The Great Second Advent Movement: Its Rise and Progress

Founding Period the Focus

We see this book’s greatest contribution is in answering many questions (often even unasked) about our founding period and early years. Other questions that are pertinent to the later experience of the church in the end of the nineteenth century and since are best covered elsewhere. The messenger of the Lord has described in the testimonies the condition of the church then, the light the Lord attempted to bring in 1888, and the consequences, for that time and for the years extending to our day, of the church’s having rejected that message. GSAM 11.1

It is important to see the contrast between the delay of the peoples’ expectation, which has been the lot of God’s people through the ages, who hoped they were near the coming of the Lord but received evidence that it was not for their time, and the delay of the Lord’s intentions, when as with Israel of old He brought us as a people to the borders of Canaan and said, “Go in”, and we entered not in because of unbelief. Let us see where we are, and why we are here. Let us learn the lessons of our forefathers, recount the blessing and long-suffering of the Lord, and allow Him to do in and through us what He was unable to do 100 years ago. GSAM 11.2

(See Appendix C) GSAM 11.3