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“A Feast of Reason”: The Roots of William Miller’s Biblical Interpretation and its influence on the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Jeff Crocombe A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in October 2011 School of History, Philosophy, Religion, and Classics 1 Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the General Award Rules of The University of Queensland, immediately made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 . I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Statement of Contributions to Jointly Authored Works Contained in the Thesis “No jointly-authored works.” Statement of Contributions by Others to the Thesis as a Whole “No contributions by others.” Statement of Parts of the Thesis Submitted to Qualify for the Award of Another Degree “None.” Published Works by the Author Incorporated into the Thesis “None.” Additional Published Works by the Author Relevant to the Thesis but not Forming Part of it “None.” i Acknowledgements Thanks to my supervisor, Professor Philip Almond for great patience and good advice. Thanks to the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics at the University of Queensland for funding a research trip to the USA. Thanks to the staff of the Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan; the Library of Congress in Washington DC; the Archives of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists in Silver Spring, Maryland; the Vermont Historical Society in Barre, Vermont; and the Jenks Memorial Collection of Adventual Materials at Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois; for their assistance. Above all, thanks to my wife, Ruth and our daughter Araminta. You both light up my life. Abstract During the late eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, the Second Advent movement was a potent religious force in both Europe and North America. Its adherents focused on a specific date for the literal fulfilment of Christ’s Second Advent—his return to earth to establish his kingdom. In America, the rising prosperity and growth of social democracy of the Jacksonian era evoked a fervid optimism that for many focussed on utopian visions of America’s millennial glory. Such an environment proved fertile ground for the theories of William Miller, and his followers, the Millerites, who became the largest and most influential early nineteenth-century American premillennial group. William Miller (1782-1849) was a primarily self-educated farmer living in upstate New York who, while raised a Baptist, became a Deist as a young man. Following his participation in the War of 1812, he first questioned and then rejected his Deist beliefs, undergoing a dramatic conversion experience and rejoining the Baptist Church. In order to respond to the questions of his Deist friends regarding the Bible’s reliability and their accusations that the Bible contradicted itself, Miller began a systematic reading of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. While reading, Miller became convinced that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth would take place, “about the year 1843”. He began to publicly proclaim this Second Advent message in 1831, and soon gathered a large number of followers who accepted his message. Miller came to his conclusions because of the particular way in which he approached Scripture—seeing the Bible as a “feast of reason”—and by using a very systematic approach influenced by Scottish Common Sense Philosophy and based on Historicist principles. Miller approached the Bible “rationally” and a belief in the Bible’s perspicuity, literality, and truthfulness, was at the core of his hermeneutical approach. While he himself refrained from setting an exact date, he eventually ii accepted the October 22, 1844 date predicted by Samuel S. Snow. When this date passed without Christ’s return, the majority of Millerites gave up their beliefs. A minority of Millerites maintained their beliefs in the soon return of Jesus Christ and/or the significance of October 22, 1844. These groups developed a variety of explanations for Jesus’ non- appearance on that date and either reinterpreted the event linked to October 22, 1844 or set other dates for Christ’s return. The Seventh-day Adventist denomination that formally formed in 1860 out of these Millerite believers was one such group who developed an alternative scenario allowing them to maintain their belief in the significance of the October 22, 1844 date. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is now a 17 million strong denomination with a worldwide presence that reads and interprets the Bible using an approach that owes a great deal to Miller’s hermeneutic. Keywords william miller, hermeneutics, seventh-day adventist church, christianity, adventist, millerism Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) 2202 100% iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 Background ............................................................................................................. 1 Statement of purpose............................................................................................... 2 A Review of the Literature ..................................................................................... 2 An Overview of the Contents ............................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1 – A History of William Miller, the Millerites, and the Adventists. ................... 12 An Introduction to the Second Advent Movement ............................................... 12 William Miller ...................................................................................................... 13 The Millerite Movement ....................................................................................... 21 The Great Disappointment .................................................................................... 31 The Seventh-day Adventist Church ...................................................................... 37 Sabbatarian Adventism ............................................................................. 37 The Role of Ellen G. White ...................................................................... 40 Organization Into a Denomination ............................................................ 45 The Modern Seventh-day Adventist Church ............................................ 49 CHAPTER 2 – William Miller’s Hermeneutics ...................................................................... 51 Historicism ............................................................................................................ 51 The Year/Day Principle ............................................................................ 53 Symbols & Types ...................................................................................... 55 Synchronizations ....................................................................................... 59 Miller’s Systematic Approach—the Fourteen Rules. ........................................... 60 A Perspicuous Approach ........................................................................... 69 A Literal Approach ................................................................................... 69 Scripture Interprets Scripture .................................................................... 71 A Common-sense Approach ..................................................................... 72 A “Spiritual” Approach ............................................................................. 77 Biblicism ............................................................................................................... 78 Proof-texting ......................................................................................................... 83 CHAPTER 3 – The Influence of Miller’s Culture and Philosophy ......................................... 86 Christian Revivalism ............................................................................................. 86 Rationalist Thought—Deism ................................................................................ 89 Voltaire...................................................................................................... 94 David Hume .............................................................................................

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