saved.”—Acts 4:12.
INTO A SINGLE WHOLE “Wherefore He is able also to save them to
When the true meaning of each is properly the uttermost that come unto God by Him,
understood, neither view contradicts the other! seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for
We discovered, in Great Controversy, pp. 54- them.”—Hebrews 7:25.
55, that when one was taken away by A.D. 538 The “daily” (the “continual” something) is
(p. 54:2), the other continued on in great power the priesthood, intercession, ministry, and for-
afterward (p. 55:1). giving and enabling power of Jesus Christ our
As the papacy enthusiastically absorbed Lord and Saviour in the heavenly Sanctuary.
every last vestige of paganism, giving them He is our daily!
Christianized names, it gained the power to PAGANISM GAVE THE PAPACY
demand that it be the sole object of supreme THE POWER TO CAST DOWN
reverence and worship. Thus it cast down The intentional, ongoing, absorbing of
everything sacred, including the mediation of universal paganism into itself, provided the
Christ. papacy with the satanically inspired power, in
Because all the pagan gods and their rituals its teachings and persecutions, to cast down
and superstitions were poured into the papacy, it and trample on Christ, His law, His Scriptures,
became the universal center of awe and worship.
62 The Daily
and His followers. come acquainted with its teachings and know
WHY THE PAGANISM TRANSFER for ourselves what He requires of us. When the
WAS A MUTUAL AGREEMENT lawyer came to Jesus with the inquiry. ‘What
This was a transaction, by which Rome ad- shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ the Saviour
referred him to the Scriptures, saying: ‘What
opted the concepts, traditions, and practices
is written in the law? how readest thou?’
of pagan religions; in return, it let the pagans
Ignorance will not excuse young or old, nor
live—if they converted to the Papacy, instead
release them from the punishment due for the
of opposing it. Rome welcomed them in, and
transgression of God’s law; because there is
gave them high positions in this “modernized
in their hands a faithful presentation of that
Christianity.”
law and of its principles and claims.
WHY THE MEDIATION SUBSTITUTION
“It is not enough to have good intentions;
WAS NECESSARY
FOR ROME’S SURVIVAL
it is not enough to do what a man thinks is
right or what the minister tells him is right.
The papacy could not survive if it had to His soul’s salvation is at stake, and he should
compete with the glorious beauty, power, and search the Scriptures for himself. However
enabling grace of pure Christianity. So it had to strong may be his convictions, however confi-
provide cheap imitations of its beliefs and prac- dent he may be that the minister knows what
tices,—while killing all who refused to yield to is truth, this is not his foundation. He has a
its teachings and rituals. Those faithful to God’s chart pointing out every waymark on the
Word had to flee to hidden, and often distant, heavenward journey, and he ought not to
places in order to escape this vicious apostasy. guess at anything.
KEEP CLOSE TO GOD’S WORD “It is the first and highest duty of every
Our only safety is in constantly soaking in rational being to learn from the Scriptures
the Spirit of Prophecy. How is this done? By what is truth, and then to walk in the light and
reading in it, along with the Bible, every day. encourage others to follow his example. We
Read here, read there, go back and forth; read should day by day study the Bible diligently,
through entire books. Keep studying, keep filling weighing every thought and comparing Scrip-
the mind with God’s Inspired Truths! ture with Scripture. With divine help we are
Where would you go to find the truth about to form our opinions for ourselves as we are
the daily? Of course, you would go to Great Con- to answer for ourselves before God.
