Andrews University

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

THE SPECIAL RESURRECTION PRIOR TO THE SECOND ADVENT,

ESPECIALLY AS FOUND IN DANIEL 12:2 AND REVELATION 1:7, AS

UNDERSTOOD BY ELLEN WHITE AND THE ADVENTIST PIONEERS

A Research Paper

Presented in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Course

GSEM 534 Issues in Ellen G. White

by

Michael Stough II

November 29, 2011

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1
Background of the Problem ......................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................ 1
The Purpose and Methodology.................................................................................... 2
Delimitations ............................................................................................................... 2

CHAPTERS

I UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE RESURRECTION OF DANIEL 12:2

AND REVELATION 1:7 HELD BY EARLY ADVENTISTS ......................... 3
The Special /Limited Resurrection ................................................................ 3
Daniel 12:2 as a Proof Text for Soul Sleep ................................................. 12
Summary ..................................................................................................... 14

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................ 15

BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................... 17
 INTRODUCTION

Background of the Problem

In Revelation 1:7, which states “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will

see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.

Even so, Amen,” 1 (emphasis mine) it is clear that John is referring to the Second Coming of

Christ, and confirming Jesus’ statements in both Matthew 26:64 and Mark 14:62 regarding those

who tried and crucified Him . A glance at Revelation 20:5 also confirms that the wicked dead

will not be resurrected again until after 1000 years has passed from Christ’s return. It would then

appear that a special resurrection will take place prior to the Second Advent in which the wicked

who pierce Christ are raised to fulfill His words. In connection with this is the text of Daniel 12:2

in which it appears that both righteous and wicked individuals are involved in this resurrection.

Statement of the Problem

In the book Spiritual Gifts, volume 1, by Ellen White, she provides the first statement

within the Seventh-day Adventist Church that deals with a special, limited resurrection. Here she

states that the “graves were opened, and those who had died in faith under the third angel's

message, keeping the Sabbath, came forth from their dusty beds, glorified, to hear the covenant

of peace that God was to make with those who had kept His law.” 2 This thought is again

1
Unless otherwise noted all biblical references are from the New King James version.
2
Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, 4 vols., vol. 1 (Battle Creek, MI: Seventh-day Adventist Pub. Assoc.,
1858), 285.

1
emphasized on page 637 of The Great Controversy, 3 where not just the righteous are mentioned,

but also the wicked who participated in Christ’s crucifixion and some of the most ardent

persecutors of God’s truth and people. Additionally, Adventist pioneers, Uriah Smith, S.N.

Haskell, and J.N. Loughborough, also give veracity to this understanding of the verses dealing

with a special, limited resurrection as found in Daniel and Revelation which is the view held

today in the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary series.

Ellen White, Uriah Smith, S.N. Haskell, and J.N. Loughborough obviously had a strong

belief in the special resurrection, something established in their writings. A problem remains as

to how other Adventist pioneers saw these verses in relation to a special, limited resurrection or

in what other ways the verse were primarily utilized by them.

The Purpose and Methodology

It will be my purpose to examine the understandings of the Adventist pioneers regarding

their views of Daniel 12:2 and Revelation 1:7 in the context of a special, limited resurrection. I

then look at other possible applications that were made regarding these texts that are relevant to

the subject of resurrection in general.

Delimitations

The flow of thought of commentators prior to the Advent movement, although important,

for understanding providing a context to the thoughts of the Adventist pioneers, will not be

considered. Contemporary non-Adventist commentators along with Adventist and non-Adventist

commentators following the pioneers go beyond the scope of this paper and are therefore not

explored.

3
Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy between Christ and Satan; the Conflict of the Ages in the
Christian Dispensation (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assoc., 1950).

2
 CHAPTER I

UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE RESURRECTION OF DANIEL 12:2 AND REVELATION 1:7

HELD BY EARLY ADVENTISTS

The Special /Limited Resurrection

A search through the writings of the early Adventist pioneers yields four main authors

who took up the subject of a special or limited resurrection based on the two primary texts of

Daniel 12:2 and Revelation 1:7, Ellen White, Uriah Smith, Stephen N. Haskell, and J.N.

