need to be taught of God . Only those who have a personal connection with the Source of wisdom are able to understand or explain the Scriptures . Men who have little of the learning of the schools are sometimes called to declare the truth , not because they are unlearned , but because they are not too self-sufficient to be taught of God . They learn in the school of Christ , and their humility and obedience make them great . In committing to them a knowledge of His truth , God confers upon them an honour , in comparison with which earthly honour and human greatness sink into insignificance .
The majority of Adventists rejected the truths concerning the sanctuary and the law of God , and many also renounced their faith in the advent movement and adopted unsound and conflicting views of the prophecies which applied to that work . Some were led into the error of repeatedly fixing upon a definite time for the coming of Christ . The light which was now shining on the subject of the sanctuary should have shown them that no prophetic period extends to the second advent ; that the exact time of this advent is not foretold . But , turning from the light , they continued to set time after time for the Lord to come , and as often they were disappointed .
When the Thessalonian church received erroneous views concerning the coming of Christ , the apostle Paul counselled them to test their hopes and anticipations carefully by the word of God . He cited them to prophecies revealing the events to take place before Christ should come , and showed that they had no ground to expect Him in their day . " Let no man deceive you by any means " ( 2 Thessalonians 2:3 ), are his words of warning . Should they indulge expectations that were not sanctioned by the Scriptures , they would be led to a mistaken course of action ; disappointment would expose them to the derision of unbelievers , and they would be in danger of yielding to discouragement and would be tempted to doubt the truths essential for their salvation .
The apostle ' s admonition to the Thessalonians contains an important lesson for those who live in the last days . Many Adventists have felt that unless they could fix their faith upon a definite time for the Lord ' s coming , they could not be zealous and diligent in the work of preparation . But as their hopes are again and again excited , only to be destroyed , their faith receives such a shock that it becomes well-nigh impossible for them to be impressed by the great truths of prophecy . The preaching of a definite time for the judgment , in the giving of the first message , was ordered by God . The computation of the prophetic periods on which that message was based , placing the close of the 2300 days in the autumn of 1844 , stands without impeachment .
The repeated efforts to find new dates for the beginning and close of the prophetic periods , and the unsound reasoning necessary to sustain these positions , not only lead minds away from the present truth , but throw contempt upon all efforts to explain the prophecies . The more frequently a definite time is set for the second advent , and the more widely it is taught , the better it suits the purposes of Satan . After the time has passed , he excites ridicule and contempt of its advocates , and thus casts reproach upon the great advent movement of 1843 and 1844 . Those who persist in this
290