What are “All the Messages from 1840 through 1844.” Well the answer would be that basically they are the “The Three Angel Messages” of Revelation 14.
In general The Three Angel Messages and the Sanctuary Message are contained in the 1843 and 1850 charts. So you could almost say the The Three Angels Messages, the Sanctuary Message and the 1844 and 1850 charts are all one and the same thing. That would be kind of similar to the fact that Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God are one.
This is not the introduction of a new doctrine, but It’s just to say they are similar in the fact that it’s three different aspects of basically one and the same thing. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are so much of one that they are in fact one, for as the scripture says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:” {Deut. 6:4} Yet we know for a fact the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit are three persons.
God has not revealed all to humanity and the nature of God is one of the things that is still beyond our understanding. The point is that Jesus, God the Father and the Holy Spirit are three persons, yet they are so close and have such a unity that they are in fact One as the scripture teaches. We don’t fully understand that relationship, but such a close relation is a good illustration of how closely related are the Three Angels Messages, the Sanctuary Message and the 1843 and 1850 charts. So this is nothing more than a comparison. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit may very well yet have an even closer relationship than these Messages and the Charts but this is simply meant as an attempt to illustrate the fact that these things are so closely related that you could almost say these three things, the charts and the Messages, are really one and the same thing.
The Seventh Day Adventist Church was commissioned by God to preach the Three Angel Messages. The fact that The Three Angel Messages are hardly heard of in the Seventh Day Adventist Church is evidence that we have lost our way and/or our bearings. Here is a quote where Ellen White reveals that the Church and those whom God has entrusted as the depositories of truth and the keepers of the light which is to illuminate the world have lost their bearings.
The people to whom God has entrusted eternal interests, the depositaries of truth pregnant with eternal results, the keepers of light that is to illuminate the whole world, have lost their bearings. {TM 397.1}
So what does “lost their bearings” mean? In centuries past the navigators of ships at sea would set sail with a destination in mind. Their bearings were determined with a compass and even the stars. It was the direction in which they intended to travel. They had to keep their bearings in order to arrive at their destination. So in other words, their bearings were the general direction in which they were sailing. So if they lost their bearings, they would end up at some other destination which they had not intended. So also will the Church end up in some foreign destination if they lose their bearings. So if the destination of the Church is Heaven, then where might they end up if they loose their bearings?
So if the Church has lost our way and our bearings, then how can get them back? How can the Church get back on track performing the task which God has both commissioned and commanded them to do? The answer to that question Ellen White provides in the next several quotes:
All the messages given from 1840 – 1844 are to be made forcible now, for there are many people who have lost their bearings. The messages are to go to all the churches {21MR 437.1}
The record of the experience through which the people of God passed in the early history of our work must be republished. Many of those who have since come into the truth are ignorant of the way in which the Lord wrought. The experience of William Miller and his associates, of Captain Joseph Bates, and of the other pioneers in the Advent message, should be kept before our people. Elder Loughborough’s book should receive attention. Our leading men should see what can be done for the circulation of this book. {17 MR 344.4} (The Great Second Advent Movement by J.N. Loughborough is the book she is referring to.)
Moving a Block or Stirring a Pin — I saw a company who stood well guarded and firm, giving no countenance to those who would unsettle the established faith of the body. God looked upon them with approbation. I was shown three steps,–the first, second, and third angels’ messages. Said my accompanying angel, “Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages. THE TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF THESE MESSAGES IS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE. THE DESTINY OF SOULS HANGS UPON THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY ARE RECEIVED… {Early Writings, pp. 258, 259 (1858.)} {CW 53.1}
We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history. {Life Sketches 192.2} (This was the last sentence in paragraph 2)
Notice that in the third quote subtitles “Moving a Block or Stirring a Pin,” Mrs. White talks about the three angel messages and she says, “Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages.” Where does this Block and Pin language come from? The Block and Pin language comes from the construction of the Sanctuary. Mrs. White is clearly equating the Three Angel Messages with the Sanctuary message and she is also calling it the foundation of our faith.