Loughborough. The earliest of these was Ellen White, who in 1858 makes the first mention of a

special resurrection in the book Spiritual Gifts, volume 1. Here she writes that the “graves were

shaken open, and those who had died in faith under the third angel's message, keeping the

Sabbath, came forth from their dusty beds, glorified, to hear the covenant of peace that God was

to make with those who had kept his law.” 4 It is clear the event mentioned is a special

resurrection because White brackets the event in middle of the seventh plague 5, in which she

points to the “signs and wonders” that follow one another in rapid succession, the “voice of God,

like many waters, which shook the heavens and the earth,” and finally the “mighty earthquake,” 6

4
White, Spiritual Gifts, 205.
5
Revelation 16: 17-21 “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out
of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings;
and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the
earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was
remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled away,
and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a
talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.”
6
White, Spiritual Gifts, 205.

3
places this special resurrection, then concludes with when the “mountains shook like a reed in

the wind, and cast out ragged rocks all around. The sea boiled like a pot, and cast out stones upon

the land.” 7 Further clarity is given that only a special resurrection is being referred to, because on

page 208, she writes distinctly about when

The earth mightily shook as the voice of the Son of God called forth the sleeping saints.
They responded to the call, and came forth clothed with glorious immortality, crying,
Victory! victory! over death and the grave. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is
thy victory? Then the living saints, and the resurrected ones, raised their voices in a long,
transporting shout of victory. Those sickly bodies that had gone down into the grave
came up in immortal health and vigor. The living saints were changed in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, and caught up with the resurrected ones, and together they meet their
Lord in the air. O what a glorious meeting. Friends whom death had separated, were
united, never more to part. 8

Therefore it is clear that only 14 years after the Disappointment, a clear view of a special

resurrection was seen by Ellen White in the context of at least Revelation 17. Whether this view

was influenced by anything she had in her personal library or had read previously is difficult to

determine.

The best information that could be found in relation to the above thought regarding

influences on Ellen White was in regards to an article entitled “The Weekly – Our Work” by

Joshua V. Himes in the March 15, 1842 edition of the Signs of the Times, where he writes “Then

let all cry aloud and spare not, that the crucified Lord is about returning in glory to take

vengeance upon his enemies: not only upon those who pierced his sacred body with nails and

with spears at Jerusalem, but those also that pierce him every day by their sins and iniquities,

their hard speeches, concerning his person, his religion, and his coming.” 9 Here it can be easily

seen that in reference to Revelation 1:7 that Himes at this time did not appear to vary with

7
Ibid., 205-206.
8
Ibid., 208.
9
Joshua V. Himes, "The Weekly - Our Work," Signs of the Times, March 15, 1842.

4
commentators regarding this verse. He did, however, disagree with the time at which this event,

the resurrection of the wicked, was to take place a year later, for Himes writes, “When it is said

in Rev. i. 7, that ‘every eye shall see him,’ ‘they also which pierced him’ are included; and as

they will not see him till the last resurrection, it may be that the wicked will only know that

Christ has come, from the fact that the righteous and all the little babes are gone.” 10 Although it

appears that Himes had changed his understanding of when the resurrection of the wicked was to

take place by the spring of 1843, or at least in regards to those that pierced Christ, in 1842,

Millerites had the view presented clearly of the possibility of the special resurrection of at least

those who had pierce Christ in Hymn 60, under the section entitled the Midnight Cry, of

Millennial Musings. Here stanza two captures the thoughts of Revelation 1:7 with clarity in

reference to the Second Coming, sung in stanza one:

Every eye shall now behold him,

Robed in dreadful majesty!
Those who set at naught and sold him,
Pierced, and nailed him to the tree,
Deeply wailing,
Shall the true Messiah see! 11

The next significant work to deal with the special resurrection of Daniel 12:2 and

Revelation 1:7 did not occur until 1885, when Uriah Smith first published Daniel and the

Revelation, although he had published separately Thoughts, Critical and Practical, on the Book

of Revelation in 1865, and Thoughts, Critical and Practical, on the Book of Daniel in 1873. In

his treatment of the texts in either the section on Daniel or in Revelation, the two texts are

merged together to provide a unified thought on a special resurrection that consists of a limited

class of individuals at just prior to the Second Coming of Christ. It is important to stop and look
10
Joshua V. Himes, "The End of the Prophetic Periods," Signs of the Times, April 5, 1843.
11
Joshua V. Himes and Josiah Litch, eds., Millennial Musings: A Choice Selection of Hymns: Designed for
the Use of Second Advent Meetings (Boston, MA: [s.n], 1842).

