seen _twice before_; and it is absurd to suppose that the power which
follows them in this vision is a _different_ power from the one which
_twice before_ had been seen _succeeding them_, in chapters ii and vii;
and that power was Rome.
9. He shall be broken without hand. How clear a reference to the stone
cut out without hand, which smites the image upon its feet. Chap ii, 34.
THE 2300 DAYS.
Besides the symbols of governments contained in Dan. viii, there is a
definite period of time brought to view, which claims attention. As
recorded in verse 13, Daniel heard one saint ask another the question,
how long the vision should be concerning the daily [sacrifice] and the
transgression of desolation to give both the sanctuary and the host
to be trodden under foot. The angel then addressed himself to Daniel
and said, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the
sanctuary be cleansed.” Waiving for the present the question as to
what may constitute the sanctuary, we wish to ascertain if possible
the nature, the commencement, and termination of this period of time.
There are two kinds of time to be met with in the Bible; literal and
symbolic. In symbolic time, a day signifies a year. Num. xiv, 34;
Eze. iv, 6. To which class do the 2300 days belong? Being brought
in connection with acknowledged symbols, it would be both easy and
natural to infer that they partook of the nature of the rest of
the vision and were symbolic, presenting us with a period of 2300
years. And that such is the case is further evident from the fact,
as is shown in the investigation of Dan. viii, that the field of the
prophet’s vision, was the empires of Persia, Greece and Rome. The 2300
days there given cannot therefore be literal days; for literal days
(scarcely six years and a half) would by no means cover the duration
of any one of these empires singly, much less embrace so nearly the
whole of their existence put together, as they evidently do. They must
consequently denote 2300 years. Can we now ascertain the commencement
of this period? We answer, Yes; the key to the matter being in the
_ninth_ chapter of Daniel, between which and the eighth there is an
unmistakable connection, as we shall now endeavor to show.
After their mention in verse 14, the 2300 days are not again spoken
of in chapter viii. All the other parts of the vision are there fully
explained; it must have been, therefore, this point concerning the
time, that troubled the mind of the prophet, and in reference to which,
solely, that he exclaims at the end of the chapter, I was astonished at
the vision, but none understood it.
It was in the third year of Belshazzar, B. C., 553, that Daniel had
this vision of chapter viii. Fifty-three years previous to this time,
Jerusalem had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar, and the seventy years’
captivity commenced; and thirty-five years before this, the Chaldeans
had utterly demolished the city, broken down its walls and burnt the
house of God with fire. 2 Chron. xxxvi, 19. Daniel had learned from
the prophecy of Jeremiah, [chapter xxv], that the seventy years of
captivity were drawing near their close, in the first year of Darius,
B. C., 538, as we read in the first verses of Dan. ix; and it is
evident that he so far misunderstood the period of the 2300 days as to
suppose that they ended with the seventy years of Israel’s servitude;
therefore, turning his face toward the prostrate city and the ruined
temple of his fathers, he prays God to cause his face to shine upon his
sanctuary which is desolate. Verse 17.
“While I was speaking in prayer,” says he, [chapter ix, 20-23], “even
the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning,
being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening
oblation. And he informed me and talked with me, and said, O, Daniel,
I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the
beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am
come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved; therefore understand
the matter, and consider the vision. _Seventy weeks_ are determined
upon thy people and upon thy holy city,” &c.
That this is a continuation of the explanation of the vision of chapter
viii, would seem sufficiently evident without the aid of any special
argument to prove it so. But as there is a vital point that hinges upon
this fact, we will offer a few reasons which place it beyond the limits
of contradiction.
1. Gabriel had received a charge [chapter viii, 16], to make Daniel
understand the vision; but at the end of that chapter, Daniel says he
was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. Gabriel therefore
did not complete his mission in chapter viii; the charge still rested
upon him, Make this man to understand the vision.
2. The being who came to Daniel at the time of the supplication, was
the very same who had appeared to him in the vision at the beginning;
namely, Gabriel. And that he had now come to undeceive him concerning
his application of the time, is evident in that he says, I am _now_
come forth to give thee skill and understanding. Why did he not give
him a full understanding of the vision at first? We answer, because he
revealed to him all that he was then able to bear. He fainted and was
sick certain days.
3. Direct reference is made to _the_ vision at the beginning. And if
that is not the vision of chapter viii, it is impossible to find it.
And again, if Gabriel does not explain in chapter ix, what he omitted
in chapter viii, it is impossible for any man to show wherein Gabriel
fulfilled his commission to make this man understand the vision.
4. When Gabriel commenced his further explanation, he did not explain
the symbol of the ram; for that he had already explained. He did not
explain the goat; for he had likewise explained that. Neither did he
commence about the little horn; for he had made that plain also in
chapter viii. What then did he explain? The very point there omitted;
namely, the time: _Seventy weeks_ are determined upon thy people, &c.
