Chapter 18 : An American Reformer

An upright, honest-hearted farmer, who had been led to doubt

the divine authority of the Scriptures, yet who sincerely desired to

know the truth, was the man specially chosen of God to lead out

in the proclamation of Christ’s second coming. Like many other

reformers, William Miller had in early life battled with poverty, and

had thus learned the great lessons of energy and self-denial. The

members of the family from which he sprung were characterized by

an independent, liberty-loving spirit, by capability of endurance, and

ardent patriotism; traits which were also prominent in his character.

His father was a captain in the army of the Revolution, and to the

sacrifices which he made in the struggles and sufferings of that

stormy period, may be traced the straitened circumstances of Miller’s

early life.

He had a sound physical constitution, and even in childhood

gave evidence of more than ordinary intellectual strength. As he

grew older, this became more marked. His mind was active and

well-developed, and he had a keen thirst for knowledge. Though he

did not enjoy the advantages of a collegiate education, his love of

study and a habit of careful thought and close criticism rendered him

a man of sound judgment and comprehensive views. He possessed

an irreproachable moral character and an enviable reputation, being

generally esteemed for integrity, thrift, and benevolence. By dint

of energy and application he early acquired a competence, though

his habits of study were still maintained. He filled various civil and

military offices with credit, and the avenues to wealth and honor

seemed wide open to him.

His mother was a woman of sterling piety, and in childhood he [318]

had been subject to religious impressions. In early manhood, however,

he was thrown into the society of deists, whose influence was

the stronger from the fact that they were mostly good citizens, and

men of humane and benevolent disposition. Living, as they did, in

the midst of Christian institutions, their characters had been to some

extent moulded by their surroundings. For the excellencies which

won them respect and confidence they were indebted to the Bible;

and yet these good gifts were so perverted as to exert an influence

against the Word of God. By association with these men, Miller was

led to adopt their sentiments. The current interpretations of Scripture

presented difficulties which seemed to him insurmountable; yet his

new belief, while setting aside the Bible, offered nothing better to

take its place, and he remained far from satisfied. He continued to

hold these views, however, for about twelve years. But at the age of

thirty-four, the Holy Spirit impressed his heart with a sense of his

condition as a sinner. He found in his former belief no assurance

of happiness beyond the grave. The future was dark and gloomy.

Referring afterward to his feelings at this time, he said:—

“Annihilation was a cold and chilling thought, and accountability

was sure destruction to all. The heavens were as brass over my head,

and the earth as iron under my feet. Eternity—what was it? And

death—why was it? The more I reasoned, the further I was from

demonstration. The more I thought, the more scattered were my

conclusions. I tried to stop thinking; but my thoughts would not be

controlled. I was truly wretched, but did not understand the cause.

I murmured and complained, but knew not of whom. I knew that

there was a wrong, but knew not where or how to find the right. I

mourned, but without hope.”

In this state he continued for some months. “Suddenly,” he says,

[319] “the character of a Saviour was vividly impressed upon my mind.

It seemed that there might be a being so good and compassionate

as to himself atone for our transgressions, and thereby save us from

suffering the penalty of sin. I immediately felt how lovely such a

being must be, and imagined that I could cast myself into the arms,

and trust in the mercy, of such a One. But the question arose, How

can it be proved that such a being does exist? Aside from the Bible, I

found that I could get no evidence of the existence of such a Saviour,

or even of a future state.”

“I saw that the Bible did bring to view just such a Saviour as I

needed; and I was perplexed to find how an uninspired book should

develop principles so perfectly adapted to the wants of a fallen world.

I was constrained to admit that the Scriptures must be a revelation

from God. They became my delight; and in Jesus I found a friend.

The Saviour became to me the chiefest among ten thousand; and the

Scriptures, which before were dark and contradictory, now became

a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. My mind became settled

and satisfied. I found the Lord God to be a Rock in the midst of

the ocean of life. The Bible now became my chief study, and I can

truly say, I searched it with great delight. I found the half was never

told me. I wondered why I had not seen its beauty and glory before,

and marveled that I could ever have rejected it. I found everything

revealed that my heart could desire, and a remedy for every disease

of the soul. I lost all taste for other reading, and applied my heart to

get wisdom from God.”

He now publicly professed his faith in the religion which he had

despised. But his infidel associates were not slow to bring forward all

those arguments which he himself had often urged against the divine

authority of the Scriptures. He was not then prepared to answer

them; but he reasoned, that if the Bible is a revelation from God,

it must be consistent with itself; and that as it was given for man’s

instruction, it must be adapted to his understanding. He determined

to study the Scriptures for himself, and ascertain if every apparent

contradiction could not be harmonized.

Endeavoring to lay aside all preconceived opinions, and dispens- [320]

ing with commentaries, he compared scripture with scripture by the

aid of the marginal references and the concordance. He pursued his

study in a regular and methodical manner; beginning with Genesis,

and reading verse by verse, he proceeded no faster than the meaning

of the several passages so unfolded as to leave him free from all embarrassment.