5
at the argument that Smith provides for this special event, because although Ellen White had

already commented on it, Smith provides something she had not, a solid biblical view of the texts

in question and supporting texts related to the topic. In his explanation on Daniel 12:2, Smith

plainly asks if the text is referring to the general resurrection, “or is there to intervene between

Christ's reception of the kingdom and his revelation to earth in all his advent glory (Luke 19:12) a special

resurrection answering to the description here given?” 12 In turning to Revelation 1:7, he clearly

identifies those who see Him that pierced Him as being those “who were chiefly concerned in the

tragedy of his death” for “they shall behold him returning to earth in triumph and glory.” 13 Smith

in turning to an explanation of Revelation 20:5, explains that the wicked are resurrected only

after the millennium, so what is presented in Daniel and Revelation is a special resurrection. His

words sum up the special resurrection thought best:

Here a partial resurrection is brought to view, or a resurrection of a certain class of each,

righteous and wicked, before the general resurrection of either class. Many, not all, that
sleep shall awake. Some of the righteous, not all of them, to everlasting life, and some of
the wicked, not all of them, to shame and everlasting contempt. And this resurrection
transpires in connection with the great time of trouble such as never was, which just
precedes the coming of the Lord. May not "they also which pierced him," be among those
who then come up to shame and everlasting contempt? What could be more appropriate,
so far as human minds can judge, than that those who took part in the scene of our Lord's
greatest humiliation and other special leaders in crime against him, should be raised to
behold his terrible majesty, as he comes forth triumphantly, in flaming fire, to take
vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not his gospel? 14 (Emphasis by Uriah
Smith)

Up to this point it is apparent both White and Smith see a special resurrection taking place,

however; what also needs to be further clarified is whether Daniel 12:2 deals with “many” or

12
Uriah Smith, Thoughts, Critical and Practical, on the Books of Daniel and Revelation, Being an
Exposition, Text by Text, of These Important Portions of the Holy Scriptures (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald
Pub. Assoc., 1885), 303.
13
Ibid., 339.
14
Ibid., 340.

6
“all” for those resurrected. Smith delves into the issue of the ellipsis and finds that “[t]his, then,

is the predicate to be supplied: ‘Some [or these] shall awake to everlasting life.’ Applying the

same rule to the next member, ‘Some [or those] to shame and everlasting contempt,’ which is not

in itself a complete sentence, we find ourselves obliged to supply the same words, and read it,

‘Some [or those] shall awake to shame and everlasting contempt.’” 15 Interestingly, although this

is in the original publication, the most recent edition has left out this argument, even though it

does not take away from Smith’s earlier text confirming the special resurrection of both a limited

class of righteous and wicked. Finally Smith identifies when this event will take place. Following

the biblical context that Ellen White uses for placing it during the seventh plague, Uriah Smith

utilizes Revelation 16:17; 22:11 and Joel 3:16.

Although the idea of the special, limited resurrection appears again in 1882 when Early

Writings is first published, the fact that it is merely a combination of Experience and Views and

Spiritual Gifts, volume 1, added nothing new to Ellen White’s thoughts. In 1888 The Great

Controversy first appeared, and with it, although not much new is seen between what she and

Uriah Smith had written previously, the ideas are merged together of Daniel 12:2 and Revelation

1:7. As is seen, the textual references, as opposed to Spiritual Gifts, are now included:

Graves are opened, and “many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth” “awake, some
to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” [Daniel 12:2.] All who
have died in the faith of the third angel's message come forth from the tomb glorified, to
hear God's covenant of peace with those who have kept his law. “They also which
pierced Him,” [Revelation 1:7.] those that mocked and derided Christ's dying agonies,
and the most violent opposers of his truth and his people, are raised to behold him in his
glory, and to see the honor placed upon the loyal and obedient. 16

15
Ibid., 305.
16
Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy between Christ and Satan (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press
Pub. Assoc., 1907), 637.

