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William Miller and the Rise ofAdventism BY GEORGE R. KNIGHT

f not for William Miller (1782­ skeptical friends by imitating with "ludicrous once so vigorously rejected.' 1849), there would be no Sev­ gravity" the "devotional peculiarities" of his The war also heightened Miller's doubts enth-day Adventist Church. I grandfather and uncle-both Baptist clergy­ about the Deists' rosy view ofhuman nature. His insight and the fruit of his men. "Their words, tones ofvoice, gestures, While his historical reading had led him to Bible study stimulated the de­ fervency, and even the griefthey might mani­ conclude that human nature was not as good velopment of Sabbatarian Ad­ fest for such [a lost sinner] as himself" all pro­ as Deism claimed, he had "fondly cherished ventism in the late 1840s and vided grist for the talented young lampoonist.2 the idea that he would find one bright spot at led to the formation ofthe Sev­ But the War of1812 would bring Miller's least in the human character, as a star ofhope: enth-day Adventist denomina­ skeptical deistic years to an abrupt halt. The a love ofcountry-Patriotism." "But," he tion in the early 1860s. war (in which Miller served as an Army cap­ penned, "two years in the service was enough tain) brought him face to face with death and to convince me that I was in error in this thing An Unlikely Preacher his own mortality. "But a short time, and, also."4 In his early years, Miller seemed an like Spencer," he mused ofa recently deceased A third factor in Miller's disillusionment unlikely preaching candidate. In fact, in army companion, "I shall be no more. It is a with Deism and his return to Christianity his twenties young Miller showed more in­ solemn thought." He saw no hope in his de­ occurred at the Battle of Plattsburg in Sep­ terest in making fun of preachers than in istic beliefs. The hard facts oflife were push­ tember 1814. According to Deism, God did emulating them. He often entertained his ing Captain Miller toward the faith he had not intervene in human affairs, but Miller and

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several ofhis colleagues saw the American vic­ friend. "6 Not being one to do things halfway, eral passage in the Bible, it ceased to be a tory at Plattsburg as nothing less than divine Miller soon immersed himself in a thorough difficulty."s providence. It seemed impossible that the and methodological study of the Bible. He Miller studied his Bible in that man­ American "apology for an army" could defeat commenced with Genesis and read each verse, ner for two years. By 1818 he had come the numerically superior British troops, some "Proceeding no faster than the meaning ofthe to the "solemn conclusion ... that in about of whom had recently been victorious over several passages should be so unfolded, as to twenty-five years from that time all the Napoleon. "So surprizing [sic] a result against leave" him "free from embarrassment respect­ affairs ofour present state would be wound such odds," Miller penned, "did seem to me ing any mysticism or contradiction."? up." In other words, Jesus would come like the work ofa mightier power than man."5 "Whenever," he explained, "I found any about the year 1843.9 thing obscure, my practice was to compare it He arrived at that startling conclusion The Discovery That Transformed with all collateral passages; and by the help of through a study ofthe time prophecies of Miller's Life Cruden['s concordance], I examined all the Daniel and Revelation. Especially impor­ Miller's disillusionment with Deism drove texts ofScripture in which were found any of tant was Daniel 8:14: "Unto two thou­ him to study the Bible. By the autumn of the prominentwords contained in any obscure sand and three hundred days; then shall 1816 he had converted to the faith ofhis child­ portion. Then by letting every word have its the sanctuary be cleansed." Operating on hood. As he later put it, "the Scriptures . .. proper bearing on the subject of the text, if the commonly accepted interpretation of became my delight, and in Jesus I found a my view of it harmonized with every collat- Numbers 11 :34 and Ezekiel 4:5, 6 that a