When he found anything obscure, it was his custom to

compare it with every other text which seemed to have any reference

to the matter under consideration. Every word was permitted to have

its proper bearing upon the subject of the text, and if his view of it

harmonized with every collateral passage, it ceased to be a difficulty.

Thus whenever he met with a passage hard to be understood, he

found an explanation in some other portion of the Scriptures. As

he studied with earnest prayer for divine enlightenment, that which

had before appeared dark to his understanding was made clear. He

experienced the truth of the psalmist’s words, “The entrance of Thy

words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” [Psalm

119:130.]

With intense interest he studied the book 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. “Thus I was satisfied,” he says, “that the Bible

was a system of revealed truth so clearly and simply given that the

wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein.” 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.

[321] Taking the manner in which the prophecies had been fulfilled in

the past, as a criterion by which to judge of the fulfillment of those

which were still future, he became satisfied that the popular view of

the spiritual reign of Christ—a temporal millennium before the end

of the world—was not sustained by the Word of God. This doctrine,

pointing to a thousand years of righteousness and peace before the

personal coming of the Lord, put far off the terrors of the day of God.

But, pleasing though it may be, it is contrary to the teachings of

Christ and his apostles, who declared that the wheat and the tares are

to grow together until the harvest, the end of the world; [Matthew

13:30, 38-41.] that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and

worse;” [2 Timothy 3:13, 1.] that “in the last days perilous times

shall come;” [2 Timothy 3:13, 1.] and that the kingdom of darkness

shall continue until the advent of the Lord, and shall be consumed

with the spirit of his mouth, and be destroyed with the brightness

of his coming. [2 Thessalonians 2:8.] The doctrine of the world’s

conversion and the spiritual reign of Christ was not held by the

apostolic church. It was not generally accepted by Christians until

about the beginning of the eighteenth century. Like every other error,

its results were evil. It taught men to look far in the future for the

coming of the Lord, and prevented them from giving heed to the

signs heralding his approach. It induced a feeling of confidence

and security that was not well founded, and led many to neglect the

preparation necessary in order to meet their Lord.

Miller found the literal, personal coming of Christ to be plainly

taught in the Scriptures. Says Paul, “The Lord himself shall descend

from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with

the trump of God.” [1 Thessalonians 4:16.] And the Saviour declares:

“They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with

power and great glory.” “For as the lightning cometh out of the east,

and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son

of man be.” [Matthew 24:30, 27.] He is to be accompanied by all [322]

the hosts of Heaven. “The Son of man shall come in his glory, and

all the holy angels with him.” “And he shall send his angels with a

great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect.”

[Matthew 25:31; 24:31.]

At his coming the righteous dead will be raised, and the righteous

living will be changed. “We shall not all sleep,” says Paul, “but we

shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the

last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised

incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must

put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” [1

Corinthians 15:51-53.] And in his letter to the Thessalonians, after

describing the coming of the Lord, he says: “The dead in Christ

shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught

up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and

so shall we ever be with the Lord.” [1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.]

Not until the personal advent of Christ can his people receive the

kingdom. The Saviour said: “When the Son of man shall come in

his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the

throne of his glory; and before him shall be gathered all nations; and

he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his

sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but

the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right

hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared

for you from the foundation of the world.” [Matthew 25:31-34.] We

have seen by the scriptures just given that when the Son of man

comes, the dead are raised incorruptible, and the living are changed.

By this great change they are prepared to receive the kingdom; for

Paul says, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;

neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” [1 Corinthians 15:50.]

Man in his present state is mortal, corruptible; but the kingdom of

God will be incorruptible, enduring forever. Therefore man in his

[323] present state cannot enter into the kingdom of God. But when Jesus

comes, he confers immortality upon his people; and then he calls

them to inherit the kingdom, of which they have hitherto been only

heirs.

These and other scriptures clearly proved to Miller’s mind, that

the events which were generally expected to take place before the

coming of Christ, such as the universal reign of peace, and the setting

up of the kingdom of God upon the earth, were to be subsequent to

the second advent. Furthermore, all the signs of the times and the

condition of the world corresponded to the prophetic description of

the last days. He was forced to the conclusion, from the study of

Scripture alone, that the period allotted for the continuance of the

earth in its present state was about to close.

“Another evidence that vitally affected my mind,” he says, “was

the chronology of the Scriptures. I found that predicted events,

which had been fulfilled in the past, often occurred within a given

time. The one hundred and twenty years to the flood, Genesis 6:3;

the seven days that were to precede it, with forty days of predicted

rain, Genesis 7:4; the four hundred years of the sojourn of Abraham’s

seed, Genesis 15:13; the three days of the butler’s and baker’s

dreams, Genesis 40:12-20; the seven years of Pharaoh’s, Genesis

41:28-54; the forty years in the wilderness, Numbers 14:34; the

three and a half years of famine, 1 Kings 17:1; [See Luke 4:25.] the

seventy years’ captivity, Jeremiah 25:11; Nebuchadnezzar’s seven

times, Daniel 4:13-16; and the seven weeks, threescore and two

weeks, and the one week, making seventy weeks, determined upon

the Jews, Daniel 9:24-27; the events limited by these times were all

once only a matter of prophecy, and were fulfilled in accordance

with the predictions.”

