"This

Generation
Shall Not Pass"

by
Vernon Sparks
 Copyright © 2001

Vernon Sparks

Published
by

Digital Inspiration
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Tellico Plains, TN 37385
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 “This Generation Shall Not Pass”
By Vernon Sparks

S
OME 160 years ago the Millerite Movement carried to the then
known world the message of Christ’s soon return. Through the
study of Biblical prophecy they came to understand that Christ
would return to this earth on October 22, 1844. But they were bitterly
disappointed. Those who searched the scriptures for the reason of their
disappointment came to an understanding of the Biblical truth of Christ
entering into the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary on Octo-
ber 22, 1844 to there officiate in the antitypical day of atonement, at the
end of which Christ will indeed return in glory to this earth. For nearly
another 160 years our ministers and evangelists have been preaching of
Christ’s soon return.
In our evangelistic meetings we have explained countless times the
signs of Christ’s return recorded in Matthew 24:29–30. “Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the
moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven. and the
powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of
the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn,
and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory.” We have given the date of May 19, 1780 for the
fulfillment of the first two and November 13, 1833 for the fulfillment of
the stars falling. For many decades we have emphasized the soon com-
ing of Christ by then referring to the words of Christ in Matthew 24:33–
35. “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the
doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these
things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall
not pass away.”
But time has prolonged and generations have passed, and continue
to pass, away. With reason, some question “Have Christ’s words passed
away?” Certainly, this facet of our message is becoming less credible
and more difficult to present.
It is obvious that the same generation who witnessed the dark day
(and night) of May 19, 1780 witnessed, 53 years later, the falling of the
stars. By 1876, however, that generation was reaching the century mark
and was passing away. That year, James White, commenting on the
above words of Christ, stated:
4 "This Generation Shall Not Pass"
“In this prophetic discourse, He leads over the events of the Chris-
tian age, mentions the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and then de-
clares that this generation shall not pass away till all these things be
fulfilled. . . .
“But we do not believe that the phrase, ‘this generation,’ marks any
definite number of years. Some suppose that our Lord designed to teach
that some who were witnesses of the dark day in 1780 would live to
witness the second coming of the Saviour. But it is our opinion that the
Lord designed to teach that the people who should live at the time of the
fulfillment of the last sign (the falling stars of 1833), and should hear the
proclamation of the coming of Christ, based partly upon the fulfilled
signs, should witness the scenes connected by His coming.” The Sec-
ond Coming of Christ: or A Brief Exposition of Matthew Twenty-
Four, 34–35.
But even this generation described by James White reached the
century mark in 1933, some 67 years ago and Christ has not come.
Have we, and are we teaching error?—“cunningly devised fables”?
What has gone wrong? Is there a reasonable explanation for this appar-
ent embarrassing aspect of our message? As difficult (as painful) as it
may be we need to be accountable for the message that we are giving to
the world. We need to give a reasonable explanation of Christ’s words
“this generation.”
The position of many Adventists is that there has been no real delay
in Christ’s coming. It is only an apparent delay because of our finite
understanding and knowledge. God has a time table and Christ’s second
coming will prove to be right on schedule. In 1994, the Review and
Herald Publishing Association published a 120 page book by Pastor Arnold
Wallenkampf entitled The Apparent Delay. In formulating his position
he states the following on page 91:
“Neither our procrastination of planting the gospel seed nor our sin-
fulness will obstruct or derail God’s plan for our planet or for the uni-
verse. God knows the moment for the harvest, and it will be at the time
He has seen and set rather than when we think it ought to have been.”
Twenty-one years earlier, a contrasting view was presented in a
126 page book by the same publishers entitled Too Late Getting Off. Its
author, Marjorie Lewis Lloyd, stated on pages 54–55:
“As I was growing up, the words ‘This generation shall not pass’
were heard loud and clear. There was general agreement among Sev-
enth-day Adventists as to what those words meant. The generation that
saw the stars fall would not completely disappear until our Lord would
come. Many a sermon echoed that theme.
 "This Generation Shall Not Pass" 5
“And then the words seemed to fade from Adventist preaching like
a band marching into the distance. The drumbeat was gone.