7
 It should also be noted that what is new, is that in addition to those who actually

participated in Christ’s crucifixion being resurrected, the most ardent opponents of God’s truth

and His people who have lived since the beginning of the earth, are included in this special,

limited resurrection.

Shortly after the publications of Ellen White and Uriah Smith in the late 1800s, Stephen

N. Haskell penned two books, The Story of Daniel the Prophet in 1901 and Story of the Seer of

Patmos in 1905. He too adheres to the idea that Daniel 12:2 and Revelation 1:7 present a special,

limited resurrection in their understandings of final events. 17 He adds further that “those who

have fallen asleep under the sealing message, come forth glorified, ready to receive the touch of

immortality when Christ appears.” 18 Furthermore, Haskell’s references are found in a two brief

entries in the Bible Handbook of 1916 and 1919. In the 1916 edition the simply entry is found,

“Dan. 12:2. A partial resurrection takes place at this time. G.C. 637” 19 in providing biblical texts

surrounding the seventh plague, and in 1919 in dealing specifically with Daniel 12 writes, “Dan.

12:2. Partial resurrection. G.C. 637.” 20

The 144,000 and the Special Resurrection

It has already been mentioned that Uriah Smith’s earliest view to expound extensively on

the idea of this special, limited resurrection was in the 1880s. Although this is true, he first

brought up the idea regarding this resurrection in 1868 when dealing with the topic of the

144,000 of Revelation 7 and 14. At that time there was apparent controversy regarding the views

17
Stephen N. Haskell, Story of the Seer of Patmos (Nashville, TN: Southern Publishing Association, 1905),
254; Stephen N. Haskell, The Story of Daniel the Prophet (Nashville, TN: Southern Publishing Association, 1977),
34, 286.
18
Haskell, Story of the Seer of Patmos, 287.
19
Stephen N. Haskell, Bible Handbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Pub. Assoc., 1916), 28.
20
Stephen N. Haskell, Bible Handbook (Takoma Park, MD: Review and Herald Pub. Assoc., 1919), 127.

8
of Ellen White regarding the 144,000 as presented in Experience and Views. Smith writes, “‘Her

visions,’ we are told, ‘are contradictory in regard to the 144,000.’ The only trouble with this

objection is, that like all those we have thus far examined, it is false. There is no truth in it. What

is the objection made of? Just this. In Experience and Views, Page 11, she speaks of the living

saints at the time the voice of God is heard, as being 144,000 in number.” 21 He also references

Spiritual Gifts, volume 1, page 205 on the same page as quoted above. What is most significant

about his argument in dealing with the identity of the 144,000 for the context of this study, is

found several paragraphs later where he argues against the thought that:

It is objected again that this makes too many resurrections. We leave the objector to settle
this with the Bible; for the prophet Daniel brings to view this very resurrection. Dan.12:1,
2: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the
children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there
was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every
one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the
earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Here is a resurrection which takes place after the great and final time of trouble for this
world has commenced. But it is not the general resurrection either of the righteous or the
wicked; for it is only "some" out of each class; not all of either class. Hence here is a
resurrection of a certain number of righteous ones, before the general resurrection of the
righteous, at the appearing of Christ; for there will be no possibility of this partial
resurrection after that event; and coming in as it does, after the time of trouble
commences, and before the appearing of Christ in the clouds of heaven, it must be the
very resurrection here brought to view in the visions. To no other event can Daniel's
testimony apply. 22

Even though in The Visions of Mrs. E.G. White, Smith presents his most extensive view of a

special, limited resurrection in the context of a discussion regarding the 144,000, he also used a

similar explanation in 1884’s Synopsis of the Present Truth. Of great importance for Seventh-day

Adventists is the fact that the book in which the topic is being covered is one that deals with

what views and beliefs the church holds. In the question and answer format in which the book is
21
Uriah Smith, The Visions of Mrs. E.G. White: A Manefistation of Spiritual Gifts According to the
Scriptures (Battle Creek, MI: Seventh-day Adventist Pub. Assoc., 1868), 56.
22
Ibid., 56-57.