When, therefore, he found in his study of the Bible, various

chronological periods that, according to his understanding of them,

extended to the second coming of Christ, he could not but regard

them as the “times before appointed,” which God had revealed unto

his servants. “The secret things,” says Moses, “belong unto the

[324] Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us

and to our children forever,” [Deuteronomy 29:29.] and the Lord

declares by the prophet Amos, that he “will do nothing, but he

revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” [Amos 3:7.] The

students of God’sWord may then confidently expect to find the most

stupendous event to take place in human history clearly pointed out

in the Scriptures of truth.

“As I was fully convinced,” says Miller, “that all Scripture given

by inspiration of God is profitable; [2 Timothy 3:16.] that it came

not at any time by the will of man, but was written as holy men

were moved by the Holy Ghost, [2 Peter 1:21.] and was written ‘for

our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures

might have hope, [Romans 15:4.] I could not but regard the chronological

portions of the Bible as being as much entitled to our serious

consideration as any other portion of the Scriptures. I felt therefore

that in endeavoring to comprehend what God in his mercy had seen

fit to reveal to us, I had no right to pass over the prophetic periods.”

The prophecy which seemed most clearly to reveal the time of

the second advent was that of Daniel 8:14: “Unto two thousand and

three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Following

his rule of making Scripture its own interpreter, Miller learned that

a day in symbolic prophecy represents a year; [Numbers 14:34;

Ezekiel 4:6.] he saw that the period of 2300 prophetic days, or literal

years, would extend far beyond the close of the Jewish dispensation,

hence it could not refer to the sanctuary of that dispensation. Miller

accepted the generally received view, that in the Christian age the

earth is the sanctuary, and he therefore understood that the cleansing

of the sanctuary foretold in Daniel 8:14,represented the purification

of the earth by fire at the second coming of Christ. If, then, the

correct starting-point could be found for the 2300 days, he concluded

that the time of the second advent could be readily ascertained. Thus

would be revealed the time of that great consummation, “the time [325]

when the present state, with all its pride and power, its pomp and

vanity, wickedness and oppression, would come to an end; ... when

the curse would be removed from off the earth, when death would

be destroyed, reward be given to the servants of God, to the prophets

and saints, and all them that fear his name, and those be destroyed

who destroy the earth.”

With a new and deeper earnestness, Miller continued the examination

of the prophecies, whole nights as well as days being devoted

to the study of what now appeared of such stupendous importance

and all-absorbing interest. In the eighth chapter of Daniel he could

find no clue to the starting-point of the 2300 days; the angel Gabriel,

though commanded to make Daniel understand the vision, gave him

only a partial explanation. As the terrible persecution to befall the

church was unfolded to the prophet’s vision, physical strength gave

way. He could endure no more, and the angel left him for the time.

Daniel “fainted, and was sick certain days.” “And I was astonished

at the vision,” he says, “but none understood it.”

Yet God had bidden his messenger, “Make this man to understand

the vision.” That commission must be fulfilled. In obedience

to it, the angel, some time afterward, returned to Daniel, saying, “I

am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding;” “therefore

understand the matter, and consider the vision.” [Daniel 9:22, 23,

25-27.] There was only one point in the vision of chapter eight which

had been left unexplained, namely, that relating to time,—the period

of the 2300 days; therefore, the angel, in resuming his explanation,

dwells exclusively upon the subject of time:—

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy

holy city.... Know therefore and understand, that from the going

forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto

[326] the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two

weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous

times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut

off, but not for himself.... And he shall confirm the covenant with

many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the

sacrifice and the oblation to cease.”

The angel had been sent to Daniel for the express purpose of

explaining to him the point which he had failed to understand in the

vision of the eighth chapter, the statement relative to time,—“Unto

two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be

cleansed.” After bidding Daniel “understand the matter, and consider

the vision,” the very first words of the angel are, “Seventy weeks

are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city.” The word

here translated “determined,” literally signifies “cut off.” Seventy

weeks, representing 490 years, are declared by the angel to be cut

off, as specially pertaining to the Jews. But from what were they

cut off? As the 2300 days was the only period of time mentioned in

chapter eight, it must be the period from which the seventy weeks

were cut off; the seventy weeks must therefore be a part of the

2300 days, and the two periods must begin together. The seventy

weeks were declared by the angel to date from the going forth of

the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. If the date of this

commandment could be found, then the starting-point for the great

period of the 2300 days would be ascertained.

In the seventh chapter of Ezra the decree is found. [Ezra 7:12-

26.] In its completest form it was issued by Artaxerxes, king of

Persia, B. C. 457. But in Ezra 6:14 the house of the Lord at

Jerusalem is said to have been built “according to the commandment

[margin, decree] of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.”