“Why? Hushed voices discussed it. ‘Its been too long now. God
couldn’t keep a person alive this long.’
“I disagreed. Violently. And I will defend to the death my contention
that God could keep a man alive for a thousand years if necessary to
fulfill His word. That would be easy. We don’t need to go around em-
barrassed for our God as if He has made a promise and found it too
difficult to keep. Not the God I worship.
“But evidently it is we who need to be embarrassed.”
Is there merely an apparent delay to Christ’s return? Or is it a real
delay, and if so, what are the cause or causes? The correct answer may
be a matter of life and death. Is there any word from the Lord?
The messenger of the Lord tells us that the generation of the Great
Disappointment of 1844 could have witnessed Christ’s second coming.
“Had Adventists, after the great disappointment in 1844, held fast
their faith, and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God,
receiving the message of the third angel and in the power of the Holy
Spirit proclaiming it to the world, they would have seen the salvation of
God, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts, the work
would have been completed, and Christ would have come ere this to
receive His people to their reward.” Selected Messages, book 1, 68.
In 1856 the Laodicean message was first acknowledged to be appli-
cable to us as a people. The Spirit of Prophecy intimates that Christ
would have come within a few years if the revival started in response to
the Laodicean message in 1856 had continued.
“I was shown that the testimony to the Laodiceans applies to God’s
people at the present time, and the reason it has not accomplished a
greater work is because of the hardness of their hearts. . . . Nearly all
believed that this message would end in the loud cry of the third angel.
But as they failed to see the powerful work accomplished in a short
time, many lost the effect of the message. I saw that this message would
not accomplish its work in a few short months. It is designed to arouse
the people of God, to discover to them their backslidings, and to lead to
zealous repentance, that they may be favored with the presence of Jesus,
and be fitted for the loud cry of the third angel. As this message affected
the heart, it led to deep humility before God. Angels were sent in every
direction to prepare unbelieving hearts for the truth. The cause of God
began to rise, and His people were acquainted with their position. If the
counsel of the True Witness had been fully heeded, God would have
wrought for His people in greater power. Testimonies for the Church,
6 "This Generation Shall Not Pass"
vol. 1, 186–187.
In 1896 Ellen White wrote that the light of the loud cry that was to
have lightened the whole earth was resisted and rejected by us in 1888.
See Selected Messages, book 1, 234–235.
God’s messenger to the remnant clearly states that Christ would
have come before 1896 if His people had done their appointed work His
way.
“If those who claimed to have a living experience in the things of
God had done their appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole
world would have been warned ere this, and the Lord Jesus would have
come in power and great glory.” Review and Herald, October 6, 1896.
In 1901, God, through Ellen White, made it clear that Christ’s delay
is the result of our insubordination or rebellion against His leadership and
not due to any fault of His.
“His people have been far behind. Human agencies under the divine
planning may recover something of what is lost because the people who
had great light did not have corresponding piety, sanctification, and zeal
in working out God’s specified plans. They have lost to their own disad-
vantage what they might have gained to the advancement of the truth if
they had carried out the plans and will of God. Man cannot possibly
stretch over that gulf that has been made by the workers who have not
been following the divine Leader. We may have to remain here in this
world because of insubordination many more years, as did the children
of Israel, but for Christ’s sake, His people should not add sin to sin by
charging God with the consequence of their own wrong course of ac-
tion.” Spalding-Magan’s Unpublished Manuscript Testimonies of
Ellen G. White, 202.
Clearly, our insubordination has delayed Christ’s return. But the prob-
lem goes deeper. Insubordination is the result of failure to experience
true conversion, a failure to allow Christ’s character with the fruits of
the Spirit to be reproduced in us. By allowing the transformation of sanc-
tification to take place—the full ripening of the wheat—we hasten Christ’s
return. When we fail to cooperate with the sanctification process, we
delay His return to the extent our cooperation would have hastened it.
“ ‘When the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle,
because the harvest is come.’ Christ is waiting with longing desire for
the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ
shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim
them as His own.
“It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to
hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, (2 Peter 3:12, margin).
