Ellen White's Amazing Vision of Civil War | Mark Finley

i'm here at the manassas battlefield in manassas virginia it was here a hundred and sixty years ago that an angel came down from heaven and divided the north and southern forces it is an absolute incredible story the story of a divine miracle the purpose of prophecy is to help us to look back at the moving of the spirit of god once that prophecy is fulfilled and know the truthfulness of the bible in addition to that prophecy helps us look forward to the future fulfilled prophecy in the past gives us confidence in the prophetic word in the future but now back to manassas on july 21 1861 the first battle of the civil war took place right here in manassas the general for the northern army was general irvin mcdowell general mcdowell assembled his forces in washington d.c abraham lincoln president of the united states had sent out a message for northern men to enlist in the war some 35 000 northern troops gathered in washington dc they were raw recruits they were not battle-hardened soldiers they had come from farms shops most of them were young about 18 years old they signed up for 90 days of enlistment to fight in the war they thought that this was going to be a very short war mcdowell marched them out here along the what is now the washington warrenton turnpike he marched them out from washington the first day they only went five miles because they stopped to drink water they stopped to pick blackberries they were kind of a lumbering group who had signed up for 90 days thought this war was going to be over very very quickly as they were coming here they were going to face general bureau guard the confederate leaders troops he had about 22 000 troops here and those 22 000 troops assembled here on the battlefield bureau guard recognized very quickly that he was outnumbered so he sent a message down to the shenandoah valley to general johnson of the confederate forces that he better hurry up and get here quickly with his 10 000 troops so johnson's troops came by railway up to manassas and they came here to the battlefield why was this battlefield so significant because you have at manassas gap junction the center of three major railways and the northern forces knew in general mcdowell knew that if he could possibly overtake the manassas railway he could then get that railway down to richmond which was the capital of the southern forces and so his forces came up they um attacked at a place called stone bridge a mile and a half two miles from here um as a diversionary attack but reckon the southern forces recognized it was diversionary attack hustled up here to henry hill and beyond matthew's hill to try to stop them now something quite significant happened right at this place you see the cannon that i'm standing by these are northern cannon they were focused there on the woods southern forces were there at the woods northern cannon had been brought down to this spot to guard the flank of the northern forces southern troops began to come out of the woods as they did you would have expected the northern canyon to fire now in that time there was no consistent no consistent uniforms and so the northern leader of this cannon uh brigade said don't fire don't fire there there are old men approaching because they don't recognize because there's so many different uniforms even today we wonder why did these cannon not fire at the southern forces coming out of the woods the reason they didn't of course was because they thought they might be their own men the northern men because they didn't fire the riflemen got so close they shot these northern cannon operators took over these cannon turned them in this direction to fire back at the northern forces that was the first little interesting thing as the northern forces continued their attack they kept pushing back and pushing back the southern forces during the time that they were doing that pushing back the southern forces general jackson came to the ridge and held his ground let's go out to that ridge and let's go out to the very place where the angel came down see why this angel came down see what he did see how this relates to prophecy and how it relates to the history of the civil war it's an amazing story so come with me out to that very ridge where we can look at the spot where the angel came down [Music] the battle waged throughout the day it began around 10 a.m in the morning southern forces here came to the top of this hill northern forces were there coming toward the southern forces the battle was fierce over 900 people were killed that day on this battlefield in addition to that there were hundreds more thousands more that were wounded remember northern forces had about 35 000 soldiers southern forces about uh 32 000 forces and so the battle as the battle waged general jackson rode his horse up onto this hill and here you see a statue commemorating the event that occurred here jackson of course was the leader of the virginians the virginian forces that were aligned with the south virginia was divided between north and south of course jackson came up on the hill and the southern forces were retreating at that time but jackson held firm and one of the leaders of the confederate army a man by the name of b said there is jackson he is standing firm let's rally behind the virginians so the southern forces came up rallied on this hill stood here at this very place as the northern forces came down through this very field the southern forces held very very strong with jackson here the battle waged hundreds were shot dead dying on this field now it was believed that there would be this war would be very very short ellen white in 1861 spoke in a little church in parkville virginia parkville michigan and there she said although it is believed that the war will be very very short in actual fact and reality this war is going to be waged for a long period of time now none of the soldiers in the northern army or the confederate army believed that this war would be a very long one all of them believed that it would be a very short war but the war dragged on for over four long years it is the bloodiest war in american history over 600 000 people died in that war but back to the battle of manassas as the forces fought back and forth the northern forces for some strange reason seemed to be confused on the battlefield and began to retreat now there is an interesting historical narrative written by w.w blackford and i want to read to you from the historical background of blackford blackford um was a lieutenant in the southern army he wrote a book called war years with jeb stewart and so blackford was here observing the northern and southern forces approaching and so this is an actual account from july 21 1861 of blackford and here's how he describes the battle it's really fascinating blackford says it was about four o'clock the battle waged