These three kings, in originating, re-affirming, and completing

the decree, brought it to the perfection required by the prophecy to

mark the beginning of the 2300 years. Taking B. C. 457, the time [327]

when the decree was completed, as the date of the commandment,

every specification of the prophecy concerning the seventy weeks

was seen to have been fulfilled.

“From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to

build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks,

and threescore and two weeks,“—namely, sixty-nine weeks, or 483

years. The decree of Artaxerxes went into effect in the autumn of

B. C. 457. From this date, 483 years extend to the autumn of A.

D. 27. [See Appendix, Note 3; also Diagram Opposite p. 328.] At

that time this prophecy was fulfilled. The word “Messiah” signifies

“the Anointed One.” In the autumn of A. D. 27, Christ was baptized

by John, and received the anointing of the Spirit. The apostle Peter

testifies that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost

and with power.” [Acts 10:38.] And the Saviour himself declared,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me

to preach the gospel to the poor.” [Luke 4:18.] After his baptism he

came into Galilee, “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

and saying, The time is fulfilled.” [Mark 1:14, 15.]

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.”

The “week” here brought to view is the last one of the seventy; it

is the last seven years of the period allotted especially to the Jews.

During this time, extending from A. D. 27 to A. D. 34, Christ, at

first in person, and afterward by his disciples, extended the gospel

invitation especially to the Jews. As the apostles went forth with

the good tidings of the kingdom, the Saviour’s direction was, “Go

not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans

enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

[Matthew 10:5, 6.]

“And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and

the oblation to cease.” In A. D. 31, three and a half years after his

baptism, our Lord was crucified. With the great sacrifice offered

upon Calvary, ended that system of offerings which for four thousand

[328] years had pointed forward to the Lamb of God. Type had met

antitype, and all the sacrifices and oblations of the ceremonial system

were there to cease.

The seventy weeks, or 490 years, especially allotted to the Jews,

ended, as we have seen, in A. D. 34. At that time, through the action

of the Jewish Sanhedrim, the nation sealed its rejection of the gospel,

by the martyrdom of Stephen and the persecution of the followers

of Christ. Then the message of salvation, no longer restricted to

the chosen people, was given to the world. The disciples, forced by

persecution to flee from Jerusalem, “went everywhere preaching the

Word.” “Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ

unto them.” [Acts 8:4, 5; 22:21.] Peter, divinely guided, opened the

gospel to the centurion of Cesarea, the God-fearing Cornelius; and

the ardent Paul, won to the faith of Christ, was commissioned to

carry the glad tidings “far hence unto the Gentiles.” [Acts 8:4, 5;

22:21.]

Thus far every specification of the prophecy is strikingly fulfilled,

and the beginning of the seventy weeks is fixed beyond question at

B. C. 457, and their expiration in A. D. 34. From this data there

is no difficulty in finding the termination of the 2300 days. The

seventy weeks—490 days—having been cut off from the 2300, there

were 1810 days remaining. After the end of 490 days, the 1810 days

were still to be fulfilled. From A. D. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844.

Consequently the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 terminate in 1844. At

the expiration of this great prophetic period, upon the testimony of

the angel of God, “the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” Thus the time

of the cleansing of the sanctuary—which was almost universally

believed to take place at the second advent—was definitely pointed

out.

Miller and his associates at first believed that the 2300 days

would terminate in the spring of 1844, whereas the prophecy points

to the autumn of that year. [See Diagram, next page; also Appendix,

Note 3.] The misapprehension of this point brought disappointment

and perplexity to those who had fixed upon the earlier date as the [329]

time of the Lord’s coming. But this did not in the least affect the

strength of the argument showing that the 2300 days terminated in

the year 1844, and that the great event represented by the cleansing

of the sanctuary must then take place.

Entering upon the study of the Scriptures as he had done, in

order to prove that they were a revelation from God, Miller had not,

at the outset, the slightest expectation of reaching the conclusion at

which he had now arrived. He himself could hardly credit the results

of his investigation. But the Scripture evidence was too clear and

forcible to be set aside.

He had devoted two years to the study of the Bible, when, in

1818, he reached the solemn conviction that in about twenty-five

years Christ would appear for the redemption of his people. “I need

not speak,” says Miller, “of the joy that filled my heart in view of

the delightful prospect, nor of the ardent longings of my soul for

a participation in the joys of the redeemed. The Bible was now to

me a new book. It was indeed a feast of reason; all that was dark,

mystical, or obscure, to me, in its teachings, had been dissipated

from my mind before the clear light that now dawned from its sacred

pages; and oh, how bright and glorious the truth appeared! All the

contradictions and inconsistencies I had before found in the Word

were gone; and, although there were many portions of which I was

not satisfied that I had a full understanding, yet so much light had

emanated from it to the illumination of my before darkened mind,

that I felt a delight in studying the Scriptures which I had not before

supposed could be derived from its teachings.”

