MILLER DELUSION.
A man by the name of William Miller published a book in the year 1836,
in which he undertook to show that this earth would be destroyed in the
year 1843. His calculation, as to the transpiration of such an event
during the said year, is founded upon the prophecy of Daniel, that the
_sanctuary should be cleansed!_ in two thousand three hundred days. He
took the days to mean years, and began his reckoning from the going
forth of the commandment to restore Jerusalem, mentioned in a
subsequent vision. Why did he not begin the reckoning from the date of
the vision itself? Because this would not answer Mr. Miller's turn. To
tell the people that the earth was to be burned up in 1747, would
produce little or no excitement. He must hit upon a time for the
beginning which would make the end yet future, in order to gratify his
love for the marvellous.
That Mr. Miller intended to manage his reckoning of time to suit his
own scheme, is obvious from his different computations of time, to
_make_ his interpretations of other prophecies comport with his
application of the two thousand three hundred days. Daniel says, "And
from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the
abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two
hundred and ninety days." "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to
the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." Taking the
thousand three hundred and thirty-five days to reach from the taking
away of the daily sacrifice, and setting up the abomination that maketh
desolate, to the resurrection, he subtracts the thousand three hundred
and thirty-five from it, and finds the remainder to be five hundred and
eight, which must, to suit his calculation, be the year of our Lord in
which the daily sacrifice should be taken away, &c. Then, to get at the
taking away of a daily sacrifice, and the setting up of an abomination
that maketh desolate, which should come any where in the neighborhood
of this date, he makes the taking away of the daily sacrifice to be the
doing away of the pagan worship in Rome, and the setting up the
abomination spoken of to be the commencement of the Papal authority.
This he sets at A.D. 508, without reference to fact, because his
reckoning of prophetic time brings it so. The truth is, that the pagan
character of Rome ceased soon after the conversion of the Emperor
Constantine to Christianity, which was about A.D. 313. This makes
about 195 years' difference in the age of the world, and brings it to
an end in 1648, over 200 years ago!
But let us examine a little farther. Having come, as we have shown, at
A.D. 508, which, having taken from the years of Christ's life 33,
leaves 475 from the death of Christ, he proceeds to add up: The 70
weeks, or 490 years, to the crucifixion of Christ, 490; from the
crucifixion of Christ to the taking away the daily sacrifice, 475. And
here are his time, times, and half, which he takes to be the duration
of the pagan reign, i.e., three years and a half, which, taking a day
for a year, makes 1260.
Here, then, he has his whole time, down to the end of his second or
Papal transgression of desolation, which he has all along held to be
the end of the world. But these several numbers added amount to but
2225, 75 short of the 2300, reckoning from the going forth of the
decree to rebuild Jerusalem. And what now shall be done? How shall the
75 years be made up to bring the end of the world to 1843? Why, he
succeeds in finding two different numbers in the 12th of Daniel, viz.,
1290 and 1335. And nothing is easier, when you have two different
numbers, to substract the less from the greater. This he does in the
present case, and finds the difference to be just 45. Well, what of
that? Why, he says this is the time which was to elapse between the
destruction of the great beast in his second or Papal character, and
the resurrection! He does not pretend that the vision mentions this,
but so he fixes it. He is like a country schoolmaster, who, not always
finding it easy to manage by rules, when a scholar would carry him a
sum which he could not work, he would look at the answer in the book,
and get the difference between that and his own, and then he would slip
in the ascertained difference, somewhere in the operation, to be added
or substracted, as the case might require, to bring the answer as he
wished it.
But although he succeeded in finding 45 years, he is still minus 30,
for it brings out the end in 1813. And how shall the other 30 years be
found? It must be gotten somehow, for who will believe it as it now
stands? Yet this extraordinary man meets with no difficulty in finding
the 30 years. In his parade of parts, of factors, to make up the great
whole, he sets down for the space between the putting down of the Pagan
power, to the setting up the same power, 30 years! And how he gets this
number there, no mortal can tell. Yes, he tells us himself.
Considering himself so great a prophet, he seems to think that his own
suppositions will certainly pass among others as good authority. He
therefore unblushingly tells us that he _supposes_ this 30 years. Hear
him, (page 96.) "Therefore, to reconcile these two statements, _we must
conclude_ there were 30 years from A.D. 508, when paganism ceased,
before the image beast, or Papal Rome, would begin her reign. _If_ this
is correct, then," &c.