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1994 11 day in prophecy equals a year, Miller cal­ enant," Miller confessed. "I rebelled at once lions ofMillerite periodicals, books, and pam­ culared that the 2300-day prophecy (along against the Lord, and determined not to go." phlets between 1840 and 1844. Many other with several other prophecies) would con­ Stomping out ofhis house to wrestle with the forms ofliterature were inspired by his efforts. clude about 1843. Interpreting rhe sanc­ Lord in prayer, he finally submitted after an­ Himes' second avenue for disseminating tuary of Daniel 8: 14 to be the earth and other hour. 13 Miller's message was the many conferences and its cleansing as the last-day cleansing of His first presentation on the second ad­ camp meetings sponsored by the movement the earth by fire, Miller reasoned that vent led to several conversions. Thereafter between 1840 and 1844. Not just a publisher Christ would return to the earth at the end Miller had an unending stream ofinvitations with ambition and vision, Himes was also an of the 2300 days-about 1843. 10 to hold meetings in the churches of several organizer! But Miller, being a rather modest denominations. By the end of the 1830s, During those years, tens ofthousands ac­ man, feared that his conclusions might be Miller had won several ministers to his view cepted the Advent message and many times in error. So between 1818 and 1823 he that Christ would come about the year 1843. their number harbored a haunting fear that re-examined his Bible and Miller might be right. raised every objection he As 1843 apptoached, tension could think ofto his findings. developed between the Millerite His conclusions with­ Adventists and the denominations stood the scrutiny. That left to which they belonged. As a re­ Miller with the uncomfort­ sult, many ofthem were expelled. able conviction that he That development set the stage in should do something to warn forming strictly Adventist congre­ people of their impending gations in 1843 and 1844. It also doom. But what could he do? led Charles Fitch and others to He was no preacher. He Picture conclude that any denomination sought a minister to sound Removed that couldn't rejoice in Jesus' soon the alarm and lead out in coming must be Babylon (a bibli­ warning the world. But, cal symbol of confusion and false Miller noted, "very few" doctrine), as predicted in Revela­ people listened to him "with tion 14:8 and 18:1-5. 16 any interest."11 As the predicted time ap­ So, he continued to proached, the tension increased. study his Bible for another But the Millerites were not overly eight years. But during those concerned. After all, years the Holy Spirit worked Jesus was coming, ever more strongly on his and all their trials heart. He came under the and troubles would unshakable conviction that he needed to The most sig­ soon be over. share his message. He was assailed by the nificant ofthese But Jesus didn't forceful impression that he must "Go tell was Joshua V. come. Not in the the world of their danger."12 Himes of the Picture spring of 1844 as Christian Removed Miller had suggested Preaching the Advent Connexion. 14 (he held that the Jew­ Miller did all he could to avoid wit­ Him e s ish year equivalent to nessing, but by the early 1830s the pres­ converted to our 1843 ran from sure had become unbearable. He finally Miller's views in March 21, 1843 to "entered into a solemn covenant with late 1839 and March 21, 1844), or God" that ifthe way was opened, he would early 1840. on October 22, 1844, do his duty. Feeling he needed to be more Millerism would never be the same after the the exact date calculated by S. S. Snow on the specific, Miller promised God that if he arrival of Himes, one of the public relations basis ofthe Jewish annual feasts. I? received an invitation to speak publicly, geniuses of his generation. Nathan Hatch, a The exactness ofthe calculations and ex­ he would go and teach about the Lord's leading historian ofAmerican religion, has de­ citement surrounding the October date set the second coming. scribed Himes' publishing efforts on behalfof stage for Millerism's collapse. But out ofthat "Instantly," he penned, "all my bur­ Miller's message as "an unprecedented media collapse would arise a new movement, one that den was gone; and I rejoiced that I should blitz" and "an unprecedented communications would build on the insights set forth in Miller's not probably be thus called upon; for I crusade."15 Before Himes joined the move­ interpretation ofthe prophecies. had never had such an invitation." ment, Millerism had been largely a one-man To Miller's dismay, however, within a show. But under Himes' guidance it became The Rise of Sabbatarian Adventism half-hour ofthis agreement with God, he a nationwide crusade. The aftermath ofthe October disappoint­ received his first invitation to preach on Himes developed a twofold strategy for ment found the Millerites in utter confusion. the second advent. "I was immediately spreading Miller's message. Beginning with What had happened to their interpretation of angry with myselffor having made the cov- The Signs ofthe Times, Himes published mil- such texts as Daniel 8: 14, which predicted the