“With the solemn conviction that such momentous events were

predicted in the Scriptures to be fulfilled in so short a space of time,

the question came home to me with mighty power regarding my duty

to the world in view of the evidence that had affected my own mind.”

He could not but feel that it was his duty to impart to others the

light which he had received. He expected to encounter opposition [330]

from the ungodly, but was confident that all Christians would rejoice

in the hope of meeting the Saviour whom they professed to love.

His only fear was, that in their great joy at the prospect of glorious

deliverance, so soon to be consummated, many would receive the

doctrine without sufficiently examining the Scriptures in demonstration

of its truth. He therefore hesitated to present it, lest he should be

in error, and be the means of misleading others. He was thus led to

review the evidences in support of the conclusions at which he had

arrived, and to consider carefully every difficulty which presented

itself to his mind. He found that objections vanished before the light

of God’s Word, as mist before the rays of the sun. Five years spent

thus, left him fully convinced of the correctness of his position.

And now the duty of making known to others what he believed

to be so clearly taught in the Scriptures, urged itself with new force

upon him. “When I was about my business,” he said, “it was continually

ringing in my ears, Go and tell the world of their danger.

This text was constantly occurring to me: ‘When I say unto the

wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak

to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his

iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if

thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn

from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy

soul.’ [Ezekiel 33:8, 9.] I felt that if the wicked could be effectually

warned, multitudes of them would repent; and that if they were not

warned, their blood might be required at my hand.”

He began to present his views in private as he had opportunity,

praying that some minister might feel their force and devote himself

to their promulgation. But he could not banish the conviction that

he had a personal duty to perform in giving the warning. The words

were ever recurring to his mind, “Go and tell it to the world; their

[331] blood will I require at thy hand.” For nine years he waited, the burden

still pressing upon his soul, until in 1831 he for the first time publicly

gave the reasons of his faith.

As Elisha was called from following his oxen in the field, to

receive the mantle of consecration to the prophetic office, so was

William Miller called to leave his plow, and open to the people

the mysteries of the kingdom of God. With trembling he entered

upon his work, leading his hearers down, step by step, through the

prophetic periods to the second appearing of Christ. With every

effort he gained strength and courage as he saw the widespread

interest excited by his words.

It was only at the solicitation of his brethren, in whose words

he heard the call of God, that Miller consented to present his views

in public. He was now fifty years of age, unaccustomed to public

speaking, and burdened with a sense of unfitness for the work before

him. But from the first his labors were blessed in a remarkable

manner to the salvation of souls. His first lecture was followed by

a religious awakening, in which thirty entire families, with the exception

of two persons, were converted. He was immediately urged

to speak in other places, and in nearly every place his labor resulted

in a revival of the work of God. Sinners were converted, Christians

were roused to greater consecration, and deists and infidels were

led to acknowledge the truth of the Bible and the Christian religion.

The testimony of those among whom he labored was: “A class of

minds are reached by him that are not within the influence of other

men.” “His preaching is calculated to arouse the public mind to the

great things of religion, and to check the growing worldliness and

sensuality of the age.”

In nearly every town there were scores, in some, hundreds, converted

as the result of his preaching. In many places Protestant

churches of nearly all denominations were thrown open to him; and

the invitations to labor usually came from the ministers of the several

congregations. It was his invariable rule not to labor in any place to [332]

which he had not been invited, yet he soon found himself unable to

comply with half the requests that poured in upon him.

Many who did not accept his views as to the exact time of the second

advent, were convinced of the certainty and nearness of Christ’s

coming and their need of preparation. In some of the large cities his

work produced a marked impression. Liquor-dealers abandoned the

traffic, and turned their shops into meeting-rooms; gambling dens

were broken up, infidels, deists, Universalists, and the most abandoned

profligates were reformed—some of whom had not entered a

house of worship of years. Prayer-meetings were established by the

various denominations, in different quarters, at almost every hour,

business men assembling at midday for prayer and praise. There

was no extravagant excitement, but an almost universal solemnity

on the minds of the people. His work, like that of the early re282

formers, tended rather to convince the understanding and arouse the

conscience than merely to excite the emotions.

In 1833 Miller received a license to preach, from the Baptist

Church, of which he was a member. A large number of the ministers

of his denomination also approved his work, and it was with their

formal sanction that he continued his labors.

He traveled and preached unceasingly, though his personal labors

were confined principally to the New England and Middle States.

For several years his expenses were met wholly from his own private

purse, and he never afterward received enough to meet the expense

of travel to the places where he was invited. Thus his public labors,

so far from being a pecuniary benefit, were a heavy tax upon his

property, which gradually diminished during this period of his life.

He was the father of a large family, but as they were all frugal and

industrious, his farm sufficed for their maintenance as well as his

own.

[333] In 1833, two years after Miller began to present in public the

evidences of Christ’s soon coming, the last of the signs appeared

which were promised by the Saviour as tokens of his second advent.

