The Book of Daniel – Number Seventy Three

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Unveiling the Historical Parallels: Jeroboam’s Deception and the Adventist Movement’s Test of Faith

 

Key Takeaways

The article discusses the historical context of the northern and southern kingdoms of ancient Israel, particularly focusing on the counterfeit system of worship established by Jeroboam in the northern kingdom. This system is compared to Catholicism in terms of its establishment of an image to and of the beast, represented by golden calf images. The article also mentions a prophet sent to rebuke Jeroboam’s false worship system, and how his disobedience led to a divine sign and punishment. It then draws parallels between this historical event and the Protestant Reformation, highlighting the rejection of increasing light and the rise of false systems of worship. The article concludes with a warning against accepting interpretations of Scripture that contradict established truths.

• The northern and southern kingdoms of ancient Israel were scattered for 2520 years as a result of God’s indignation due to the broken covenant of Leviticus 25 and 26.
• The gathering of these two kingdoms into one kingdom of spiritual modern Israel in 1844 is discussed, referencing the joining of two sticks in Ezekiel and the story of Elijah.
• Jeroboam established a counterfeit system of worship in the northern kingdom to prevent his subjects from worshipping in Jerusalem, similar to Catholicism’s establishment of an image to the beast.
• The two golden calf images symbolized Babylon, and altars in Bethel and Dan represented the combination of church and state.
• A corrupted priesthood was raised, paralleling the priests of Catholicism.
• Jeroboam selected a different day of worship, sparking a controversy over the true day.
• A prophet from Judah was sent to rebuke Jeroboam’s system of worship, proclaiming a threefold prophecy and giving a sign.
• Jeroboam’s hand was paralyzed, but it was later restored through prayer.
• When the prophet declined Jeroboam’s invitation, it aligned with the command to not return to the same way, similar to the Millerite Adventism’s separation from Protestant denominations.
• The history of the two sticks joined into one represents a testing process initiated in 1798 before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Midnight Cry.
• The first disappointment in the spring of 1844 led to Protestants failing the testing process and becoming like daughters of Catholicism, establishing a counterfeit system of worship.
• The Protestant Reformation aimed to bring the church out of Roman Catholic traditions.
• Refusal to accept increasing light and unsealed knowledge prevented recognition of the true sanctuary work of Christ in 1844.
• The rejection of the judgment hour message led to the rise of apostate Protestantism.
• Faithful Millerites who entered the sanctuary by faith in 1844 presented a rebuke to false Protestant worship and represented the prophet from Judah.
• The command to not return the same way parallels Jeremiah’s instruction to separate from the mockers and not return to them.
• Jeremiah’s experience is likened to Millerite Adventism’s separation from Protestant denominations.
• The story of the false prophet and the old prophet in 1 Kings 13 is discussed, emphasizing the importance of not returning to false systems of worship.
• The article concludes with a warning against accepting interpretations of Scripture that contradict established truths and emphasizes the importance of standing by the old landmarks.

 

The northern and southern kingdoms were scattered under God’s indignation for twenty-five hundred and twenty years in fulfillment of the broken covenant of Leviticus twenty-five and twenty-six. The forty-six years between the conclusion of the first and last indignations represented the gathering of those two kingdoms into one kingdom of spiritual modern Israel in 1844. The gathering of those two nations was represented by the two sticks which Ezekiel joined together and the two sticks the widow of Zarephath gathered in the story of Elijah. On October 22, 1844 the prophetic history of the northern and southern concluded and in so doing it repeated the history of the beginning of those two kingdoms.

Jeroboam instituted a counterfeit system of worship in the northern kingdom in order to prevent his subjects from travelling to Judah and worshipping God in the sanctuary in Jerusalem.

And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. 1 Kings 12:26–33.

 

His system of worship was typical of Catholicism (paganism), for as with Aaron’s rebellion, it established an image to and of the beast. The two calf images were made of gold, symbolizing Babylon. The images were dedicated to the gods of Egypt, who were identified as Aaron had also identified them; as “the gods that had brought them up out of the land of Egypt.” He built two altars in two cities, which when considered together represent the combination of church (Bethel) and state (Dan). The altars were counterfeits of the true altar, which is Christ, just as Catholicism claims to be Christ’s earthly representative. He raised up a corrupted priesthood, as are the priests of Catholicism. He selected a day for his worship service that was specifically different from the days of any of God’s true feast days, thus representing the controversy over the true and false day of worship.