9
presented, he writes, “The sealing work of Revelation 7 results in sealing the number here

specified; but as this is identical with the third angel's message, this sealing work has for many

years already been going forward; and some whose whole religious experience has been

connected with, and is owing to, this work, have fallen asleep since the message commenced.

Will they be reckoned with this 144,000? If so, how can it be said that they will be redeemed

from among men, or be translated?” 23 The answer he provides finds him connecting the ideas of

Daniel 12 and Revelation 1 together. Smith concludes that those who are resurrected during this

special resurrection are “some of the pre-eminently wicked, and some of the pre-eminently

good” and includes “all those who have died in the third angel's message.” 24 Finally, a series of

articles that were printed in the Review and Herald during 1897, and eventually were published

in book form as A Study of the 144,000, Uriah Smith once again provides a view of this special,

limited resurrection in the context of questions relating to the 144,000. In answering the question

as to the identity of the 144,000, Smith argues that it cannot be those who never died, because of

their redemption from not only the earth, but also from amongst humanity. Answering the

reader’s inquiry as to how this could be possible, the reply “that they come up in the special

resurrection, embracing a limited number of both righteous and wicked, as mentioned in

Dan.12:2 and Rev.1:7. Those who, in this resurrection, come up to everlasting life (though not

then made immortal) are those who belong to the 144,000 because they have died in the

message.” 25 Smith also goes on to further refine Ellen White’s view of “those who pierced Him”

23
Uriah Smith, Synopsis of the Present Truth: A Brief Exposition of the Views of S. D. Adventists (Battle
Creek, MI: Seventh-day Adventist Pub. Assoc., 1884), 318.
24
Ibid., 319.
25
Uriah Smith, A Study of the 144,000 (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Pub. Assoc., Unknown), 7.

10
to being more specifically those who have lived in the last age of earth, but gives allowance for

other epochs of time as well.

Even though it has been seen in the previous section that Haskell’s Bible Handbook of

1919 was the final work of an Adventist pioneer to deal with the topic of a special, limited

resurrection it must be recognized that in 1916, the same year that the Bible Handbook was first

published, J.N. Loughborough’s Questions of the Sealing Message, was also released. Again,

written in a question and answer format, the book posed the question, “Will any who have died in

the faith since 1848, when that message was received, be reckoned with the 144,000?” 26

(emphasis original). The reason for the inclusion of this question in the book appears to center

around the problem that starting in 1894; the belief began to become prevalent that only those

who actually lived until the Second Advent would be a part of the 144,000. Adamantly

Loughborough refutes the notion being then adopted by referring the reader back to the Ellen

White statement already seen previously in Early Writings and Spiritual Gifts, because if “in

1848-1850, persons were being sealed, we would naturally expect they would be of those

wakened to everlasting life, and so be with the 144,000.” 27 The argument then is that those who

were sealed between 1848-1850 with the message of the third angel, i.e., the Sabbath, were then

very few in number (even Ellen White had passed away only the previous year), must therefore

allow for a special resurrection or else there could be no fulfillment of what God had shown His

servant in vision when she emphatically uses the plural first person pronouns. Loughborough

further confirms this idea in concluding his answer by quoting from a conversation with Elder

Irwin the stenographer for the 1909 General Conference, where he asked “‘Will those who have

26
J. N. Loughborough, Questions on the Sealing Message (No Publisher, 1916), 22.
27
Ibid., 22-23.

11
died in the message be among the 144,000?’” The reply of Ellen White was “‘Oh, yes, those who

have died in the faith will be among the 144,000. I am clear on that matter.’” 28

Daniel 12:2 as a Proof Text for Soul Sleep

A final usage of Daniel 12:2, and by correlation Revelation 1:7, which must be looked at

is the view that sees the sleep of the soul during the first death in waiting for a resurrection event

to take place. It will be seen that even at this point there is no departure away from a special,

limited resurrection usage; the pioneers saw fit only to utilize this text in the light of soul sleep

until resurrection occurred.

