Everything about The Great Disappointment totally explained
The
Great Disappointment was a major event in the history of the
Millerite movement, a
19th century American Christian sect.
William Miller, a
Baptist preacher, prophesied that
Jesus Christ would return to the earth during the Jewish year
1844. A more specific date, that of
October 22,
1844 was calculated by
Samuel S. Snow. Jesus didn't appear as expected on the appointed day and as a result
October 22,
1844 became known as the Great Disappointment.
William Miller
Between
1831 and
1844, based on his study of the
Bible—particularly the prophecy of,
William Miller, a
Baptist preacher, predicted and preached the soon return of
Jesus Christ to the earth.
Despite the urging of his supporters, Miller never personally set an exact date for the expected Second Advent. However, in response to their urgings he did narrow the time-period to sometime in the Jewish year
1843, stating: “My principles in brief, are, that Jesus Christ will come again to this earth, cleanse, purify, and take possession of the same, with all the saints, sometime between
March 21,
1843 and
March 21,
1844.”
March 21,
1844 passed without incident, and the majority of Millerites maintained their faith.
Further discussion and study resulted in the brief adoption of a new date—
April 18,
1844, one based on the
Karaite Jewish calendar (as opposed to the
Rabbinic calendar). Like the previous date,
April 18 passed without Christ's return. In the
Advent Herald of
April 24,
Joshua Himes wrote that all the “expected and published time” had passed; and admitted that they'd been “mistaken in the precise time of the termination of the prophetic period,” while
Josiah Litch surmised that they were probably, “only in error relative to the event which marked its close.”
Miller also responded publicly, addressing a letter “To Second Advent Believers,” and writing, “I confess my error, and acknowledge my disappointment; yet I still believe that the day of the Lord is near, even at the door."
In
August 1844 at a camp-meeting in
Exeter, New Hampshire, everything changed when
Samuel S. Snow presented a message of earth-shattering proportions—what became known as the “seventh-month” message or the “true midnight cry.” In a complex discussion based on
scriptural typology, Snow presented his conclusion (still based on the 2300 day prophecy in ), that Christ would return on, “the tenth day of the seventh month of the present year,
1844.” Again using the calendar of the
Karaite Jews, this date was determined to be
October 22,
1844. This “seventh month message” “spread with a rapidity unparalleled in the
Millerites experience” amongst the general population.
October 22, 1844
The sun rose on the morning of
October 23 like any other day, and
October 22, that day of great hope and promise was for the
Millerites, the day of greatest disappointment.
Henry Emmons, a Millerite, later wrote,
“I waited all Tuesday [October22] and dear Jesus didn't come;– I waited all the forenoon of Wednesday, and was well in body as I ever was, but after 12 o’clock I began to feel faint, and before dark I needed someone to help me up to my chamber, as my natural strength was leaving me very fast, and I lay prostrate for 2 days without any pain– sick with disappointment.”
Miller recorded his personal disappointment in his memoirs: "Were I to live my life over again, with the same evidence that I then had, to be honest with God and man, I should have to do as I've done. I confess my error, and acknowledge my disappointment." Miller continued to wait for the
second coming of
Jesus Christ until his death in
1849.
Repercussions
Not only were the Millerites dealing with their own shattered expectations, they also faced considerable abuse and even violence from the general public. On
November 18,
1844 Miller wrote to Himes about his experiences:
“Some are tauntingly enquiring, “Have you not gone up?” Even little children in the streets are shouting continually to passersby, “Have you a ticket to go up?” The public prints, of the most fashionable and popular kind…are caricaturing in the most shameful manner of the “white robes of the saints,”, the “going up,” and the great day of “burning.” Even the pulpits are desecrated by the repetition of scandalous and false reports concerning the “ascension” robes,” and priests are using their powers and pens to fill the catalogue of scoffing in the most scandalous periodicals of the day.”