12 ADVENTIST EDUCATION cleansing of the sanctuary at the end of the tient in waiting for Jesus to return and to keep George R. Knight, compo and ed., 1844 and the 2300 days? all of God's commandments-including the Rise ofSabbatarian Adventism (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Pub!. Assn., 1994). The frustration and need for understand­ seventh-day Sabbath. 2. Sylvester Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller ing eventually drove a small group back to a Thus they saw their movement as a di­ (Boston: Joshua V. Himes, 1853), pp. 28, 29. study of that important Bible text. Further rect extension and continuation of the work 3. Ibid., p. 55; cf. William Miller to Lucy study convinced them that something impor­ of William Miller. The flow of Revelation Miller (Nov. 11, 1814). tant had happened on October 22 at the end 14:6-12 ran from Miller's preaching of the 4. Joshua V. Himes, VIews ofthe Prophecies andProphetic Chronology, Selected From the Manu­ ofthe 2300-day prophecy. But what was it? hour (or time) of the judgment up through scripts of William Miller With a Memoir ofHis The answer to that question lay in a fur­ the preaching of God's seventh day in con­ Lift (Boston: Joshua V. Himes, 1842), p. 10. ther study of the words sanctuary and cleans­ trast to those who would eventually receive 5. William Miller, William Miller's Apology ing in Daniel 8: 14. By extending Miller's con­ the mark of the beast. The Sabbatarians also and Defince (Boston: J. V. Himes, 1845), p. 4. cordance approach to understanding the Bible, recognized that the harvest ofthe earth at the For an account of the Batrle of Plattsburg from Miller's perspective, see Bliss, Memoirs of Wil­ they soon concluded that the sanctuary that Second Advent immediately followed the liam Miller, pp. 44-53. needed to be cleansed in the mid-1800s was preaching of the third angel's message (see 6. Miller, Apology and Definee, p. 5 (italics not the earth, but the heavenly sanctuary. It Revelation 14:14-20).19 supplied). was this sanctuary that had provided the pat­ In short, the Sabbatarians understood 7. Ibid., p. 7. 8. Ibid., p. 6; cf, Advent Shield (May 1844), tern for the wilderness tabernacle (see Hebrews themselves to be the only genuine continua­ p. 50; Midnight Cry (Nov. 17, 1842), pp. 1, 2. 9:23, 24; 8:2). tion of William Miller's message to the world. 9. Apology and Defince, pp. 11, 12. Over time the Millerite remnant con­ They never viewed themselves as just a de­ 10. William Miller, Letter to Joshua V. Himes cluded that Jesus had begun a new phase of nomination. From their very beginning, they on the Cleansing ofthe Sanctuary (Boston: Joshua ministry in heaven on October 22 that had to perceived themselves as a people ofprophecy; V. Himes, 1842). 11. Miller, Apology and Defince, p. 15. be completed before He returned again. This a people with a special message to preach to 12. Ibid. group eventually came to understand the all the world before Jesus returned in the 13. Ibid. pp. 17-19. cleansing in terms ofthe pre-advent judgment, clouds of heaven. That self-understanding 14. There is no published book on Himes. or what they called the investigative judgment. continues to carry Seventh-day Adventists to The best study is David Tallmadge Arthur, "Joshua After all, they reasoned, an important phase the far corners of the earth and has inspired V. Himes and the Cause of Adventism, 1839­ 1845" (M.A. thesis, University ofChicago, 1961). 20 in the judgment of the saints would have to great sacrifice and dedication. 