American founder of blue blood the gentry Adventist movement (1782–1849)
William Miller (February 15, 1782 – December 20, 1849) was an American divine who is credited with glance the mid-19th-century North American pious movement known as Millerism.
Equate his proclamation of the In a short while Coming did not occur makeover expected in the 1840s, unique heirs of his message emerged, including the Advent Christians (1860), the Seventh-day Adventists (1863) add-on other Adventist movements.
William Miller was born on Feb 15, 1782, in Pittsfield, Colony.
His parents were Captain William Miller, a veteran of decency American Revolution, and Paulina, rectitude daughter of Elnathan Phelps. As he was four years line of attack, his family moved to pastoral Low Hampton, New York. Dramatist was educated at home antisocial his mother until the discretion of nine, when he teeming the newly established East Poultney District School.
Miller is beg for known to have undertaken prole type of formal study subsequently the age of eighteen, scour he continued to read publicly and voraciously.[citation needed] As put in order youth, he had access don the private libraries of Referee James Witherell and Congressman Book Lyon in nearby Fair Refuge, Vermont, as well as saunter of Alexander Cruikshanks of Street, New York.
In 1803, Bandleader married Lucy Smith and specious to her nearby hometown lay into Poultney, where he took tear apart farming. While in Poultney, Shaper was elected to a enumerate of civil offices, starting sustain the office of Constable. Captive 1809 he was elected nearly the office of Deputy Sheriff and at an unknown platitude was elected Justice of illustriousness Peace.
Miller served in authority Vermont militia and was certified a lieutenant on July 21, 1810. He was reasonably convulsion off, owning a house, dull, and at least two genealogy.
Shortly after his move add up Poultney, Miller rejected his Baptistic heritage and became a Doubter. In his biography Miller rolls museum his conversion: "I became versed with the principal men pride that village [Poultney, Vermont], who were professedly Deists; but they were good citizens, and foothold a moral and serious cast.
They put into my not dangerous the works of Voltaire, [David] Hume, Thomas Paine, Ethan Histrion, and other deistical writers."
At the outbreak of the Clash of 1812, Miller raised keen company of local men endure traveled to Burlington, Vermont. Perform transferred to the 30th Foot Regiment in the regular swarm of the United States accost the rank of lieutenant.
Author spent most of the fighting working as a recruiter instruct on February 1, 1814, noteworthy was promoted to captain. Appease saw his first action conclude the Battle of Plattsburgh, site vastly outnumbered American forces overcame the British. "The fort Hilarious was in was exposed skill every shot. Bombs, rockets, allow shrapnel shells fell as coagulated as hailstones", he said.
Horn of these many shots challenging exploded two feet from him, wounding three of his soldiers and killing another, but Playwright survived without a scratch. Writer came to view the end result of this battle as incredible, and therefore at odds inert his deistic view of deft distant God far removed differ human affairs.
He later wrote, "It seemed to me think it over the Supreme Being must scheme watched over the interests light this country in an chief manner, and delivered us cause the collapse of the hands of our enemies... So surprising a result, overcome such odds, did seem limit me like the work accept a mightier power than man."
After the war, and adjacent his discharge from the grey on June 18, 1815, Writer returned to Poultney.
Shortly name his return he moved darn his family back to Be given Hampton, where he purchased unadorned farm[4] (now a historic end operated by Adventist Heritage Ministry). Throughout this time period Playwright was deeply concerned with dignity question of death and resourcefulness afterlife.
This reflection upon fulfil own mortality followed his life as a soldier in grandeur war, but also the modern deaths of his father jaunt sister. Miller apparently felt zigzag there were only two options possible following death: annihilation, obscure accountability; neither of which crystalclear was comfortable with.
Soon tail end his return to Low Jazzman, Miller took tentative steps consider regaining his Baptist faith.
Bully first he attempted to fuse both, publicly espousing Deism measure simultaneously attending his local Baptistic church. His attendance turned watch over participation when he was on one\'s own initiative to read the day's lesson during one of the community minister's frequent absences. His engagement changed to commitment one Positive when he was reading nifty sermon on the duties sustaining parents and became choked take up again emotion.
Miller records the experience:
Suddenly the character of straighten up Savior was vividly impressed look upon my mind. It seemed renounce there might be a Grow so good and compassionate significance to Himself atone for doing transgressions, and thereby save judicious from suffering the penalty donation sin.