Here, then, the foundation on which he keeps the world standing from
1813 to 1843, is a simple _if_. And to get in these supposititious
30 years, between the death of the pagan and the life of the Papal
beast, he involves himself in a maze of absurdity. He makes the taking
away of the daily sacrifice to be the putting an end to the Papal
beast, that did daily sacrifice to idol abominations. The little horn,
by whom the daily sacrifice was taken away, Mr. Miller takes to be the
Papal beast, or Catholic church. This beast takes away the daily
sacrifice, i.e., puts an end to the pagan beast, and yet does not
exist until 30 years after the pagan beast is dead. This is truly an
unheard of strait for a schemer to come to, to be obliged, in order to
bring out his reckoning, to get 30 years between the existence of two
beasts, one of which kills the other. The second beast slays the first,
and performs many wonderful works, 30 years before he has any
existence! No marvel that the man who could see into such mysteries
should imagine that he could see the end of the world in 1843!
Mr. Miller commits various other errors in his calculations and dates,
as, for instance, he states that pagan Rome commenced 148 years before
Christ, whereas Rome was founded by Romulus, as an independent
government, 752 years before Christ, being pagan from its beginning. He
dates the erection of the Papal authority at A.D. 538. By the Papal
power he means, of course,--not the Papal doctrine, for that existed
much earlier than 538,--but the establishment of the civil authority.
And this was not until about A.D. 750.
Indeed, Mr. Miller is palpably wrong in nearly all his positions; and
the reason is, he is not looking for facts, but for reckonings to fill
out his own scheme. And even in this, too, he fails. On page 109 of his
Course of Lectures, first published in 1836, speaking of events to
happen in 1839, he holds the following language: "He that is filthy
will be filthy still. Mankind will, for a short season, give loose to
all the corrupt passions of the human heart. No laws, human or divine,
will be regarded; all authority will be trampled under foot; anarchy
will be the order of government, and confusion _fill the world with
horror and despair_. Murder, treason, and crime will be _common law_,
and division and disunion _the only bond of fellowship_. Christians
will be persecuted unto death, and dens and caves of the earth will be
their retreat. _All things_ which are not _eternal_ will be _shaken to
pieces_, that which cannot be shaken may remain. And this, if I am
right in my calculations, will begin _on or before_ A.D. 1839. 'And at
_that time_ (1839) thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall
be found written in the book.' _Now_ is come salvation indeed. The
people of God are _now_ to be delivered from outward foes and inbred
lusts, from the corruptions of the grave and the vileness of the flesh.
Every one, the poor and despised child of God, will _then_ (in 1839) be
delivered when he makes up his jewels.'"
Mr. Miller, in finding that things did not take place as he prophesied,
put a note in the end of his book, on the last page, stating that he
had made a _mistake of one year_ in some of his computations, and hence
these things which he _supposed_ would take place in 1839, according to
the first computation, will not be realized until the year 1840! And
yet 1840 passed over our heads, and these things did not take place. On
page 296 of his Lectures, he says the sixth vial was poured out in
1822, when the Ottoman power began to be dried up. This he considered
to be a very important sign, indicating that we were on the very brink
of the _judgment day_. Here he introduces Rev. xvi. 12. "And the sixth
angel poured out his vial upon the great River Euphrates; and the
waters thereof were dried up, that the way of the kings of the earth
might be prepared." This preparation, Mr. M. says, is for the last
great battle, which will take place at the pouring out of the seventh
vial, in the year 1839 or 1840. "At the pouring out of the seventh
vial, a voice from the throne will pronounce the words, _It is done_.
The kingdoms of the earth and the governments of the world will be
carried away, and their places be known no more." But these kingdoms
still remain.