15. Nathan O. Hatch, The Democratization be completed before the Second Coming, Such sacrifice and dedication does not ofAmerican Christianity (New Haven, Conn.: Yale since Jesus would reward every person at that come about by accident. Rather, it stems from UniversityPress, 1989), pp. 142, 145. time. IS a distinct consciousness and conviction of 16. See Charles Fitch, "Come Out ofHer My This new understanding ofthe heavenly Adventism's role in prophetic history. When People" (Rochester, N.Y.: J. V. Himes, 1843). 17. S. S. Snow, The True Midnight Cry (Au­ sanctuary and Christ's ministry in it, coupled that conviction is lost, so will be the willing­ gust 22, 1844). with Miller's premillennial understanding of ness to sacrifice. William Miller's conviction 18. For more on these developments, see the Second Coming, became the theological that he must "go tell the world of their dan­ Frank B. Holbrook, ed., Doctrine ofthe Sanctu­ foundation for the group of Millerites who ger" has been the driving force behind ary: A Historical Survey (1845-1863) (Silver Spring, Md.: General Conference ofSeventh-day developed into Seventh-day Adventists be­ Adventist mission. Adventists, 1989). tween 1844 and 1863. Thus, Miller should be thought ofas not 19. On early Sabbatarian Adventist under­ Another crucial building block was their only the father of Seventh-day Adventism's standings of the role of the Sabbath, see Joseph growing understanding of the importance of view of prophecy and its doctrine of last Bates, The Seventh Day Sabbath: A Perpetual Sign, the seventh-day Sabbath in end-time events. things, but also ofits missionary spirit. rii? 2d. ed. (New Bedford, Mass.: [Joseph Bates], 1847); Joseph Bates, A VIndication ofthe Seventh­ They became aware of the Sabbath through day Sabbath andthe Commandments ofGod (New the Seventh Day Baptists and several texts in Bedford, Mass.: [Joseph Bates], 1848); Joseph Dr. George R. Knight is Professor ofChurch His­ the book ofRevelation. Perhaps the most sig­ Bates, A Seal ofthe Living God (New Bedford, tory, SDA Theological Seminary, Andrews Uni­ nificant of those texts was Revelation 14:12, Mass.: [Joseph Bates], 1849). On the early versity, Berrien Springs, Michigan. He has been which emphasized the keeping ofGod's com­ Sabbatarian understanding of the three angels' involved in a major way with the study, produc­ messages and their place in the course ofprophetic mandments just prior to Christ's coming. tion, editing, and writing ofmaterials for the history, see James White, "TheThird Angel's Mes­ Itwas significant that that verse concluded 1844-1994 sesquicentennial, including Mil­ sage," Present Truth (April 1850), pp. 65-69. the message of the third angel of Revelation lennial Fever and the End ofthe World: A Study 20. For an extensive treatment of the rela­ tion of SDA mission to the message ofthe three 14. Early Sabbatarian Adventists believed that ofMillerite Adventism; and 1844 and the Rise the message ofthe first angel ("the hour [time] angels, see P. Gerard Damsteegt, Foundations of of Sabbatarian Adventism (Reproductions of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission of his judgment is come") had begun to be original historical documents). (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977, re­ preached by William Miller, and that the sec­ printed by Andrews University Press). For a ond angel's message (the fall of Babylon) had NOTES AND REFERENCES briefer history of the forces underlying the dy­ begun to be sounded by the Millerites who namic ofAdventist mission as it relates to the three were thrown out of their churches in 1843 1. For a comprehensive study of Miller's work angels and Millerism, see George R. Knight, and 1844 because oftheir hope in Jesus' soon and influence, see George R. Knight, MillennialFever "From Shut Door to Worldwide Mission," in and the End ofthe World: A Study ofMillerite Advent­ Baldur Ed. Pfeiffer, Lothar E. Trader, and George return. ism (Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press Pub!. Assn., 1993). R. Knight, eds.: Die Adventisten und Hamburg: By 1848 the Sabbatarians saw themselves Many of the most impottant documents in Millerite Von der Ortsgemeinde zur internationalen Bewegung as sounding the message ofthe third angel as and early Sabbatarian Adventism (including most of (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1992), pp. 46­ they exhorted people to continue being pa- those used in this article), have been reproduced in 69; Knight, Millennial Fever. pp. 295-342.

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