In the inauguration of his false system of worship, God sent a prophet from Judah to rebuke his counterfeit system of worship.

And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. 1 Kings 13:1–3.

 

The prophet from Judah proclaimed a threefold prophecy identifying the future birth of king Josiah.  He predicted that Josiah would slay the wicked priests who were employed at the counterfeit altar and that Josiah would also burn men’s bones upon that very altar. He also gave Jeroboam a sign, identifying that Jeroboam’s altar would be broken open and the ashes would pour out. All of these things were fulfilled according to the word of the Lord, but when Jeroboam heard the proclamation of the prophet he was angered and sought to deal with the prophet, but God was in control.

And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. 1 Kings 13:4, 5.

 

The sign was immediately fulfilled, and Jeroboam’s hand was paralyzed.

And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. 1 Kings 13:6–10.

 

Jesus always illustrates the end of a thing with the beginning of a thing, and the beginning of the northern and southern kingdoms of literal ancient Israel end in the history where the two sticks are joined into one stick, representing the nation of spiritual modern Israel.

In the history where the two sticks were joined a three-step testing process was initiated at the time of the end in 1798. Both sticks (kingdoms) were being gathered in advance of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Midnight Cry. At the first disappointment in the spring of 1844, the Protestants failed the testing process and became the daughters of Catholicism, thus repeating the inauguration of a counterfeit system of worship, as had been typified by Jeroboam.

The Protestant Reformation was a work which God accomplished in order to bring the church in the wilderness out of the superstitions, traditions and customs of the Roman church. From the time of Martin Luther more and more truths were revealed identifying the whore of Tyre as nothing more than a pagan system of worship covered with a false profession of Christianity. It was the Lord’s purpose to bring his captive people out of darkness, as He had done when His people were slaves in Egypt. He delivered them from the bondage of Egypt to give them His law. The Protestant’s refusal to follow after the increasing light of the knowledge that was unsealed in 1798, prevented them from recognizing the law and the true sanctuary work of Christ in 1844.

Their rejection of the judgment-hour message represented their becoming daughters of the Roman church, and they then raised up a false system of worship identified in the Scriptures as the false prophet (apostate Protestantism). The faithful Millerites that entered into the sanctuary by faith on October 22, 1844, received the light of the third angel and presented a rebuke to the false system of worship that professes to be Protestant, while holding to the primary tradition of paganism, that being the worship of the sun. The prophet from Judah typified Millerite Adventism recognizing and presenting the message of the third angel that arrived on October 22, 1844.

When confronted by Jeroboam’s request for the prophet to come to his home and refresh himself, the prophet expressed his specific directions that had been given to him by the Lord. That command was also given to Millerite Adventism. The command was to not return the way they had come, and Millerite Adventism had come out of the Protestant denominations. They had been separated from the Protestants at the first disappointment in the spring of 1844, and Jeremiah provides an example of the identical directions that had been given to the Judean prophet.

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible. Jeremiah 15:16–21.

 

At the fulfillment of the time prophecy of the second Woe, on August 11, 1840, the mighty angel of Revelation ten descended with a little book open in his hand, and John was told to go and take the book and eat it. Jeremiah represents those that ate the little book at that point in history, and the words were sweet as honey, for they were “the joy and rejoicing of” his “heart.” But because of God’s “hand,” Jeremiah was “filled” “with indignation,” he was “wounded” and in “perpetual pain.” Because of God’s “hand” Jeremiah suggested that God had been “unto” Jeremiah “as a liar,” and as “failed waters.” The Lord had held his “hand” over a mistake in some of the figures of the 1843 chart.

Jeremiah represents the first disappointment of the Millerites, when the vision of Habakkuk tarried.  It appeared to those represented by Jeremiah that the message, which is represented as “rain,” had failed. But Habakkuk had stated “the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Jeremiah had thought God lied, and that the message (rain) had failed, but it had only tarried.

Then God instructed Jeremiah that “if thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.” After the disappointment Jeremiah, representing God’s people who must return to the service of the Lord and shake off the discouragement that had been produced when it appeared the message had failed. If Jeremiah would meet the designated requirements, God would allow him to be His spokesman.