Here will be seen several other authors which have not been mentioned before, J.N.

Andrews, J.H. Waggoner, E.J. Waggoner, and A.T. Jones, will be added to those already viewed.

It is also interesting to note that the majority of the references seen are found starting in the

1870s and continuing to 1890.

The first use of Daniel 12:2 as a text to support the idea of soul sleep was that by Joseph

H. Waggoner in 1870. Arguing against those who said that the wicked dead would never be

raised to life again, he writes “I affirm that the prophets do teach the resurrection of the wicked.

Every text which has been, or might be, quoted to prove a future judgment of the wicked, is

proof of their resurrection. Such texts are not scarce. But there is one at least which plainly and

positively teaches the resurrection of the unjust. I refer to Dan. 12:2.” 29 Waggoner goes on to

reference Daniel 12:2 another six times in the chapter “What Say the Scriptures?”30

28
Ibid., 31.
29
J.H. Waggoner, A Vindication of the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Unjust (Battle Creek, MI:
Seventh-day Adventist Pub. Assoc., 1870), 60.
30
Ibid., 60-89.

12
 John Nevins Andrews is the next Adventist author, writing in 1871, to utilize the Daniel

text in support of soul sleep. Here it is merely utilized as a reference text in a list of fourteen

various points regarding the lack of consciousness of individuals righteous or wicked that wait

for the Second Coming. 31

Sometime after Uriah Smith’s death in 1903, the text is used in the book Fundamental

Principles of the Seventh-day Adventist. 32 Here it is used exclusively in the soul sleep context,

which is important to note, because Smith’s two other books outside of Daniel and the

Revelation, utilized Daniel 12:2 to discuss not only the issue of soul sleep, 33 but also the issue

that the wicked will not be punished eternally, but will die the second death. It is therefore the

contempt of the wicked by the righteous, not of the wicked for themselves that is seen to be

everlasting. 34

During the 1880s both A.T. Jones and E.J. Waggoner wrote multiple articles that

appeared in the pages of The Signs of the Times. In these articles, both Jones and Waggoner state

quite clearly their use of the Daniel 12:2 to support the idea that all, righteous and wicked are

sleeping in the ground, awaiting for the return of Christ to awake individuals to either life

everlasting or to everlasting shame and contempt. 35

31
John Nevin Andrews, Samuel and the Witch of Endor (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Pub. Assoc.,
1871), 24.
32
Uriah Smith, "Fundamental Principles of Seventh-Day Adventists," (Southern California Tract Society,
ND), 7.
33
Uriah Smith, Man's Nature and Destiny: Or, the State of the Dead, the Reward of the Righteous and the
End of the Wicked (Oakland, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assoc., 1884), 206.
34
Ibid., 206-207; Uriah Smith and James White, The Biblical Institute: A Synopsis of Lectures on the
Principle Doctrines of Seventh-Day Adventists (Oakland, CA: Pacific Press Pub. Assoc., 1878), 215-216.
35
Alonzo T. Jones, "Did Elijah Die?," The Signs of the Times, September 10, 1885; Alonzo T. Jones, "Bible
Answers to Bible Questions Concerning Man.—No. 2," The Signs of the Times, November 18, 1886; Alonzo T.
Jones, "The Death of Lazarus. John 11:1-16," The Signs of the Times, July 8, 1886; Alonzo T. Jones, "A Pagan
Paradise," The Signs of the Times, December 30, 1886; Ellet J. Waggoner, "A Strange Thing," The Signs of the
Times, July 12, 1883; Ellet J. Waggoner, "That Blessed Hope," The Signs of the Times, November 1, 1883; Ellet J.

