WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:04.414 --> 00:00:06.934 Jarrod Stackelroth: You know how sometimes life just doesn't go 00:00:06.934 --> 00:00:08.134 the way you thought it would. 00:00:08.854 --> 00:00:13.894 You have a plan, you're sure it's right, and then everything falls apart. 00:00:14.974 --> 00:00:19.084 That's exactly what happened in 1844 thousands of people 00:00:19.084 --> 00:00:20.614 thought Jesus was coming back. 00:00:20.914 --> 00:00:25.504 And when he didn't, most gave up, but a small group didn't walk away. 00:00:26.074 --> 00:00:29.854 They chose to keep studying, keep praying, and keep trusting. 00:00:30.244 --> 00:00:34.084 And what started in that moment of heartbreak ended up changing the world. 00:00:35.434 --> 00:00:41.884 When Jesus didn't return on October 22nd, 1844, the advent movement was shattered. 00:00:42.634 --> 00:00:45.244 Thousands had believed he was coming. 00:00:45.844 --> 00:00:48.304 And when he didn't, most people walked away. 00:00:48.814 --> 00:00:54.844 Some from the movement and some from faith altogether, but not everyone gave up. 00:00:55.474 --> 00:00:57.514 A small group chose to stay. 00:00:58.234 --> 00:00:59.614 They didn't have it all figured out. 00:01:00.064 --> 00:01:02.434 They didn't even know what to do next. 00:01:02.674 --> 00:01:07.464 But they still believed God was good and they believed that truth 00:01:07.674 --> 00:01:09.804 must still be found in his word. 00:01:10.704 --> 00:01:13.194 So they did something simple but powerful. 00:01:13.614 --> 00:01:18.474 They opened their bibles, they studied, they prayed, they wrestled 00:01:18.534 --> 00:01:22.434 with their disappointment, and as they did, something began to happen. 00:01:23.454 --> 00:01:28.494 One of them, Hiram Edson, shared that he'd had a moment of clarity the very next 00:01:28.494 --> 00:01:35.604 morning, October 23, while walking through a cornfield, he felt convicted that Jesus 00:01:35.604 --> 00:01:40.524 hadn't been wrong and the date hadn't been wrong, but maybe their understanding 00:01:40.524 --> 00:01:46.554 of the event had been together with others such as, or er and Dr. 00:01:46.554 --> 00:01:51.504 FB Han Hiram began to study the idea of the heavenly sanctuary 00:01:51.774 --> 00:01:55.794 and what the Bible really said about Jesus's priestly ministry. 00:01:56.574 --> 00:02:00.834 What if Jesus had entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary? 00:02:01.164 --> 00:02:05.034 Not to return to earth, but to begin a new phase of ministry. 00:02:05.694 --> 00:02:10.044 This small group continued exploring the idea, comparing scripture 00:02:10.044 --> 00:02:14.664 with scripture, and as they did, a bigger picture began to emerge. 00:02:15.324 --> 00:02:18.804 They realized October 22 wasn't a day to mourn. 00:02:19.044 --> 00:02:23.514 It was the beginning of something new, a divine appointment. 00:02:24.384 --> 00:02:28.074 Over time, this group rediscovered more than just one piece of doctrine. 00:02:28.434 --> 00:02:32.424 They came across Bible truths that had long been forgotten or ignored. 00:02:33.084 --> 00:02:36.714 They found the Sabbath not as a burden, but as a gift of 00:02:36.714 --> 00:02:39.024 rest and relationship with God. 00:02:39.654 --> 00:02:44.389 They found clarity and prophecy and a bigger view of Jesus's ministry in heaven. 00:02:45.399 --> 00:02:49.899 They saw that the message of the soon return of Christ still mattered, 00:02:50.109 --> 00:02:55.119 but now it came with a renewed call to prepare, serve, and grow. 00:02:55.959 --> 00:02:58.959 They didn't sit around waiting for Jesus to come back. 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:00.549 They got to work. 00:03:00.729 --> 00:03:04.419 They started printing Bible studies and tracts some by hand. 00:03:04.586 --> 00:03:07.471 They held simple meetings and began to share what they were learning. 00:03:08.471 --> 00:03:13.511 They had no buildings, no budget, and no platform, but they did have 00:03:13.511 --> 00:03:15.971 a conviction, and that was enough. 00:03:16.601 --> 00:03:19.241 Soon young leaders began to emerge. 00:03:19.601 --> 00:03:25.541 People like James White, Joseph Bates, and a teenage girl named Ellen Harmon, 00:03:25.901 --> 00:03:31.271 who had begun receiving visions, pointing the group back to Jesus and the Bible. 00:03:32.891 --> 00:03:36.011 They believed God had not abandoned them. 00:03:36.566 --> 00:03:38.966 In fact, he was just getting started. 00:03:39.536 --> 00:03:41.336 They built schools and hospitals. 00:03:41.546 --> 00:03:43.616 They sent missionaries across oceans. 00:03:43.826 --> 00:03:47.036 They trained young people to lead, to teach, and to heal. 00:03:47.426 --> 00:03:49.886 They didn't just wait for Jesus to come back. 00:03:50.156 --> 00:03:51.236 They got to work. 00:03:51.836 --> 00:03:58.496 And in 1863, nearly 20 years after the disappointment, they formally organized 00:03:58.496 --> 00:04:01.226 as the Seventh Day Adventist to church. 00:04:01.976 --> 00:04:05.696 What began with weeping in a cornfield became a movement 00:04:05.726 --> 00:04:07.316 that would span the globe. 00:04:08.216 --> 00:04:10.316 The great disappointment wasn't the end. 00:04:10.766 --> 00:04:14.576 It was the great appointment because in their greatest moment of 00:04:14.576 --> 00:04:16.706 confusion, God was still leading. 00:04:17.036 --> 00:04:18.206 He was still speaking. 00:04:18.506 --> 00:04:23.036 He was still preparing a people to share a message of hope with the world, 00:04:24.446 --> 00:04:26.066 maybe your life hasn't gone as planned. 00:04:27.161 --> 00:04:32.891 Maybe you face moments of heartbreak, confusion, or even failure, but what if 00:04:32.891 --> 00:04:35.411 the setback is actually the beginning? 00:04:36.041 --> 00:04:38.051 You don't need to have it all figured out. 00:04:38.051 --> 00:04:39.761 You don't need to be perfect. 00:04:40.121 --> 00:04:42.731 You just need the courage to keep showing up. 00:04:42.731 --> 00:04:46.571 That's what those early Adventists did, and because of 00:04:46.571 --> 00:04:48.701 that, the world was changed. 00:04:49.721 --> 00:04:52.451 Episode four, the Great Appointment. 00:04:52.910 --> 00:04:54.680 Read by Jared Stacker Roth.