Rule 13: To know whether we have the true historical event for the fulfillment of prophecy: If you find every word of the prophecy (after the figures are understood) is literally fulfilled, then you may know that your history is the true event; but if one word lacks a fulfillment, then you must look for another event, or wait its future development; for God takes care that history and prophecy shall agree, so that the true believing children of God may never be ashamed.
MILLER’S PROOFS (texts which demonstrate the Bible principles in support of this rule)
Psalms 22:5 “They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.”
Isaiah 45:17-19 “But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. 18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the Lord; and there is none else. 19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.”
1 Peter 2:6 “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.”
Revelation 17:17 “For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.”
Acts 3:18 “But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.”
My Comments
It is no easy task to apply this rule correctly. Many fanatical views have come out as a result of incorrectly applying historical events to Bible prophecy. But with prayer and in good faith, bring out the old, dusty history books and give it a try. Thankfully the book Daniel and the Revelation by Uriah Smith is a great example of how this works. If you have it, definitely give it a read. I know this kind of “dry” and heavy reading can put some to sleep, but once you realize how important it is to correctly identify the fulfillment of a prophecy in a historic event, it will seem more worthwhile.
Spirit of Prophecy Support
“The Bible is its own expositor. Scripture is to be compared with scripture. The student should learn to view the word as a whole and to see the relation of its parts. He should gain a knowledge of its grand central theme– of God’s original purpose for the world, of the rise of the great controversy, and of the work of redemption. He should understand the nature of the two principles that are contending for the supremacy, and should learn to trace their working through the records of history and prophecy to the great consummation. He should see how this controversy enters into every phase of human experience; how in every act of life he himself reveals the one or the other of the two antagonistic motives; and how, whether he will or not, he is even now deciding upon which side of the controversy he will be found.”
– Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p. 462 par. 1 {CT 462.1}
“He showed conclusively that these prophecies had been literally fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth. …”
– The Review and Herald {RH, March 30, 1911 par. 5}
“This prophecy was literally fulfilled by the Jews in their treatment of Christ …”
– Testimonies to Ministers, p. 79 par. 1 {TM 79.1}
“The prophecy uttered so many years before in the presence of Jeroboam, was now to be literally fulfilled.”
– The Review and Herald {RH, July 29, 1915 par. 9}
“With intense interest he [William Miller] studied the books of Daniel and the Revelation, employing the same principles of interpretation as in the other scriptures, and found, to his great joy, that the prophetic symbols could be understood. He saw that the prophecies, so far as they had been fulfilled, had been fulfilled literally; that all the various figures, metaphors, parables, similitudes, etc., were either explained in their immediate connection, or the terms in which they were expressed were defined in other scriptures, and when thus explained, were to be literally understood. “I was thus satisfied,” he says, “that the Bible is a system of revealed truths, so clearly and simply given that the wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein.”–Bliss, page 70. Link after link of the chain of truth rewarded his efforts, as step by step he traced down the great lines of prophecy. Angels of heaven were guiding his mind and opening the Scriptures to his understanding.”
– The Great Controversy, p. 320 par 2 {GC 320.2}
References
Bible, King James Version
Quotes taken from the Ellen G. White Writings, Comprehensive Research Edition 2008 CD
historyandprophecy.wordpress.com 