There were also the instances of violence—a Millerite church burned in Ithaca and two vandalized in Dansville and Scottsville. In Loraine, a mob attacked the Millerite congregation with clubs and knives, while a group in Toronto was tarred and feathered. Shots were fired at another Canadian group meeting in a private house.
Both Millerite leaders and followers were left generally bewildered and disillusioned. Responses varied: some continued to look daily for Christ’s return, others predicted different dates—among them
April,
July, and
October 1845. Some theorized that the world had entered the seventh millennium—the “Great Sabbath,” and that therefore, the saved shouldn't work. Others acted as children, basing their belief on Jesus’ words in “Truly, I say to you, whoever doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child shan't enter it.” Millerite O. J. D. Pickands used to teach that Christ was now sitting on a white cloud, and must be prayed down. Probably the majority however, simply gave up their beliefs and attempted to rebuild their lives. Some members rejoined their previous denominations. A substantial number joined the
Shakers.
By mid-1845, doctrinal lines amongst the various Millerite groups began to solidify and the groups emphasized their differences; a process George R. Knight terms “
sect building.” During this time there were three main Millerite groups—in addition to those who had simply given up their beliefs.
The first major division of the Millerite groups who hadn't completely given up their belief in Christ’s Second Advent; were those who focused on the “shut-door” belief. This belief was popularized by Joseph Turner and was based on that key Millerite passage: —the parable of the ten virgins.
The shut door mentioned in was interpreted as the close of probation. As Knight explains, “After the door was shut, there would be no additional salvation. The wise virgins (true believers) would be in the kingdom, while the foolish virgins and all others would be on the outside.”
The widespread acceptance of the “shut-door” belief lost ground as doubts were raised about the significance of the
October 22,
1844 date—if nothing happened on that date, then there could be no shut door. The opposition to these “shut-door” beliefs was led by
Joshua Himes and make up the second post-1844 group. This faction soon gained the upper hand, even converting Miller to their point of view. Their influence was enhanced by the staging of the Albany Conference. The
Advent Christian Church has its roots in this post-Great Disappointment group.
The third major post-disappointment Millerite group also claimed—like the Hale and Turner led group, that the
October 22 date was correct. Rather than Christ returning invisibly however, they came to view the event that took place on
October 22,
1844 having been quite different. The theology of this third group appears to have had its beginnings as early as
October 23,
1844—the day after the Great Disappointment. On that day, during a prayer session with a group of Advent believers,
Hiram Edson became convicted that “light would be given” and their “disappointment explained.” Edson’s experience led him into an extended study on the topic with O. R. L. Crosier and F. B. Hahn. They came to the conclusion that “the sanctuary to be cleansed in wasn't the earth or the church, but the sanctuary in heaven.” Therefore, the
October 22 date marked not the Second Coming of Christ, but rather a heavenly event. Out of this third group arose the
Seventh-day Adventist Church and this interpretation of the Great Disappointment forms the basis for the
Seventh-day Adventist doctrine of the Investigative Judgement. Their insights were published in early 1845 in the
Day Dawn.
A psychological perspective
The Great Disappointment is viewed by some scholars as an example the psychological phenomenon of
cognitive dissonance. The theory was proposed by
Leon Festinger to describe the formation of new beliefs and increased proselytizing in order to reduce the tension, or dissonance, that results from
failed prophecies. According to the theory, believers experienced tension following the failure of Jesus' reappearance in 1844 which led to a variety of new explanations. The various solutions form a part of the teachings of the different groups that outlived the disappointment.
Other views
Bahá'í
Members of the
Bahá'í Faith believe that Miller's interpretation of signs and dates of the coming of Jesus were, for the most part, correct. They believe that the fulfillment of biblical prophecies of the coming of Christ came through a forerunner of their own religion, the
Báb, who declared that he was the "Promised One" on
May 23,
1844, and began openly teaching in
Persia (
Iran) in October 1844. Several Bahá'í books and pamphlets make mention of the Millerites, the prophecies used by Miller and the
Great Disappointment, most notably
William Sears'
Thief in the Night.
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