These facts are sufficient to show the connection of Dan. ix with the
vision of chapter viii. But how do the words of Gabriel, Seventy weeks
are determined upon thy people, &c., explain the period of the 2300
days? The answer is, The word rendered determined, signifies literally,
_cut off_. Gesenius, in his Hebrew Lexicon, thus defines it: Properly,
to _cut off_; tropically, to divide, and so to determine, to decree.
The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance says, Determined, literally
divided. From what period are the seventy weeks divided, or cut off?
From the 2300 days; for there is no other period given from which they
can be taken; and this is placed beyond a doubt by the connection of
the two chapters, which has already been proved.
Having now ascertained that the 70 weeks of Dan. ix are the first 490
years of the 2300 days, and that consequently the two periods commence
together, we further learn that this period of weeks dates from the
going forth of a commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. Dan.
ix, 25. If then we can definitely locate this commandment, we have
the starting point for the great period of the 2300 years. The Bible
furnishes us with four tests by which to determine when the true date
is found:
1. From the time of the commandment, 49 years were to witness the
completion of the street and wall of Jerusalem. Dan. ix, 25.
2. Threescore and two weeks from this time, or, in all, 69 weeks, 483
years, were to extend to Messiah the Prince.
3. Sixty-nine and a half weeks were to extend to the crucifixion--the
cessation of sacrifice and oblation in the midst of the week. Verse 27.
4. The full period of 70 weeks was to witness the complete confirmation
of the covenant with Daniel’s people.
In the seventh of Ezra, we find the decree for which we seek. It went
forth in B. C. 457. Much concerning this decree, and the date of its
promulgation, might here be said. But a more full explanation of it may
more properly be given in another place. I will say, however, that,
admitting that B. C. 457, is the correct date for the commencement
of the 2300 years, which is susceptible of the clearest proof, none
will fail to see how William Miller came to the conclusion that this
prophetic period would close in the year 1843.
From 2300
Take 457
----
And there remains 1843
“With the solemn conviction,” writes Mr. Miller, “that such momentous
events were predicted in the Scriptures, to be fulfilled in so short a
space of time, the question came home to me with mighty power regarding
my duty to the world, in view of the evidence that had affected my
own mind. If the end was so near, it was important that the world
should know it. I supposed that it would call forth the opposition of
the ungodly; but it never came into my mind that any Christian would
oppose it. I supposed that all such would be so rejoiced, in view of
the glorious prospect, that it would only be necessary to present it,
for them to receive it. My great fear was, that, in their joy at the
hope of a glorious inheritance so soon to be revealed, they would
receive the doctrine without sufficiently examining the Scriptures in
demonstration of its truth. I therefore feared to present it, lest, by
some possibility, I should be in error, and be the means of misleading
any.
“Various difficulties and objections would arise in my mind, from time
to time. Certain texts would occur to me, which seemed to weigh against
my conclusions; and I would not present a view to others, while any
difficulty appeared to militate against it. I therefore continued the
study of the Bible, to see if I could sustain any of these objections.
My object was not merely to remove them, but I wished to see if they
were valid.
“Sometimes, when at work, a text would arise like this: Of that day
and hour knoweth no man, &c., and how, then, could the Bible reveal
the time of the advent? I would then immediately examine the context
in which it was found, and I saw at once that, in the same connection,
we are informed how we may know when it is nigh, even at the doors;
consequently, that text could not teach that we could know nothing of
the time of that event. Other texts, which are advanced in support of
the doctrine of a temporal millennium, would arise; but, on examining
their context, I invariably found that they were applicable only to
the eternal state, or were so illustrative of the spread of the gospel
here, as to be entirely irrelevant to the position they were adduced to
support.
“Thus, all those passages that speak of the will of God being done on
earth as in Heaven, of the earth being full of the knowledge of the
glory of God, &c., could not be applicable to a time when the Man of
Sin was prevailing against the saints, or when the righteous and wicked
were dwelling together, which is to be the case until the end of the
world. Those which speak of the gospel being preached in all the world,
teach that, as soon as it should be thus preached, the end was to
come; so that it could not be delayed a thousand years from that time,
nor long enough for the world’s conversion after the preaching of the
gospel as a witness.
“The question of the resurrection and Judgment was for a time an
obstacle in the way. Being instructed that all the dead would be raised
at the same time, I supposed it must be so taught in the Bible; but I
soon saw it was one of the traditions of the elders.
“So also with the return of the Jews. That question I saw could only
be sustained by denying the positive declarations of the New Testament,
which assert, There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek;
that the promise that he shall be the heir of the world, was not to
Abraham and his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of
faith; that there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor
female; but that if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and
heirs according to the promise. I was, therefore, obliged to discard
an objection which asserts there is a difference between the Jew and
Greek; that the children of the flesh _are_ accounted for the seed, &c.