Said Jesus, “The stars shall fall from heaven.” [Matthew 24:29.] And

John in the Revelation declared, as he beheld in vision the scenes

that herald the day of God: “The stars of heaven fell unto the earth,

even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a

mighty wind.” [Revelation 6:13.] This prophecy received a striking

and impressive fulfillment in the great meteoric shower of November

13, 1833. That was the most extensive and wonderful display of

falling stars which has ever been recorded; “the whole firmament,

over all the United States, being then, for hours, in fiery commotion.

No celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this country, since its

first settlement, which was viewed with such intense admiration by

one class in the community, or such dread and alarm by another.”

“Its sublimity and awful beauty still linger in many minds.... Never

did rain fall much thicker than the meteors fell toward the earth;

east, west, north, and south, it was the same. In a word, the whole

heavens seemed in motion.... The display, as described in Professor

Silliman’s journal, was seen all over North America.... From two

o’clock until broad daylight, the sky being perfectly serene and

cloudless, an incessant play of dazzlingly brilliant luminosities was

kept up in the whole heavens.”

“No language indeed can come up to the splendor of that magnificent

display; no one who did not witness it can form an adequate

conception of its glory. It seemed as if the whole starry heavens had

congregated at one point near the zenith, and were simultaneously

shooting forth, with the velocity of lightning, to every part of the

horizon; and yet they were not exhausted—thousands swiftly followed

in the track of thousands, as if created for the occasion.” “A

more correct picture of a fig-tree casting its figs when blown by a

mighty wind, it is not possible to behold.”

On the day following its appearance, Henry Dana Ward wrote [334]

thus of the wonderful phenomenon: “No philosopher or scholar has

told or recorded an event, I suppose, like that of yesterday morning.

A prophet eighteen hundred years ago foretold it exactly, if we will

be at the trouble of understanding stars falling to mean falling stars,

in the only sense in which it is possible to be literally true.”

Thus was displayed the last of those signs of his coming, concerning

which Jesus bade his disciples, “When ye shall see all these

things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” [Matthew 24:33.]

After these signs, John beheld, as the great event next impending,

the heavens departing as a scroll, while the earth quaked, mountains

and islands removed out of their places, and the wicked in terror

sought to flee from the presence of the Son of man.

Many who witnessed the falling of the stars, looked upon it as a

herald of the coming Judgment,—“an awful type, a sure forerunner,

a merciful sign, of that great and dreadful day.” Thus the attention

of the people was directed to the fulfillment of prophecy, and many

were led to give heed to the warning of the second advent.

In the year 1840, another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy

excited widespread interest. Two years before, Josiah Litch, one

of the leading ministers preaching the second advent, published

an exposition of Revelation 9, predicting the fall of the Ottoman

empire, and specifying not only the year but the very day on which

this would take place. According to this exposition, which was

purely a matter of calculation on the prophetic periods of Scripture,

the Turkish government would surrender its independence on the

eleventh day of August, 1840. The prediction was widely published,

and thousands watched the course of events with eager interest.

At the very time specified, Turkey, through her ambassadors,

accepted the protection of the allied powers of Europe, and thus

[335] placed herself under the control of Christian nations. The event

exactly fulfilled the prediction. When it became known, multitudes

were convinced of the correctness of the principles of prophetic

interpretation adopted by Miller and his associates, and a wonderful

impetus was given to the Advent movement. Men of learning and

position united with Miller, both in preaching and publishing his

views, and from 1840 to 1844 the work rapidly extended.

William Miller possessed strong mental powers, disciplined by

thought and study; and he added to these the wisdom of Heaven,

by connecting himself with the Source of wisdom. He was a man

of sterling worth, who could not but command respect and esteem

wherever integrity of character and moral excellence were valued.

Uniting true kindness of heart with Christian humility and the power

of self-control, he was attentive and affable to all, ready to listen

to the opinions of others, and to weigh their arguments. Without

passion or excitement, he tested all theories and doctrines by the

Word of God; and his sound reasoning, and thorough knowledge of

the Scriptures, enabled him to refute error and expose falsehood.

Yet he did not prosecute his work without bitter opposition.

As with earlier reformers, the truths which he presented were not

received with favor by popular religious teachers. As these could

not maintain their position by the Scriptures, they were driven to

resort to the sayings and doctrines of men, to the traditions of the

Fathers. But the Word of God was the only testimony accepted by

the preachers of the Advent truth. “The Bible, and the Bible only,”

was their watchword. The lack of Scripture argument on the part of

their opponents was supplied by ridicule and scoffing. Time, means,

and talents were employed in maligning those whose only offense

was that they looked with joy for the return of their Lord, and were

striving to live holy lives, and to exhort others to prepare for his

appearing.

[336] Earnest were the efforts put forth to draw away the minds of

the people from the subject of the second advent. It was made to

appear a sin, something of which men should be ashamed, to study

American Reformer 285

the prophecies which relate to the coming of Christ and the end of

the world. Thus the popular ministry undermined faith in the Word

of God. Their teaching made men infidels, and many took license

to walk after their own ungodly lusts. Then the authors of the evil

charged it all upon Adventists.