Mr. Miller's last assumption was, that Christ would come in the spring
of 1844, at the date corresponding with the ending of the Jewish year
for 43. Mr. M. says, in his preface to his book, "If I have erred in my
exposition of the prophecies, _the time, being so near at hand_, will
soon expose my folly." He had already seen the folly of some of his
computations, and he seemed to fear lest it might prove the same in the
final result also. And this he soon experienced, as may be seen by
reading his _confession_, made at the Tabernacle in Boston, on the
evening of May 28, 1844. He there stated that what he had preached and
published respecting the coming of the Lord in 1843 was done honestly;
(!) that he fully believed it; but that the time had now _passed_, and
he was _proved to be mistaken_; that when the time arrived and the
event did not take place, he felt bad--felt lonely--thought he should
never have any more to say in public; that he felt worse on the account
of others than he did for himself. He said there was an error somewhere
in his calculations, but he could not tell where. He had now no
definite time--he should wait God's time: it might come in a day, it
might not come in fifty years; he could not say exactly when; he was
waiting. Thus the whole affair exploded--came to nought; although much
evil in regard to Mr. Miller's prophecies may yet be experienced in the
community. Some will yet cling most obstinately to the system, and
still maintain that Christ may be expected every day, hour, or minute,
while others will fix upon some other date within a short period of
time. They will still refer us to certain signs in the starry heavens,
endeavoring to persuade the people to believe that the whole machinery
of nature is out of joint, and that this is a certain precursor to the
speedy dissolution of the world.
One of the second advent preachers gave the startling intelligence that
"_fifteen hundred_ stars had _recently_ faded from the vault of
heaven." But what are the facts? Not more than _thirteen_ stars are
recorded in the annals of astronomy as having been lost; and so far
from having faded _recently_, some of them disappeared many ages
since. It is not even certain that any stars have been blotted out.
There are nearly one hundred variable stars which have periods of
unusual brilliancy, and then gradually fade till nearly invisible, and
after a time revive again. The thirteen missing stars may be of this
description. These changes were observed many centuries ago. The bright
star which appeared suddenly, with unusual splendor and brilliancy, in
Cassiopeia, in 1572, is supposed to be the same star which suddenly
appeared in the same place, with great lustre, about the year 900, and
also about 600 years before, during the intervals of which it was
invisible.
The same preacher adduced the Aurora Borealis as another sign of the
last days. "Is it not remarkable," says he, "that no record of them
appears till _quite recently_?" But what are the facts? It was indeed
supposed by many, who had not investigated the subject, that the Aurora
was first seen in England in 1716; but on examination we find it spoken
of in 1560, in a scientific work, entitled A Description of Meteors,
published soon after the invention of printing, subsequent to which,
and before 1716, there are many accounts of the same phenomenon.
Many have supposed that nothing has ever before appeared, similar to
the remarkable _red Aurora_, which was witnessed on the evening of
January 25, 1837. Yet such spectacles have often been witnessed in the
northern parts of Sweden, Lapland, and Siberia, and in remote and
different periods. The Aurora is a great blessing in those high
northern latitudes, where the sun is absent for many weeks, furnishing
the inhabitants with a splendid light, in the midst of their dreary
winter nights. Gmelin describes the Aurora Borealis of those regions as
differing in color according to the states of the atmosphere,
"sometimes assuming the appearance of blood." He observes that "they
frequently begin with single bright pillars rising in the north, and
almost at the same time in the north-east, which, gradually increasing,
comprehend a large space in the heavens, rush about, with incredible
velocity, from place to place, and finally almost cover the whole sky
to the zenith, producing an appearance as if a vast tent was expanded
in the heavens, glittering with gold, rubies, and sapphire. A more
beautiful spectacle cannot be painted." These lights occasionally come
so far south as to illuminate the sky in our latitude. Sometimes they
have not appeared for many years. In 1716, these lights were seen in
England, though never witnessed before by the oldest inhabitants
living; and, as might be expected, they were alarmed, and actually
supposed the day of judgment had come. From Barber's History of New
England, we learn that the first appearance of the northern lights in
this country, after the period of its first settlement, was on December
11, 1719, "when they were remarkably bright; and, as people in general
had never heard of such a phenomenon, they were extremely alarmed with
the apprehension of the final judgment. All amusements, all business,
and even sleep was interrupted, for want of a little knowledge of
history." We were told by some of the advent preachers that meteors and
shooting stars, falling to the earth, were never seen until 1799. But
this is a great mistake. As early as the year 472, Theophanes relates,
"The sky appeared to be on fire, with the coruscations of flying
meteors." Virgil, in his book of Georgics, speaks as follows:--
"And oft, before tempestuous winds arise,
The seeming _stars fall headlong_ from the skies,
And, _shooting_ through the darkness, gild the night
With sweeping glories and _long trails of light_."