“In this way I was occupied from 1818 to 1823, in weighing the
various objections which were being presented to my mind. During that
time, more objections arose in my mind, than have been advanced by
my opponents since; and I know of no objection that has been since
advanced, which did not there occur to me. But, however strong they at
first appeared, after examining them in the light of the divine word, I
could only compare them to straws, laid down singly as obstacles, on a
well-beaten road. The car of truth rolled over them, unimpeded in its
progress.”
He continued to make the Bible his daily study, and became more and
more convinced that he had a personal duty to perform respecting what
he conceived the Bible to teach of the nearness of the advent. These
impressions he thus describes:
“When I was about my business it was continually ringing in my ears, Go
and tell the world of their danger. This text was constantly occurring
to me: ‘When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely
die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that
wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at
thy hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from
it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but
thou hast delivered thy soul.’ Eze. xxxiii, 8, 9. I felt that if the
wicked could be effectually warned, multitudes of them would repent;
and that, if they were not warned, their blood might be required at
my hand. I did all I could to avoid the conviction that anything was
required of me; and I thought that, by freely speaking of it to all,
I should perform my duty, and that God would raise up the necessary
instrumentality for the accomplishment of the work. I prayed that some
minister might see the truth, and devote himself to its promulgation;
but still it was impressed upon me, Go and tell it to the world;
their blood will I require at thy hand. The more I presented it in
conversation, the more dissatisfied I felt with myself for withholding
it from the public. I tried to excuse myself to the Lord for not going
out and proclaiming it to the world. I told the Lord that I was not
used to public speaking; that I had not the necessary qualifications
to gain the attention of an audience; that I was very diffident, and
feared to go before the world; that they would not believe me, nor
hearken to my voice; that I was slow of speech, of a slow tongue. But I
could get no relief.
“As Mr. Miller’s opinions respecting the nearness and nature of the
millennium became known, they naturally elicited a good deal of comment
among his friends and neighbors, and also among those at a distance.
Some of their remarks, not the most complimentary to his sanity, would
occasionally be repeated to him.
“Having heard that a physician in his neighborhood had said that
Esquire Miller, as he was familiarly called, was a fine man and a good
neighbor, but was a monomaniac on the subject of the advent, Mr. Miller
was humorously inclined to let him prescribe for his case.
“One of his children being sick one day, he sent for the doctor, who,
after prescribing for the child, noticed that Mr. Miller was very mute
in one corner, and asked what ailed him.
“‘Well, I hardly know, doctor. I want you to see what does, and
prescribe for me.’
“The doctor felt of his pulse, &c., and could not decide respecting his
malady; and inquired what he supposed was his complaint.
“‘Well,’ says Mr. Miller, ‘I don’t know but I am a monomaniac; and I
want you to examine me, and see if I am, and, if so, cure me. Can you
tell me when a man is a monomaniac?’
“The doctor blushed, and said he thought he could.
“Mr. Miller wished to know how.
“‘Why,’ said the doctor, ‘a monomaniac is rational on all subjects but
one; and when you touch that particular subject he will become raving.’
“‘Well,’ says Mr. Miller, ‘I insist upon it that you see whether I am
in reality a monomaniac; and if I am, you shall prescribe for and cure
me. You shall, therefore, sit down with me two hours, while I present
the subject of the advent to you, and, if I am a monomaniac, by that
time you will discover it.’
“The doctor was somewhat disconcerted; but Mr. Miller insisted, and
told him, as it was to present the state of his mind, he might charge
for his time as in regular practice.
“The doctor finally consented; and, at Mr. Miller’s request, opened the
Bible and read from the 8th of Daniel. As he read along, Mr. Miller
inquired what the ram denoted, with the other symbols presented. The
doctor had read Newton, and applied them to Persia, Greece, and Rome,
as Mr. Miller did.
“Mr. Miller then inquired how long the vision of those empires was to
be.
“‘2300 days.’
“‘What!’ said Mr. Miller, ‘could those great empires cover only 2300
literal days?’
“‘Why,’ said the doctor, ‘those days are years, according to all
commentators; and those kingdoms are to continue 2300 years.’
“Mr. Miller then asked him to turn to the second chapter of Daniel,
and to the seventh, all of which he explained the same as Mr. Miller.
He was then asked if he knew when the 2300 days would end. He did not
know, as he could not tell when they commenced.
“Mr. Miller told him to read the ninth of Daniel. He read down till he
came to the 21st verse, when Daniel saw the man Gabriel, whom he had
seen in the vision.
“‘In what vision?’ Mr. Miller inquired.