While drawing crowded houses of intelligent and attentive hearers,

Miller’s name was seldom mentioned by the religious press

except by way of ridicule or denunciation. The careless and ungodly,

emboldened by the position of religious teachers, resorted to

opprobrious epithets, to base and blasphemous witticisms, in their

efforts to heap contumely upon him and his work. The gray-headed

man who had left a comfortable home to travel at his own expense

from city to city, from town to town, toiling unceasingly to bear to

the world the solemn warning of the Judgment near, was sneeringly

denounced as a fanatic, a liar, a speculating knave.

The ridicule, falsehood, and abuse heaped upon him called forth

indignant remonstrance, even from the secular press. To treat a

subject of such overwhelming majesty and fearful consequences,

with lightness and ribaldry, was declared by worldly men to be not

merely to sport with the feelings of its advocates, but “to make a jest

of the day of Judgment, to scoff at God himself, and to mock the

terrors of his Judgment-bar.”

The instigator of all evil sought not only to counteract the effect

of the Advent message, but to destroy the messenger himself. Miller

made a practical application of Scripture truth to the hearts of his

hearers, reproving their sins, and disturbing their self-satisfaction,

and his plain and cutting words aroused their enmity. The opposition

manifested by church-members toward his message, emboldened

the baser classes to go to greater lengths; and enemies plotted to

take his life as he should leave the place of meeting. But holy angels [337]

were in the throng, and one of these, in the form of a man, took the

arm of this servant of the Lord, and led him in safety from the angry

mob. His work was not yet done, and Satan and his emissaries were

disappointed in their purpose.

Despite all opposition, the interest in the Advent movement had

continued to increase. From scores and hundreds, the congregations

had grown to as many thousands. Large accessions had been made

to the various churches, but after a time the spirit of opposition was

manifested even against these converts, and the churches began to

take disciplinary steps with those who had embraced Miller’s views.

This action called forth a response from his pen, in an address to

Christians of all denominations, urging that if his doctrines were

false he should be shown his error from the Scriptures.

“What have we believed,” he said, “that we have not been commanded

to believe by the Word of God, which you yourselves allow

is the rule, and the only rule, of our faith and practice? What have

we done that should call down such virulent denunciations against

us from pulpit and press, and give you just cause to exclude us [Adventists]

from your church and fellowship?” “If we are wrong, pray

show us wherein consists our wrong. Show us from theWord of God

that we are in error; we have had ridicule enough; that can never

convince us that we are in the wrong; the Word of God alone can

change our views. Our conclusions have been formed deliberately

and prayerfully, as we have seen the evidence in the Scriptures.”

From age to age the warnings which God has sent to the world

by his servants have been received with like incredulity and unbelief.

When the iniquity of the antediluvians moved him to bring a flood

of waters upon the earth, he first made known to them his purpose,

that they might have opportunity to turn from their evil ways. For a

hundred and twenty years was sounded in their ears the warning to

[338] repent, lest the wrath of God be manifested in their destruction. But

the message seemed to them an idle tale, and they believed it not.

Emboldened in their wickedness, they mocked the messenger of God,

made light of his entreaties, and even accused him of presumption.

How dare one man stand up against all the great men of the earth?

If Noah’s message were true, why did not all the world see it and

believe it? One man’s assertion against the wisdom of thousands!

They would not credit the warning, nor would they seek shelter in

the ark.

Scoffers pointed to the things of nature,—to the unvarying succession

of the seasons, to the blue skies that had never poured out

rain, to the green fields refreshed by the soft dews of night,—and

they cried out, “Doth he not speak parables?” In contempt they declared

the preacher of righteousness to be a wild enthusiast; and they

went on, more eager in their pursuit of pleasure, more intent upon

their evil ways, than ever before. But their unbelief did not hinder

the predicted event. God bore long with their wickedness, giving

them ample opportunity for repentance; but at the appointed time

his judgments were visited upon the rejecters of his mercy.

Christ declares that there will exist similar unbelief concerning

his second coming. As the people of Noah’s day “knew not until the

flood came, and took them all away; so,” in the words of our Saviour,

“shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” [Matthew 24:39.]

When the professed people of God are uniting with the world, living

as they live, and joining with them in forbidden pleasure; when the

luxury of the world becomes the luxury of the church; when the

marriage bells are chiming, and all are looking forward to many

years of worldly prosperity,—then, suddenly as the lightning flashes

from the heavens, will come the end of their bright visions and

delusive hopes.

As God sent his servant to warn the world of the coming flood,

so he sent chosen messengers to make known the nearness of the

final Judgment. And as Noah’s contemporaries laughed to scorn [339]

the predictions of the preacher of righteousness, so in Miller’s day

many, even of the professed people of God, scoffed at the words of

warning.