 "This Generation Shall Not Pass" 7
Were all who profess His name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly
the whole world would be sown with the seed of the gospel. Quickly the
last great harvest would be ripened, and Christ would come to gather
the precious grain.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.
Though Adventism’s most unique truth is that of the Antitypical Day
of Atonement beginning in 1844, we have failed to enter in with Christ
into the day of atonement experience. We must arouse and be serious in
our warfare against sin:
“We are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical
service, while the high priest was making the atonement for Israel, all
were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation
before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people. In like
manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of life
should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict their
souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance. There must be
deep, faithful searching of heart. The light, frivolous spirit indulged by so
many professed Christians must be put away. There is earnest warfare
before all who would subdue the evil tendencies that strive for the mas-
tery. The work of preparation is an individual work. We are not saved in
groups. The purity and devotion of one will not offset the want of these
qualities in another. Though all nations are to pass in judgment before
God, yet He will examine the case of each individual with as close and
searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon the earth.
Everyone must be tested and found without spot or wrinkle or any such
thing.
“Solemn are the scenes connected with the closing work of the
atonement. Momentous are the interests involved therein. The judgment
is now passing in the sanctuary above. For many years this work has
been in progress. Soon—none know how soon—it will pass to the cases
of the living. In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in
review. At this time above all others it behooves every soul to heed the
Saviour’s admonition: ‘Watch and pray: for ye know not when the time
is.’ Mark 13:33. ‘If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee
as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.’
Revelation 3:3.” The Great Controversy, 489–490.
Yes, God’s people must be fully surrendered to Christ the Refiner
before they are prepared to meet Him in the clouds of glory:
“Says the prophet: ‘Who may abide the day of His coming? and
who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and
like fullers’ soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and
He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that
8 "This Generation Shall Not Pass"
they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.’ Malachi 3:2,
3. Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ
shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God
without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must
be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God
and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with
evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while
the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary,
there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin,
among God’s people upon earth. This work is more clearly presented in
the messages of Revelation 14.
“When this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of
Christ will be ready for His appearing. ‘Then shall the offering of Judah
and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in
former years.’ Malachi 3:4. Then the church which our Lord at His
coming is to receive to Himself will be a ‘glorious church, not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.’ Ephesians 5:27. Then she will look
‘forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as
an army with banners.’ Song of Solomon 6:10.” Ibid., 425.
“The reason why the Bridegroom delays is because He is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but all should
come to repentance.” The Youth Instructor, September 20, 1894.
Tragically, too many generations of Seventh-day Adventists have
been content with “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power
thereof.” 2 Timothy 3:5. Yes, tragically, however embarrassing it is, we
must admit to ourselves, to our audiences, and to our God that we—our
sins, our Laodicean defects—have delayed for nearly 160 years the
soon coming of the Lord in glory. With reason, we needs “weep be-
tween the porch and the altar” if we sincerely desire that our generation
be “this generation” of Christ’s promised return.
But, praise God, our delaying reluctance to participate with Christ in
the cleansing of the sanctuary has not caught Him unprepared.
Since the days of Daniel the Prophet a prophetic clock indicated
that the great day of Atonement would begin on October 22, 1844. On
that day, Christ entered the Most Holy Place in the Heavenly sanctuary
for the Antitypical day of Atonement service and the Angel’s message
of Revelation 10:6 “that there should be time no longer” went into ef-
fect.
“This time, which the angel declares with a solemn oath, is not the
end of this world’s history, neither of probationary time, but of prophetic
time, which should precede the advent of our Lord. That is, the people
 "This Generation Shall Not Pass" 9
will not have another message upon definite time. After this period of
time, reaching from 1842 to 1844, there can be no definite tracing of the
prophetic time. The longest reckoning reaches to the autumn of 1844.
The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 971.
Although God revealed, thousands of years in advance, the exact
beginning of the Day of Atonement, there are no time prophecies lead-
ing to its end. Events, such as the beginning of the day of atonement,
which God carries out unilaterally are prophesied unconditionally. Events,
however, which are codependent upon actions of man are conditionally
prophesied. Thus, Christ’s prophesy of “this generation shall not pass”
of Matthew 24 is conditional upon His finding a generation willing to
participate with Him in the cleansing of His Sanctuary from sin.