In 553, under the reign of Justinian, were seen showers of falling
stars in extraordinary numbers. In 763, under that of Constantine
Capronymus, the same spectacle was witnessed. In 1099, in the month of
November, it is said, in Vogel's Leipzig Chronicles, that there was
seen an unheard-of number of falling stars, burning torches, and fiery
darts in the sky. In 1464, on the 7th of November, the great meteoric
stone fell at Ensisheim, in Alsace. On the 8th of August, 1723,
numerous falling stars appeared in many parts of the heavens, like
fireflies.
But we are told of the sun and moon appearing like blood, and that this
sign of our Lord's second coming was never witnessed, since the
resurrection, till the year 1780. Yet this is likewise a mistake; for
in the Basle Chronicle of Urtisus, under the year 1566, mention is made
of the fact, that on the 28th and 29th of July, the sun and moon became
_blood red_; and on the 7th of August, this striking phenomenon was
again repeated. And, according to the Frankfort Chronicle of Lersner,
under the year 1575, on the 29th of July, a _remarkable redness of the
sun_ occurred.
It has been said that the _darkness_ of the sun, that occurred in
1780, was a sign given to portend the speedy destruction of the world.
Why was it not then witnessed simultaneously in all parts of the earth?
It was confined principally to New England and witnessed only by the
generation preceding the present. To be sure, thousands were appalled
by the event, and a feeling that the judgment day had actually come
rested upon many minds. But yet they were in a mistake. This darkness
commenced on the 19th of May, between the hours of 10 and 11 A.M., and
continued until the middle of the next night. Persons were unable to
read common print, determine the time of day by their clocks or
watches, dine, or manage their business, without additional light.
Candles were lighted in their houses. The birds sang their evening
songs, disappeared, and became silent. The fowls retired to roost. The
cocks were crowing all around, as at break of day. Objects could be
distinguished but at a very little distance, and every thing bore the
appearance and gloom of night. The legislature of Connecticut was in
session at this time, in Hartford city. A very general opinion
prevailed that the judgment day was at hand. The House of
Representatives, being unable to transact business, adjourned. A
proposal to adjourn the council was under consideration. When the
opinion of Colonel Davenport was asked, he answered, "I am against an
adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not.
If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose
to be found doing my duty. I wish, therefore, that candles may be
brought."
A similar darkness has sometimes gathered over the city of London, in
consequence of a vast accumulation of smoke, so as to make it necessary
for passengers in the streets to use lighted torches at midday. In
1783, a great part of Europe was for weeks overspread with a haziness
of atmosphere which caused great consternation. The churches were
crowded with supplicants. The astronomer Lalande attempted to allay the
fright by endeavoring to account for the appearance, which he ascribed
to an uncommon exhalation of watery particles from the great rain of
the preceding year. But at last it was ascertained to be owing to
smoke, occasioned by the great eruption of the volcano Hecla, which
covered more than three thousand square miles with burning lava, in
some places to the depth of forty feet. Dr. Franklin was in Europe at
the time, and afterwards gave an account of the circumstances relating
to this uncommon eruption. In fact, immense issues of smoke, from fires
and volcanoes, have, from time immemorial, produced similar effects in
different countries.
We will subjoin a few remarkable appearances that have taken place in
the heavens, that the reader may at once perceive that in scarcely any
age of the world have its inhabitants been destitute of some _sign_,
that might, to the timid and uninformed, be considered as the
prognostication of some awful catastrophe about to happen.