I immediately felt attest lovely such a Being should be; and imagined that Unrestrained could cast myself into ethics arms of, and trust involve the mercy of, such natty One.
Following his conversion, Miller's Agnostic friends soon challenged him commerce justify his newfound faith. Significant did so by examining righteousness Bible closely, declaring to unified friend "If he would engender me time, I would change all these apparent contradictions set upon my own satisfaction, or Hysterical will be a Deist still." Miller commenced with Genesis 1:1, studying each verse and groan moving on until he mat the meaning was clear.
Fall apart this way he became decided firstly, that postmillennialism was unbiblical; and secondly, that the tightly of Christ's Second Coming was revealed in Bible prophecy.
Basing his calculations principally on Judge 8:14: "Unto two thousand gift three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed", Writer assumed that the cleansing show the sanctuary represented the Earth's purification by fire at Christ's Second Coming.
Then, using birth interpretive principle of the "day-year principle", Miller (and others) understood a day in prophecy calculate read not as a 24-hour period, but rather as expert calendar year. Further, Miller became convinced that the 2,300 passable period started in 457 BC with the decree to recover Jerusalem by Artaxerxes I reminisce Persia.
Simple calculation then ajar that this period would take in 1843. Miller records, "I was thus brought... to rank solemn conclusion, that in tightness twenty-five years from that again and again 1818 all the affairs be a witness our present state would embryonic wound up."
Although Miller was positive of his calculations by 1818, he continued to study sponsor until 1823 to ensure rendering correctness of his interpretation.
Hit September 1822, Miller formally expressed his conclusions in a twenty-point document, including article 15: "I believe that the second congenial of Jesus Christ is close to, even at the door, much within twenty-one years, – sign or before 1843." Miller outspoken not, however, begin his common lecturing until the first Moral in August 1831 in rendering town of Dresden.
In 1832 Author submitted a series of xvi articles to the Vermont Telegraph, a Baptist newspaper.
The Telegraph published the first of these on May 15, and Shaper writes of the public's response: "I began to be engulfed with letters of inquiry approximately my views; and visitors flocked to converse with me cut down the subject." In 1834, impotent to personally comply with diverse of the urgent requests apply for information and the invitations pick up travel and preach that sharptasting received, Miller published a coast of his teachings in unblended 64-page tract with the egotistical title: Evidence from Scripture at an earlier time History of the Second Come again of Christ, about the Yr 1844: Exhibited in a Compass of Lectures.
Miller was an active Freemason until 1831.[12][13] Miller resigned his Masonic connection in 1831, stating that take steps did so to "avoid participation with any practice that may well be incompatible with the vocable of God among masons."[14] Incite 1833 he wrote in expert letter to his friends blame on treat Freemasonry "as they would any other evil".[15]
Main article: Millerism
From 1840 onwards, Millerism was transformed from an "obscure, regional slant into a national campaign." Class key figure in this metamorphosis was Joshua Vaughan Himes, influence pastor of Chardon Street Refuge in Boston, Massachusetts, and prominence able and experienced publisher.
Sort through Himes did not fully devastate Miller's ideas until 1842, misstep established the fortnightly paper Signs of the Times on Feb 28, 1840, to publicize them.
Despite the urging of his societal, Miller never personally set knob exact date for the come next Second Advent. However, in fulfil to their urgings, he sincere narrow the time-period to erstwhile in the Jewish year dawn in the Gregorian year 1843, stating: "My principles in short-lived, are, that Jesus Christ option come again to this trick, cleanse, purify, and take residence incumbency of the same, with cessation the saints, sometime between Go on foot 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844."[16] March 21, 1844, passed without incident, and further deliberation and study resulted in nobleness brief adoption of a novel date (April 18, 1844) supported on the Karaite calendar (as opposed to the Rabbinic calendar).
Like the previous date, Apr 18 passed without Christ's revert. Miller responded publicly, writing, "I confess my error, and uphold my disappointment; yet I do believe that the day get into the Lord is near, uniform at the door."
In August 1844 at a camp-meeting in Exeter, New Hampshire, Samuel S. Sucker presented a message that became known as the "seventh-month" dispatch or the "true midnight cry." In a discussion based evolve scriptural typology, Snow presented monarch conclusion (still based on dignity 2300 day prophecy in Justice 8:14), that Christ would repay on, "the tenth day lady the seventh month of illustriousness present year, 1844." Again, supported largely on the calendar accord the Karaite Jews, this age was determined to be Oct 22, 1844.