with unabated fury the lines of blue were unbroken and there that's lines of blue of course the northern forces their fire was vigorous as ever while they surged against the solid walls of gray standing immovable in their front it was on the ridge earlier that day that jackson won the name stonewall so we find that here in commemorating this statue but now the most extraordinary spectacle i ever witnessed took place now this is key this is critical to understand the battle i had been gazing at the numerous well-formed lines as they moved forward to the attack some 15 or 20 000 strong in full view and some reason for some reason i turned my head in another direction for a moment when someone said pointing to the battlefield look look i looked and what a strange change had taken place in an instant where those well-dressed well-defined lines with clear spaces between had been steadily pressing forward the north and one side the south on the other the whole field was a confused swarm of men like bees running away as fast as their legs would carry them with all order and organization abandoned in a moment more the whole valley was filled with them as far as the eye could reach they plunged to build bull run that's the stream that was here wherever they came to it regardless of fords and bridges and they discarded their muskets cartridge box boxes belts knapsacks haversacks and blankets were thrown away now here's the interesting thing about this whole thing [Music] when the northern forces assembled in washington dc and were sent off by lincoln and mcdowell brought them up here there were many congressmen many uh wealthy women uh sophisticated uh men and women uh of high society that they thought that this battle was gonna be so short it was like a day's journey i mean a day's outing for them they came and i want you to look over this direction up here we see what we call matthews hill there's henry's hill then there's matthews here so they came with their wagons they spread out their blankets up there on matthew's hill they sat on matthews hill overlooking the battle and they sat there with their bottles of champagne with their picnic baskets and they thought where this is a day's you know fun it's a vacation it's it's an outing but when these forces came to this very hill and soldiers are being killed here and they saw what was happening and then when the northern forces unexpectedly turned their backs and retreated they couldn't believe it they said why is this happening is there a divine view is there a divine view of why this happened why would the northern forces unexpectedly retreat i want to share with you a bible passage that will help us to understand that story much better in amos chapter 3 and verse 7 the bible says surely the lord god does nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets where was god in this war and why was it that there was not much more slaughter that day ellen white whom seventh-day adventists believe had prophetic visions ellen white who adventists believe spoke for jesus she had the testimony of jesus gives us an explanation of the battle of manassas and she gives us an explanation of what happened right here it is an incredibly remarkable explanation here in one of ellen white's visions she writes about what took place on this very place she says i had a view of the disastrous battle of manassas virginia it was a most exciting and distressing scene the southern army had everything in their favor and were prepared for a drevel contest the northern army was moving on with triumph not doubting that they would be victorious many were reckless and marched forward boastingly as though victory were already theirs now remember they came from washington 35 000 of the northern forces and remember they thought the war was going to be so short that up there on matthews hill that you have the custom congressmen and some aristocratic women and men that are sitting there with their picnic baskets so they thought it was going to be short notice as the northern forces near the battlefield this is ellen white's writing now many were almost fainting through weariness and wanted refreshment they did not expect so fierce an encounter they rushed into battle and fought bravely and desperately the dead and dying were on every side both the north and the south suffered severely the southern men felt the battle in a little while would have been driven back still further so northern forces are coming through this field you see that little tree keep that in mind they're coming southern forces are now on this hill jackson is standing here on this horse that's where he's called stonewall jackson but notice the northern men were rushing on although their destruction was very great you're going to find this in the testimonies ellen white wrote a series of testimonies and this is the first volume of those testimonies page 266 and 267 then it was explained so the angel explained to ellen white exactly what happened here then it was explained that god had this nation in his own hand and would not suffer victories to be gained faster than he ordained he would permit no more losses to the northern men than in his wisdom he saw fit to punish them for their sins i saw just then an angel descended waved his hand backward instantly there was confusion in the ranks it appeared to the northern men that their troops were retreating when it was not so in reality a precipitate retreat commenced it was wonderful to me now look here god explains what happened in this battle that they are by that tree 160 years ago july 21 1861 an angel came down from heaven divided the northern and southern forces created confusion in the battle the northern forces retreated across that hill can you imagine as we look them into the heavens tonight we see jesus in his sanctuary above and the jesus that that keeps the destinies of this world in his hands and the christ that sent an angel down here to divide those two forces why did he do it for what reason did he do it here we find the answer it was explained that god had this nation i'm continuing to read from the vision in his own hand it would not suffer victories to be gained faster than he ordained he would permit no more losses to the northern men than in his wisdom he saw fit to punish them for their sins had the northern army at this time pushed the battle still further in their fainting exhausted condition the far greater struggle and destruction which awaited them would have caused great triumph in the south god would not permit this and sent an angel to interfere the sudden falling back of the northern troops is a mystery to all and it is even today they know not that god's hand was in the matter now look the god of heaven knew that if indeed the northern forces would have continued to win this battle they were young they had signed up for 90 days they were in a fainting exhausted