So how is it that the Church has lost it’s bearings. Well there can by many causes including apathy, selfishness and simply by not caring about our fellow man, but I think that there is going to one common cause behind them all and that would be the enemy’s attempt to frustrate God’s every plan.
Who are the navigators of today’s Church other than the leadership? How better could the enemy cause the Church to veer off course than to infiltrate the leadership? That is not to say that the leadership of the Church is intentionally misleading them. For certain there are many honest souls in the leadership of the Church. Nevertheless, I think it would be wise to read to what the prophet wrote on this matter.
There are ministers of the gospel who have lost their bearings, and as they lead others to walk in strange paths they are doing a work similar to that which Satan Thought to carry on when the children of Israel were about to enter Canaan. Beware, beware. {15MR 205.2}
Suffice it to say that we, as a Church, need to be very wary and keep a close guard upon that which is being taught from our pulpits, and maybe even more so that which is NOT being taught from our pulpits.
So we know that we need to get our bearings back, and these quotes illustrate that in order to get our bearings back we need to understand all the Messages from 1840 through 1844. This is a study and historical account of the events which lead up to the Three Angel Messages for the purpose of being restored to our rightful path which God has ordained.
In order to understand these scriptures and all scriptures for that matter, we must understand how the Bible should be interpreted. The Bible itself makes very clear and specific definitions of how it should be interpreted. In order to more fully understand how to interpret the Bible I would encourage anyone to carefully read the entire post on {Bible Interpretation}. For now I will list a few scriptures that define Bible Interpretation which specifically apply to this study and they are: {2nd Timothy 3:16}, {1 Corinthians 14:32}, {2nd Peter 1:19-21}, {Genesis 40:8} {Isaiah 28: 9-10}, {2nd Coritnians 13:1} and {John 10:35} (which, in this case, only serves to point out that the scriptures cannot be broken),
2nd Timothy 3:16, John 10:35, 1 Corinthians 14:32 and 2ndPeter 1:19-21 all show that all scripture, including Old Testament scripture, are good for establishing doctrine. So we won’t be using New Testament only to interpret the scriptures, but Old Testament also. Isaiah 28:9-10 are specific instructions on proper Bible interpretation spelled out by an Old Testament prophet. So we must compare scripture with scripture and let the Bible be its own expositor.
Another significant contribution towards the proper interpretation of the Bible can be seen in the following link: William Miller’s 14 Rules of Bible Interpretation. The importance of William Miller’s contribution to “All the Messages from 1840 through 1844” can be seen in the following quote where once again Ellen White specifically states that all these messages should be kept before our people:
Counsels to Writers and Editors pg 145 par 2
The record of the experience through which the people of God passed in the early history of our work must be republished. Many of those who have since come into the truth are ignorant of the way in which the Lord wrought. The experience of William Miller…should be kept before our people…”{CW 145.2}
The History of the Church
In order to understand all the messages from 1840 through 1844, we need to understand the history of the Church. We won’t go into all the history of the church. In the context of this discussion we’ll only be going over the history which applies to All the Messages between 1840 through 1844. We’ll start with the brief overview as published in Revelation chapter 12.
Before we do that, though, we should look at something in chapter 1 of The Book of Revelation which describes how it should be interpreted. The following link will open in a new page which has a description of Revelation 1:1 and some important points about interpreting it. Once you have read the section on Rev 1:1, you can exit or close that page and this page will still be open, or you can leave it open for future reference. Here is the link: Bible Interpretation Revelations 1:1 In addition to that there are a few more very significant details which should be understood about The Book of the Revelation written in verse one through three of Chapter One and you can read about them Here.
Now that you have read that brief introduction on how to interpret The Book of Revelation, you can go on and read about the history of the Church in Revelation chapter 12. Once you have finished reading the page on Revelation chapter 12, come back here to continue on reading about All the messages from 1840 through 1844. If you havn’t already done it, it would be highly recommended that you read the entire page on Bible Interpretation.