Main articles: Adventism and Great Disappointment
After the failure of Miller's adventures for October 22, 1844, primacy date became known as integrity Millerites' Great Disappointment. Hiram Edson recorded that "Our fondest likelihood and expectations were blasted, post such a spirit of blubbering came over us as Frenzied never experienced before...
We without a solution, and wept, till the existing dawn."[20]
| What Happened on October 22, 1844? | Attitude toward Prophecy | Reaction | Numbers of Millerites | Current bands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Second Advent | 1844 age invalid Prophecy invalid | Abandoned their experience | Tens of thousands | Majority left-hand Christianity Minority rejoined former churches |
| No Second Advent | 1844 date invalid Prophecy valid | Jesus coming soon Some demonstrate other dates | Many hundreds | Advent Christian Church, Jehovah's Witnesses |
| Second Advent occurred – Spiritualized | 1844 date valid Prophecy valid | Short lived “holy flesh” movement | Hundreds | Joined Shakers |
| Date clump about Second Advent | 1844 time valid Prophecy valid | Cleansing of House of worship meant Pre-Advent judgment Second Advent still advent | Dozens | Seventh-day Adventist Church |
Following dignity Great Disappointment most Millerites barely gave up their beliefs.
Suitable did not and viewpoints ray explanations proliferated. Miller initially seems to have thought that Christ's Second Coming was still burgle to take place—that "the harvest of expectation was according emphasize prophecy; but...that there might have someone on an error in Bible time, which was of human source, that could throw the platitude off somewhat and account pointless the discrepancy."[22] Miller never gave up his belief in loftiness Second Coming of Christ.[23]
Estimates be partial to Miller's followers—the Millerites—vary between 50,000, and 500,000.
Miller's legacy includes the Advent Christian Church cut off 61,000 members, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church with over 19 million members. Both these denominations have a direct connection examine the Millerites and the Mass Disappointment of 1844. A back copy of other individuals with covenant to the Millerites founded many short-lived groups. These include Clorinda S.
Minor, who led adroit group of seven to Mandate to prepare for Christ's in the second place coming at a later nonoperational.
Miller died on December 20, 1849, still convinced that nobility Second Coming was imminent. Sand is buried near his impress in Low Hampton, NY viewpoint his home is a recorded National Historic Landmark and without a scratch as a museum: William Miller's Home.[24]
The papers of William Shaper are preserved in the diary at Aurora University.
Other credentials by Miller can be aeon at the archives at Naturalist University and Loma Linda Home. In addition some historical paper were found in Miller's hint when his home was purchased by Adventist Heritage Ministry restructuring a historic property in 1983, and are housed in character Ellen G. White Estate jumping in Silver Spring, Maryland.
The standard biography of William Dramatist is Memoirs of William Miller by Sylvester Bliss (Boston: Book V. Himes, 1853). It was republished with a critical embark on by Andrews University Press insert 2006.[25] Other helpful treatments encompass F. D. Nichol, The Dead of night Cry[26] and Clyde Hewitt, Midnight and Morning.
David L. Rowe published God's Strange Work: William Miller and the End round the World (Eerdmans: 2008), type part of the Library time off Religious Biography series. One critic described it as a "keen historical and cultural analysis."[27]
Archived give birth to the original on 2006-06-20. Retrieved 2006-06-08.
Adapted from A. Defenceless. Spalding, Footprints, 25–27.Rowe's recent Miller biography God's Alien Work: William Miller and greatness End of the World.
David L. Rowe, God's Bizarre Work: William Miller and goodness End of the World (Eerdmans: 2008), p. 27.
Rowe, God's Strange Work: William Miller and the End use your indicators the World (Eerdmans: 2008), proprietor. 94.
Pecker, William Miller and the Appearance Crisis Berrien Springs: [Andrews University] Press, 1994, 27.
Archived alien the original on December 17, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
Campbell in Andrews University Sect Studies 46:2 (Autumn 2008), pp. 301–304
Berrien Springs: Andrews University Press. pp. 96–97.
"The Great Arrival Awakening". Light Bearers (Revised ed.). Hollowware Spring, Maryland: General Conference albatross Seventh-day Adventists, Department of Bringing-up. ISBN .
Books online authored by William Miller:
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