condition they would have gone down here to manassas taking the trains gone to richmond but there would have been a much greater loss of life so even in the context of war even in the context of bloodshed even in the context of vicious suffering god's hand was still in this war and god wanted to have as little suffering as little bloodshed as possible because god cares for human beings the outcome of the civil war was the unification of america the abolishment of slavery and every human being is precious to god but there's another lesson that we learn from here and we find that lesson deeply embedded in an old testament book of scripture we find it embedded in a book called chronicles in 2nd chronicles chapter 20 verse 20 and and verse 20. second chronicles chapter 20 and verse 20. we find an old testament passage that helps us even today because fulfilled prophecy in the past enables us to have confidence in the prophecies of the future and here in second chronicles chapter 20 verse 20 last part of the verse it says believe in the lord your god and you shall be established believe his prophets and you shall prosper for the remnant church today god has once again restored the gift of prophecy in revelation 12 17 it says and the dragon satan was angry with the woman the church and goes to make war with the remnant of her seed that keep the commandments of god in the testimony of jesus god would have an end time people that loved jesus so much they would be obedient to his commandments but they would be characterized by the testimony of jesus the word testimony means witness so a witness from jesus would come to the last day church to encourage to guide and strengthen it what is this testimony of jesus in revelation 19 10 an angel comes down to john when he's exiled on the island of patmos john bows down before the angel and the angel says get up for the testimony of jesus is the gift or the spirit of prophecy so god would give the gift of prophecy that prophetic gift that guided the church down through the ages to his last day church and ellen white would be blessed by visions and dreams here to me is one of the significant things about this particular place manassas the same god that sent the angel down to guide his church throughout the history of the bible that same god has sent his angel down today to give guidance to his church and as we believe his prophets we look back to the past fulfillment of prophecy and we see again that prophecy will be fulfilled in the future war must always be put in the context of a larger great controversy between good and evil it may seem strange to say but the first war began in heaven it began when a rebel angel whom god had given the power of choice rebelled against the heavenly principles of divine love revelation chapter 12 verse 7 and onward says and there was war in heaven michael and his angels fought against the dragon and the dragon and his angels fought but they did not prevail neither was any place found for them in heaven any longer so the great dragon was cast out that serpent of old the devil and satan who deceives the whole world was cast out to the earth with his holy angels so war began in heaven god gave every heavenly being the freedom of choice but when you give beings the freedom of choice you run the risk that they might make the wrong choice if indeed god had taken away the freedom of choice they would not have had the capacity to love because love can never be forced or coerced because there was war in heaven there is war on earth not only did satan manifest himself as a selfish egotistical being who wanted to throw god off the throne but when adam and eve fell in the garden of eden god had given them that perfect choice as well and now the heart of men and women is deceitfully wicked desperately wicked we wonder who can control that desperate heart so the reason there is war on earth is because of the selfishness of the human nature the corruption of the human heart and the desire of men and women now to dominate into control that's the basic fundamental war and war brings so much suffering and heartache to innocent people i'm sitting here on the porch of a home that's called the henry home and here in this henry home there was a woman living by the name of judith henry she had lived here for many many years lived on this hill and the war began judith did not want to evacuate during the war living with her was a servant called lucy the northern forces in the southern forces were having their battle right here on the henry farm and unbeknown to the northern forces there was there was someone in the home southern snipers hid behind this home and as they did they began firing toward the cannon on my left and they were trying to pick off and kill the northern cannon operators some of the northern canyon operators aimed their cannons at this home they knew they had to take out those snipers they didn't know judith henry was in the home they did not know that uh anyone was in this home they fired the cannon totally demolished the home so that's why it's reconstructed today and judith henry died here the tragedy of that death is that an innocent woman died her slave her servant died with her it was a horrible death often women and children suffer most during war many people who have nothing to do with battle or fighting are killed there and as i sit here on this porch i think about one thing i think about the day that sin and suffering and heartache and sorrow will be over i think about the day when there will be bloodshed no more i think about the day when there will be war no more i think about the day that christ will come and graves will be opened graves like that of judith henry come with me and notice her grave and i want you to imagine as we are standing by this grave that jesus comes i want you to imagine as we're standing by the grave that christ returns and the bible says the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of god and the dead in christ will rise first and they that are alive will be caught up together with them to meet the lord in the air what a day sin and sorrow and suffering no more what a day disease and disaster death no more what a day poverty no more what a day chaos and calamity no more what a day jesus will return the graves the righteous will be opened and we will reign with him forever and ever let's pray father in heaven we thank you so much for jesus we thank you for his love we thank you for his goodness we thank you that one day war will be no more and christ will return in jesus name amen [Music] you

Channel: HopeLives365

Views: 68,919

Keywords: Ellen White, Seventh day Adventist, SDA, Adventist, Adventists, Mark Finley, HopeLives365, Hope Lives 365, Ellen G White, prophecy, vision, manassas battlefield, civil war

Id: XlfGx-bF0CA

Length: 26min 16sec (1576 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 03 2021