troversy. That is where you would expect to find “The truths most plainly revealed in the
answers about Turkey in last-day prophecies, Bible have been involved in doubt and dark-
the 144,000, and the daily. It is the book about ness by learned men, who, with a pretense of
paganism and the papal attempt to eradicate great wisdom, teach that the Scriptures have
Christ as our Saviour, the pre-A.D. 508-538 a mystical, a secret, spiritual meaning not ap-
era, and the Dark Ages which followed it, the parent in the language employed. These men
end of the time prophecies in 1798 and 1844. As are false teachers. It was to such a class that
we have seen, although the word “daily” is not Jesus declared: ‘Ye know not the Scriptures,
mentioned, the principles are all there. neither the power of God.’ Mark 12:24. The
If someone tells you that you can be instantly language of the Bible should be explained
perfect, you know it is not true. Why? Because according to its obvious meaning, unless a
you have been filling your heart and mind with symbol or figure is employed.
truths in the Spirit of Prophecy. If others tell you “Christ has given the promise: ‘lf any man
obedience to God’s law is now obsolete, you know will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine.’
it is a deadly error. John 7:17. If men would but take the Bible
People may consider you to be foolish for as it reads, if there were no false teachers
remaining so close to the Spirit of Prophecy; to mislead and confuse their minds, a work
but you are smart enough to stay with those would be accomplished that would make an-
godly books—all the way along the path to the gels glad and that would bring into the fold
City of God. of Christ thousands upon thousands who are
“God has given us His Word that we may be- now wandering in error.
“We should exert all the powers of the mind
 63
in the study of the Scriptures and should task fect the testimony of the Spirit of God. “Where
the understanding to comprehend, as far as there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs
mortals can, the deep things of God; yet we 29:18). Satan will work ingeniously, in different
must not forget that the docility and submis- ways and through different agencies, to unsettle
sion of a child is the true spirit of the learner. the confidence of God’s remnant people in the
Scriptural difficulties can never be mastered true testimony.”—Letter 12, 1890; 1 Selected
by the same methods that are employed in Messages, 48.
grappling with philosophical problems. We “There will be a hatred kindled against the
should not engage in the study of the Bible testimonies which is satanic. The workings of
with that self-reliance with which so many Satan will be to unsettle the faith of the church-
enter the domains of science, but with es in them, for this reason: Satan cannot have
a prayerful dependence upon God and a so clear a track to bring in his deceptions and
sincere desire to learn His will. We must bind up souls in his delusions if the warnings
come with a humble and teachable spirit and reproofs and counsels of the Spirit of God
to obtain knowledge from the great I AM. are heeded.”—Letter 40, 1890; 1 Selected Mes-
Otherwise, evil angels will so blind our minds sages, 48.
and harden our hearts that we shall not be “We are to hold the beginning of our confidence
impressed by the truth. steadfast unto the end. Words of power have
“Many a portion of Scripture which learned been sent by God and by Christ to this people,
men pronounce a mystery, or pass over as bringing them out from the world, point by
unimportant, is full of comfort and instruc- point, into the clear light of present truth. With
tion to him who has been taught in the school lips touched with holy fire, God’s servants have
of Christ. One reason why many theologians proclaimed the message. The divine utterance
have no clearer understanding of God’s Word has set its seal to the genuineness of the truth
is, they close their eyes to truths which they proclaimed.
do not wish to practice. An understanding “The Lord calls for a renewal of the straight
of Bible truth depends not so much on the testimony borne in years past. He calls for a
power of intellect brought to the search as on renewal of spiritual life. The spiritual energies of
the singleness of purpose, the earnest longing His people have long been torpid, but there is to
after righteousness. be a resurrection from apparent death.
“The Bible should never be studied without “By prayer and confession of sin we must clear
prayer. The Holy Spirit alone can cause us the King’s highway. As we do this, the power of
to feel the importance of those things easy the Spirit will come to us. We need the Pentecostal
to be understood, or prevent us from wrest- energy. This will come, for the Lord has promised
ing truths difficult of comprehension. It is to send His Spirit as the all-conquering power.
the office of heavenly angels to prepare the “Perilous times are before us. Everyone who
heart so to comprehend God’s Word that we has a knowledge of the truth should awake and
shall be charmed with its beauty, admonished place himself, body, soul, and spirit, under the
by its warnings, or animated and strength- discipline of God. The enemy is on our track. We
ened by its promises.”—Great Controversy,
must be wide awake, on our guard against him.