And why were the doctrine and preaching of Christ’s second

coming so unwelcome to the churches? While to the wicked the

advent of the Lord brings woe and desolation, to the righteous it is

fraught with joy and hope. This great truth had been the consolation

of God’s faithful ones through all the ages; why had it become,

like its Author, “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” to

his professed people? It was our Lord himself who promised his

disciples, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,

and receive you unto myself.” [John 14:3.] It was the compassionate

Saviour, who, anticipating the loneliness and sorrow of his followers,

commissioned angels to comfort them with the assurance that he

would come again in person, even as he went into heaven. As the

disciples stood gazing intently upward to catch the last glimpse of

him whom they loved, their attention was arrested by the words,

“Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this

same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come

in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” [Acts 1:11.]

Hope was kindled afresh by the angels’ message. The disciples

“returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the

temple, praising and blessing God.” [Luke 24:52, 53.] They were

not rejoicing because Jesus had been separated from them and they

were left to struggle with the trials and temptations of the world, but

because of the angels’ assurance that he would come again.

The proclamation of Christ’s coming should now be, as when

made by the angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem, good tidings of

great joy. Those who really love the Saviour cannot but hail with

gladness the announcement founded upon the Word of God, that he

in whom their hopes of eternal life are centered, is coming again,

[340] not to be insulted, despised, and rejected, as at his first advent, but

in power and glory, to redeem his people. It is those who do not

love the Saviour, that desire him to remain away; and there can be

no more conclusive evidence that the churches have departed from

God than the irritation and animosity excited by this Heaven-sent

message.

Those who accepted the Advent doctrine were roused to the

necessity of repentance and humiliation before God. Many had long

been halting between Christ and the world; “now they felt that it

was time to take a stand. The things of eternity assumed to them an

unwonted reality. Heaven was brought near, and they felt themselves

guilty before God. Christians were quickened to new spiritual life.

They were made to feel that time was short, that what they had to do

for their fellow-men must be done quickly. Earth receded, eternity

seemed to open before them, and the soul, with all that pertains to

its immortal weal or woe, was felt to eclipse every temporal object.”

The Spirit of God rested upon them, and gave power to their earnest

appeals to their brethren, as well as to sinners, to prepare for the

day of God. The silent testimony of their daily life was a constant

rebuke to formal and unconsecrated church-members. These did not

wish to be disturbed in their pursuit of pleasure, their devotion to

money-making, and their ambition for worldly honor. Hence the

enmity and opposition excited against the Advent faith and those

who proclaimed it.

As the arguments from the prophetic periods were found to

be impregnable, opposers endeavored to discourage investigation

of the subject, by teaching that the prophecies were sealed. Thus

Protestants followed in the steps of Romanists. While the papal

church withholds the Bible from the people, Protestant churches

claimed that an important part of the sacred Word—and that the part

which brings to view truths specially applicable to our time—could

not be understood.

Ministers and people declared that the prophecies of Daniel [341]

and the Revelation were incomprehensible mysteries. But Christ

directed his disciples to the words of the prophet Daniel concerning

events to take place in their time, and said, “Whoso readeth, let him

understand.” [Matthew 24:15.] And the assertion that the Revelation

is a mystery, not to be understood, is contradicted by the very title

of the book: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto

him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to

pass.... Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of

this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein; for

the time is at hand.” [Revelation 1:1-3.]

Says the prophet: “Blessed is he that readeth”—there are those

who will not read; the blessing is not for them. “And they that hear”—

there are some, also, who refuse to hear anything concerning the

prophecies; the blessing is not for this class. “And keep those things

which are written therein”—many refuse to heed the warnings and

instructions contained in the Revelation. None of these can claim

the blessing promised. All who ridicule the subjects of the prophecy,

and mock at the symbols here solemnly given, all who refuse to

reform their lives, and prepare for the coming of the Son of man,

will be unblest.

In view of the testimony of Inspiration, how dare men teach

that the Revelation is a mystery, beyond the reach of human understanding?

It is a mystery revealed, a book opened. The study of the

Revelation directs the mind to the prophecies of Daniel, and both

present most important instruction, given of God to men, concerning

events to take place at the close of this world’s history.

To John were opened scenes of deep and thrilling interest in the

experience of the church. He saw the position, dangers, conflicts,

and final deliverance of the people of God. He records the closing

messages which are to ripen the harvest of the earth, either as sheaves

for the heavenly garner or as fagots for the fires of destruction.

Subjects of vast importance were revealed to him, especially for the [342]

last church, that those who should turn from error to truth might be

instructed concerning the perils and conflicts before them. None

need be in darkness in regard to what is coming upon the earth.

Why, then, this widespread ignorance concerning an important

part of Holy Writ? Why this general reluctance to investigate its

teachings? It is the result of a studied effort of the prince of darkness

to conceal from men that which reveals his deceptions. For

this reason, Christ the Revelator, foreseeing the warfare that would

be waged against the study of the Revelation, pronounced a blessing

upon all who should read, hear, and observe the words of the

prophecy.