I am not sure that I could ever understand why people don’t understand these verses. In Daniel 12:1 Michael stands up. And Daniel 12:1 begins by saying: “And at that time“, identifying, that Michael stands up somewhere in the history of the previous verses. We understand that when Michael stands up, human probation closes. The verses that lead up to Daniel 12:1, when Michael stands up, are verses 40 to 45. In verse 40 it begins by saying: “And at the time of the end.” Sister White says in The Great Controversy, 356 that the time of the end is 1798. So, I have understood that verses 40 to 45 are the prophetic events that lead to the close of probation.
In The Great Controversy, 594 Sister White says: “The events connected with the close of probation and the work of preparation for the time of trouble, are clearly presented. But multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than if they had never been revealed. Satan watches to catch away every impression that would make them wise unto salvation, and the time of trouble will find them unready.” Inspiration tells us, the events that lead to the close of probation have been clearly revealed. The clearest revelation of the close of probation is Daniel 12:1 when Daniel stands up. So, the last six verses of Daniel 11, according to inspiration, have been clearly revealed. She says, these events are important truths and Satan is there to try to prevent people from understanding these truths by catching away every thought that might make them understand these verses and because of that, people aren’t going to be ready when probation closes. When she is commenting on those that don’t understand these verses, these events, she does not say: but few do not understand these verses, she says: “multitudes.” The majority of Adventism does not understand these verses and it is salvational. If you don’t understand the events that lead to the close of probation you are going to be found unready when human probation closes. Inspiration is clear, that we will understand these things.
The Review and Herald, April 4, 1893: “The events of the future will be discerned by prophecy, and will be understood.” If you are a Seventh-day Adventist and you’ve been a Seventh-day Adventist very long then you’ve watched our evangelistic series. You know when we are doing evangelism, we will tell the non-Adventists about Daniel 2. Everyone agrees about Daniel 2. Then we’ll teach them Daniel 7. Then we’ll teach them Daniel 8. Daniel 8 is a little bit harder, because we’ve got to deal with the sanctuary. But, we don’t teach them about Daniel 11. We jump over right into Revelation. We avoid Daniel’s last vision like a plague. Sister White says: “The events that lead to the close of probation have been clearly revealed” and these events are what make us wise unto salvation. Sister White and the Bible teach that history is repeated at the end. Sister White says more than once, that every generation has special testing truths for that generation.
In Bible history which illustrates the end of the world, as Jesus illustrates the end from the beginning, every time we investigate the special truths for that particular generation, we find a majority of the people reject the message. How many people got on the ark? How many people got out of Sodom and Gomorrah? How many of the people received Jesus when He was here on earth? How many people received the message of Miller? So, the only way I can understand why the majority of Adventism doesn’t know anything at all about the last six verses of Daniel 11 is, because Sister White says these events, in these verses that lead to the close of probation, are what make us wise unto salvation. These verses are the message for this generation, and like every other time in sacred history, when a special testing message comes to God’s people, the majority of God’s people find any excuse that’s convenient to not understand that message. That’s how I understand it.
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