More importantly for our study at this time is what God told Jeremiah concerning the “assembly of mockers” who were “rejoicing” over his disappointment. He told Jeremiah that the mockers could return to Jeremiah, but he was never to return to them. Jeremiah represented those who stood against the Protestants who had just chosen to return to the fold of Catholicism and became the daughters of Babylon, the false prophets of Baal and Ashtaroth. Jeremiah represented the Judean prophet who at the same point in the prophetic line had rebuked Jeroboam’s false system of worship at the beginning of the northern kingdom, thus typifying the introduction of a false system of worship that was an image of Catholicism at the end of the history of the northern kingdom. The prophet told Jeroboam, when Jeroboam offered to form an alliance, that he was not to eat, drink or return the way he came.

And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. 1 Kings 13:7–9.

 

The expression of the Judean prophet aligns with the work of the false prophets of Baal and Ashtaroth in the story of Elijah. Of course, the history of the Millerites is also the history of Elijah, for Miller was Elijah. In the story of Elijah, the prophets of Baal and Ashtaroth performed a dance of deception, which was exposed as foolishness when fire came down from God and consumed Elijah’s offering, thus typifying the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Midnight Cry of Millerite history. The confrontation of that history represented the confrontation of the second Elijah, which was John the Baptist during the dance of deception performed by the daughter of Herodias (Salome). Herodias was typified by Jezebel, and Jezebel is a symbol of the Catholic church.

In 1844, the Protestant churches became Salome, the daughter of Herodias (Jezebel). In the dance of deception Herod had promised half his kingdom, and he did so on his birthday, thus typifying the last days when the ten kings, who are typified by Ahab (the king of the ten northern kingdoms), agree to give their kingdom to the papacy (Jezebel). Giving “half your kingdom” is a symbol of a confederacy, and the prophet from Judea was clearly informing Jeroboam that he would never form an alliance with the apostate king or support his counterfeit system of worship.

That is what the Lord also told Jeremiah, when he said the “assembly of mockers” (apostate Protestantism) can return to Jeremiah, but Jeremiah must never return to them, or return by the way he came. But the Judean prophet did that very thing, for he was deceived by a false and lying prophet before he returned to Judea—before he finished the work he had been given.

Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back: And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord: therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake unto him. And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him. And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: For the saying which he cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass. 1 Kings 13:11–32.

 

We will continue this study in the next article.

“When the power of God testifies as to what is truth, that truth is to stand forever as the truth. No after suppositions contrary to the light God has given are to be entertained. Men will arise with interpretations of Scripture which are to them truth, but which are not truth. The truth for this time God has given us as a foundation for our faith. He Himself has taught us what is truth. One will arise, and still another, with new light, which contradicts the light that God has given under the demonstration of His Holy Spirit. A few are still alive who passed through the experience gained in the establishment of this truth. God has graciously spared their lives to repeat, and repeat till the close of their lives, the experience through which they passed even as did John the apostle till the very close of his life. And the standard bearers who have fallen in death are to speak through the reprinting of their writings. I am instructed that thus their voices are to be heard. They are to bear their testimony as to what constitutes the truth for this time.

“We are not to receive the words of those who come with a message that contradicts the special points of our faith. They gather together a mass of Scripture, and pile it as proof around their asserted theories. This has been done over and over again during the past fifty years. And while the Scriptures are God’s word, and are to be respected, the application of them, if such application moves one pillar from the foundation that God has sustained these fifty years, is a great mistake. He who makes such an application knows not the wonderful demonstration of the Holy Spirit that gave power and force to the past messages that have come to the people of God.

“Elder G’s proofs are not reliable. If received, they would destroy the faith of God’s people in the truth that has made us what we are.

“We must be decided on this subject; for the points that he is trying to prove by Scripture, are not sound. They do not prove that the past experience of God’s people was a fallacy. We had the truth; we were directed by the angels of God. It was under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that the presentation of the sanctuary question was given. It is eloquence for everyone to keep silent in regard to the features of our faith in which they acted no part. God never contradicts Himself. Scripture proofs are misapplied if forced to testify to that which is not true. Another and still another will arise and bring in supposedly great light, and make their assertions. But we stand by the old landmarks. [1 John 1:1–10 quoted.]

“I am instructed to say that these words we may use as appropriate for this time, for the time has come when sin must be called by its right name. We are hindered in our work by men who are not converted, who seek their own glory. They wish to be thought originators of new theories, which they present claiming that they are truth. But if these theories are received, they will lead to a denial of the truth that for the past fifty years God has been giving to His people, substantiating it by the demonstration of the Holy Spirit.” Selected Messages, book 1, 161.