13
 Summary

With the rise of the Seventh-day Adventist movement during the mid-1800s, an enhanced

view of Daniel 12:2 and Revelation 1:7 developed first through Ellen White’s prophetic gift, and

was then further codified in concrete biblical terms by Uriah Smith. A view in which there is a

special, limited resurrection during the seventh plague of Revelation 16, centered specifically on

verse 17 comes to light. The dead, whether righteous or wicked sleep in the “dust of the earth”

until the resurrection, in this case that of the special, limited resurrection. Here both the

righteous, those who have believed in and lived during the third angel’s message, and the

unrighteous, those that actually participated in Christ’s crucifixion and those who have stood the

strongest against God’s truth, are at this time resurrected. In further identifying the righteous who

participate in this resurrection, a recognition of these individuals with the 144,000 is also seen to

be another facet of the views held by the pioneers. The purpose of this resurrection is so that they

can hear the covenant of peace from God and for the unrighteous to see the reality of the divine

nature of the One they persecuted as well as the victory of those they oppressed. Haskell adds

that those who do come forth from their graves at this time arise with glorified bodies, simply

waiting the gift of life everlasting.

Waggoner, "How Will They Do It?," The Signs of the Times, September 11, 1884; Ellet J. Waggoner, "The Sabbath-
School," The Signs of the Times, October 2, 1884; Ellet J. Waggoner, "Is It Strange?," The Signs of the Times,
February 24, 1887; Ellet J. Waggoner, "The Spirit of Antichrist No. 1," The Signs of the Times, November 24, 1887;
Ellet J. Waggoner, "That Blessed Hope," The Signs of the Times, October 28, 1889; Ellet J. Waggoner, "That
Blessed Hope," The Signs of the Times, October 6, 1890.

14
 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

With the rise of the Adventist movement, a new interpretative dynamic takes place

clearly defining the meanings in these texts as referring to a special, limited resurrection, just

prior to the second advent of Christ, but after the beginning of the seventh plague, of both

righteous and wicked individuals. For the righteous individuals, this meant those that had died in

a hope of the third angel’s message, as is for the purpose of their hearing the covenant of peace

which God makes with His people. For those unrighteous, it clearly identifies those who partook

in Christ’s crucifixion, but will also include those who have either been the strongest persecutors

of Christ or of His people. It appears that this view was the predominant one held by the

Adventist pioneers, as it appears in belief statements of the later part of the 19th century.

Evidence also makes it clear that a relation between these righteous individuals and the 144,000

as seen by pioneer writers is also warranted. It was also seen that the idea of soul sleep was

clearly seen in at least Daniel 12:2, if not implicitly then in Revelation 1:7.

A question does arise in regards to why God gave the understanding of a special, limited

resurrection to His remnant people. It is even more pertinent in light of the fact that this belief

came first through Ellen White; even though it is clear she was utilizing heavily, biblical texts

and ideas, against those who would say that Seventh-day Adventists receive their theological

understandings through her writings. In answering these questions and concerns, I see several

points that show why God provided this enhanced view.

1) A clear understanding of a special resurrection and the time at which it is to take

place prevents a belief in the immortality of the soul, thus preventing Satan’s

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 deception of impersonating loved ones from the grave as tools in losing faith in God’s

truth.

2) A hope was provided for the many that have since passed to their graves, knowing

that they because they have lived in and under the third angel’s message, will be

resurrected to hear God make His covenant of peace with His people.

3) Related to this is the assurance provided to those who will face the persecutions of the

little time of trouble, even to the point of death, as it provides the same relief as those

who have passed peacefully to their rest, knowing that they too will be called forth to

hear this covenant and see Christ’s triumphal approach.

Lewis H. Christian brings perfect validation to these points:

We find this, too, in the life and teachings of Mrs. White. She foresaw and predicted
many things. There is in her writings, however, no time prophecies of things to come.
Some have tried to discover these by explaining her words that some people present at a
conference would be alive when Jesus comes. They forget her other words about a
special resurrection. She does teach that we are living in the "last days," and indicates
that this present generation is the generation of which Christ declared that is should "not
pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Matthew 24:34. (See The Desire of Ages, page
632.) She does not specify when that generation began or how long it will last. 36
(Emphasis mine.)

In closing the belief of the special, limited resurrection of Daniel 12:2 and Revelation 1:7 is no

less important for the times in which the Adventist church is living now, than when the pioneers

first received and accepted it.

36
Lewis H. Christian, The Fruitage of Spiritual Gifts (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assoc.,
1947), 407.

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