The servant of the Lord refers to the time since 1844 without a
prophetic, definite-time clock ticking as “the waiting time.” But the waiting
is not of inaction.
“What is our position in the world? We are in the waiting time. But
this period is not to be spent in abstract devotion. Waiting, watching, and
vigilant working are to be combined.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 276.
The dark sun, the moon without light, and the falling of the stars of
Matthew 24:29 preceded the beginning of the Great Day of Atonement.
The generations which witnessed any or all of these three signs could
have been “this generation” of verse 34. As we have seen Christ could
have cleansed the sanctuary and returned to earth within a few years of
1844, or 1856 or 1888 if any of those generations would have worked
with Him in the putting away of sin.
But there is a fourth event mentioned in Matthew 24:29 which will
help us to understand more fully “this generation” of verse 35: “and the
powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” The servant of the Lord tells us
that this phrase is not referring to the first three events listed but to a
separate shaking of the heavenly bodies at the voice of God:
“December 16, 1848, the Lord gave me a view of the shaking of the
powers of the heavens. I saw that when the Lord said “heaven,” in
giving the signs recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, He meant heaven,
and when He said “earth” He meant earth. The powers of heaven are
the sun, moon, and stars. They rule in the heavens. The powers of earth
are those that rule on the earth. The powers of heaven will be shaken at
the voice of God. Then the sun, moon, and stars will be moved out of
their places. They will not pass away, but be shaken by the voice of
God.” Early Writings, 41.
This is the voice of God from the throne stating “It is done.” It
shakes the heavens and the earth and delivers the living saints, the 144,000,
10 "This Generation Shall Not Pass"
from the terrors of Jacob’s trouble. See The Great Controversy, 636–
637. This is the generation who have entered with Christ into the cleans-
ing of the sanctuary experience of a full and final putting away of sin.
This is “this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”
The day of atonement ended, probation closed, and “this generation”—
the 144,000 live through the time of Jacob’s trouble without a Mediator
and see Jesus come in the clouds of glory, and without seeing death they
are caught up to meet the Lord in the air and so shall they ever be with
the Lord. “This generation” will be a special group throughout Eternity.
Matthew 24:29–35 is stating (a prophecy) that it was God’s plan for
the 1844 generation of believers, which had witnessed the Dark day and
night of 1780 and the falling stars of 1833 to also be the generation of the
144,000 to witness the shaking of the powers of heaven at the voice of
God and see Jesus come without seeing death. But it was a conditional
prophecy dependent upon the participation of that generation in the great
day of atonement.
God has offered this special experience of the 144,000 to every
succeeding generation of believers from that day to this. Thank God, He
offers it still! He offers it to you and I, to our generation. We are to strive
to be “this generation”:
“We are to copy no human being. There is no human being wise
enough to be our criterion. We are to look to the man Christ Jesus, who
is complete in the perfection of righteousness and holiness. He is the
author and finisher of our faith. He is the pattern Man. His experience is
the measure of the experience that we are to gain. His character is our
model. Let us, then, take our minds off the perplexities and the difficul-
ties of this life, and fix them on Him, that by beholding we may be changed
into His likeness. . . . As we look to Him and think of Him, He will be
formed within, the hope of glory.
“Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among
the hundred and forty-four thousand.” Review and Herald, March 9,
1905.
In tough-love we need to confront ourselves with our Laodicean
condition:
“These wrongs and sins, which have brought the people of God in
their state of wretchedness, blindness, and poverty, must be seen, and
they arouse to zealous repentance, and a putting away of these sins
which have brought them into such a deplorable condition of blindness
and fearful deception. The pointed testimony must live in the church.
And this alone will answer to the message to the Laodiceans. Wrongs
must be reproved, sins must be called sins, and iniquity must be met
 "This Generation Shall Not Pass" 11
promptly and decidedly, and put away from us as a people.” Review
and Herald, September 16, 1873.
By God’s grace and power let us determine that our generation will
not also perish in the wilderness. Let us individually, and thus corpo-
rately, enter in with Christ into the cleansing process of the great day of
atonement in order that we might be the “this generation” that “shall not
pass.”