598-600.
We must put on the whole armor of God.
VALUE THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY “We must follow the directions given
“Little heed is given to the Bible, and the through the spirit of prophecy. We must love
Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and and obey the truth for this time. This will save
women to the greater light.”—Colporteur Evan- us from accepting strong delusions. God has
gelist, 37. spoken to us through His word. He has spoken
“The Spirit of prophecy has an important to us through the testimonies to the church
part to act in the establishment of the truth.”— and through the books that have helped to
Letter 400, 1906; Evangelism, 257. make plain our present duty and the position
“Satan is . . . constantly pressing in the spu- that we should now occupy. The warnings that
rious--to lead away from the truth. The very last have been given, line upon line, precept upon
deception of Satan will be to make of none ef- precept, should be heeded. If we disregard them,
64 The Daily
what excuse can we offer? the truth. Iniquity abounds, and the love of many
“I beseech those who are laboring for God not who profess to follow Christ waxes cold. They are
to accept the spurious for the genuine. Let not blind to the wickedness of their own hearts and
human reason be placed where divine, sanctify- do not feel their weak and helpless condition. God
ing truth should be. Christ is waiting to kindle in mercy lifts the veil and shows them that there
faith and love in the hearts of His people. Let not is an eye behind the scenes that discerns their
erroneous theories receive countenance from hidden guilt and the motives of their actions.”—4
the people who ought to be standing firm on the Testimonies, 12-13.
platform of eternal truth. God calls upon us to “A wealth of moral influence has been brought
hold firmly to the fundamental principles that to us in the last half century. Through His Holy
are based upon unquestionable authority.”—8 Spirit the voice of God has come to us continu-
Testimonies, 297-298. ally in warning and instruction, to confirm the
“In His providence the Lord has seen fit to faith of the believers in the Spirit of prophecy.
teach and warn His people in various ways. By Repeatedly the word has come, Write the things
direct command, by the sacred writings, and that I have given you to confirm the faith of My
by the spirit of prophecy has He made known people in the position they have taken. Time and
unto them His will. My work has been to speak trial have not made void the instruction given, but
plainly of the faults and errors of God’s people. through years of suffering and self-sacrifice have
Because the sins of certain individuals have been established the truth of the testimony given. The
brought to light, it is no evidence that they are instruction that was given in the early days of
worse in the sight of the Lord than many whose the message is to be held as safe instruction
failings are unrecorded. But I have been shown to follow in these its closing days. Those who
that it is not mine to choose my work, but are indifferent to this light and instruction must
humbly to obey the will of God. The errors and not expect to escape the snares which we have
wrongdoings in the lives of professed Christians been plainly told will cause the rejecters of light to
are recorded for the instruction of those who are stumble, and fall, and be snared, and be taken.”—
liable to fall into the same temptations. The ex- Review, July 18, 1907; 1 Selected Messages, 41.
perience of one serves as a beacon light to warn This is the largest and most complete
others off the rocks of danger. research study on the meaning of the “Dai-
“Thus are revealed the snares and devices of ly” in Daniel 8, ever produced. It is the hope
Satan, the importance of perfecting Christian of the author that it may forever solve the
character, and the means by which this result various questions about the meaning of the
may be obtained. Thus God indicates what is Daily. Both views are correct: The papacy
necessary to secure His blessing. There is a dis- took away paganism by absorbing it. The
position on the part of many to let rebellious feel- papacy tried to take away Christ’s mediation
ings arise if their peculiar sins are reproved. The in heaven by producing a counterfeit one on
spirit of this generation is: “Speak unto us smooth earth. Both concepts are taught in the Bible
things.” But the spirit of prophecy speaks only and Spirit of Prophecy. — Vance Ferrell

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