In 1574, on the 15th of November, _large and terrific beams of fiery
light_ were seen during the night. And similar appearances are noted in
Vogel's Chronicles, as having occurred in November, 1637, and 1661. In
the old Breslau Collections, there is mention made of a large _moonlike
meteor_, which passed off with an explosion, on the 10th of November,
1721; and of a great _fire-flash_, or _flame-emitting comet_, on the
12th day. According to Vogel's Chronicles, there appeared on the 30th
November, 1663, _a large cross_, and other signs in the skies. On the
11th of August, 1561, there was seen, in the forenoon, _a very
remarkable red meteor_, emitting frequent _flashes of light_. In 1717,
_numerous meteors_ were seen at Fryeburg; and at Utchland, in August,
1715. On the 10th of August, 1717, _a large fire-ball_ was seen in
Lusace, Silesia, Poland, and Hungary. In the Frankfort Chronicle of
July 29, 1694, it is mentioned that _the heavens were full of fiery
flames!_ as also again on the 9th of August. On February 22, 1719, _a
large fire-ball_ was seen in several places. On the 22d, 1720, _an
immense red cross_ was seen at Novogorod and Kiew; and on the 19th,
1722, _a huge fire-ball_!
What would the Millerites think, if they should now see "an immense red
cross in the heavens," "a remarkable red meteor, emitting flashes of
light during the night," or "a blood-red appearance of the sun and
moon," and "showers of falling stars in extraordinary numbers"? These
things are as likely to happen at the present day as they were a
hundred years ago, and still the world remains as it has remained.
Just before the last return of Halley's comet, an article was published
in a religious paper in this state, going to show that the world would
probably be struck and set on fire by a comet, and that, most likely,
Halley's would be the one to do it, as it was coming much nearer the
earth than it had ever been before. The editor seemed to be ignorant
that the quantity of matter that enters into the constitution of a
comet is exceedingly small, and that the comet of 1770, which was quite
large and bright, passed through the midst of Jupiter's satellites
without deranging their motions in the least perceptible degree.
Comets, it is believed, consist of exceedingly rare vapor; indeed, so
much so, that some philosophers say that our thinnest clouds are dense
in comparison. And yet this exceedingly thin vapor was to dash the
world to atoms, or set it on fire, it was not fully determined which.
Whether comets, or any unusual appearances in the sky, are to be
considered as _signs_ prognosticating the final dissolution of all
things, as being near at hand, is for each to determine for himself.
And in forming a judgment upon the subject, we may surely be permitted
to exercise the common sense which God has given us. To lay this aside,
and judge only by _feeling_ or _fancy_, is to criminally reject a light
which we are _sure_ is from God, and follow one which _may_ prove an
_ignis fatuus_, and land us in the quagmire of infidelity. If the
Scripture signs are to receive a _literal_ fulfilment, we may
reasonably expect that they will conform to the four following tests:--
1. They will appear _near_ the event of which they are intended as the
harbinger; probably within the generation of those who will be living
at the end of the world.
2. They will be witnessed in all parts of the earth, because all are
alike interested.
3. They may _all_ be expected to appear, and not a single class of
phenomena without the other.
4. They will be such as will impress intelligent minds with their
strangeness and peculiarity.
The Aurora Borealis conforms not to any of these tests. It has been
seen for centuries, and is confined to the northern portions of the
globe; having rarely, if ever, been seen so far north as the thirtieth
degree of north latitude. And, as we have before remarked, the darkness
of 1780 was confined principally to New England. And from a careful
examination of all the accounts we have been able to collect of
meteoric showers of the last and present century, the whole of them
together have occupied a space on the globe less than one eighth of its
surface. The shower of 1799 was probably the most extensive. Its centre
was near the middle of the Atlantic; its edges touched the northern
parts of South America, the coast of Labrador and Greenland, and the
western shores of Europe and Africa. That of 1833 may be represented on
a six-inch globe by the space occupied by a dollar. Such magnificent
scenes are calculated to impress the mind with awe; yet it is
surprising that many intelligent persons should suppose them to be the
precursors of the final conflagration. If the simple but reasonable
tests we have given be correct, they are disarmed of their character as
ominous of the destruction of the world.
With regard to any changes in the order or succession of the heavenly
bodies, it is only necessary to observe, that hundreds of scientific
men, in Europe and America, have for many years been employed in
exploring the material heavens with the most powerful telescopes. Many
are employed, by the governments of Europe, in astronomical
observations, scattered over the earth, for the express purpose of
making new discoveries, if possible, and of furthering the interests of
science. No phenomenon escapes their notice; and should any thing
extraordinary occur, it would appear before the public, vouched by
names that would command universal credence. It may be unnecessary to
add, that no such changes in the planets and fixed stars, as have been
proclaimed to the world by some of the second advent preachers, have
been observed by learned astronomers and men of science.