“‘Why,’ said the doctor, ‘in the vision of the eighth of Daniel.’
“‘Wherefore, understand the matter, and consider the vision. He had now
come, then, to make him understand that vision, had he?’
“‘Yes,’ said the doctor.
“‘Well, seventy weeks are determined; what are these seventy weeks a
part of?’
“‘Of the 2300 days.’
“‘Then do they begin with the 2300 days?’
“‘Yes,’ said the doctor.
“‘When did they end?’
“‘In A. D. 33.’
“‘Then how far would the 2300 extend after 33?’
“The doctor subtracted 490 from 2300, and replied, ‘1810. Why,’ said
he, ‘that is past.’
“‘But,’ said Mr. Miller, ‘there were 1810 from 33; in what year would
that come?’
“The doctor saw at once that the 33 should be added, and set down 33
and 1810, and, adding them, replied, ‘1843.’
“At this unexpected result, the doctor settled back in his chair and
colored; but immediately took his hat and left the house in a rage.
“The next day he again called on Mr. Miller, and looked as though he
had been in the greatest mental agony.
“‘Why, Mr. Miller,’ said he, ‘I am going to hell. I have not slept
a wink since I was here yesterday. I have looked at the question in
every light, and the vision must terminate about A. D. 1843; and I am
unprepared, and must go to hell.’
“Mr. Miller calmed him, and pointed him to the ark of safety; and in
about a week, calling each day on Mr. Miller, he found peace to his
soul, and went on his way rejoicing, as _great a monomaniac_ as Mr.
Miller. He afterward acknowledged that, till he made the figures 1843,
he had no idea of the result to which he was coming.”
HIS PUBLIC LABORS.
The public labors of Mr. Miller, according to the best evidence to be
obtained, date from the autumn of 1831. He had continued to be much
distressed respecting his duty to go and tell it to the world, which
was constantly impressed on his mind. One Saturday, after breakfast, he
sat down at his desk to examine some point, and, as he arose to go out
to work, it came home to him with more force than ever, Go and tell it
to the world. He thus writes:
“The impression was so sudden, and came with such force, that I settled
down into my chair, saying, I can’t go, Lord. Why not? seemed to be
the response; and then all my excuses came up--my want of ability,
&c.; but my distress became so great, I entered into a solemn covenant
with God that if he would open the way, I would go and perform my duty
to the world. What do you mean by opening the way? seemed to come to
me. Why, said I, if I should have an invitation to speak publicly in
any place, I will go and tell them what I find in the Bible about the
Lord’s coming. Instantly all my burden was gone, and I rejoiced that I
should not probably be thus called upon; for I had never had such an
invitation. My trials were not known, and I had but little expectation
of being invited to any field of labor.
“In about half an hour from this time, before I had left the room, a
son of Mr. Guilford, of Dresden, about sixteen miles from my residence,
came in, and said that his father had sent for me, and wished me to go
home with him. Supposing that he wished to see me on some business, I
asked him what he wanted. He replied that there was to be no preaching
in their church the next day, and his father wished to have me come
and talk to the people on the subject of the Lord’s coming. I was
immediately angry with myself for having made the covenant I had; I
rebelled at once against the Lord, and determined not to go. I left
the boy without giving him any answer, and retired in great distress
to a grove near by. There I struggled with the Lord for about an hour,
endeavoring to release myself from the covenant I had made with him;
but I could get no relief. It was impressed upon my conscience, Will
you make a covenant with God, and break it so soon? The exceeding
sinfulness of thus doing overwhelmed me. I finally submitted, and
promised the Lord that, if he would sustain me, I would go, trusting
in him to give me grace and ability to perform all he should require
of me. I returned to the house, and found the boy still waiting. He
remained till after dinner, and I returned with him to Dresden.
“The next day, which, as nearly as I can remember, was about the first
Sabbath in August, 1831, I delivered my first public lecture on the
second advent. The house was well filled with an attentive audience.
As soon as I commenced speaking, all my diffidence and embarrassment
were gone, and I felt impressed only with the greatness of the subject,
which, by the providence of God, I was enabled to present. At the
close of the services on the Sabbath, I was requested to remain and
lecture during the week, with which I complied. They flocked in from
the neighboring towns; a revival commenced, and it was said that in
thirteen families all but two persons were hopefully converted.
“On the Monday following I returned home, and found a letter from Elder
Fuller, of Poultney, Vt., requesting me to go and lecture there on the
same subject. They had not heard of my going to Dresden. I went to
Poultney, and lectured there with similar effect.
“From thence I went by invitation to Pawlet, and other towns in that
vicinity. The churches of Congregationalists, Baptists, and Methodists,
were thrown open. In almost every place I visited, my labors resulted
in the reclaiming of backsliders, and the conversion of sinners. I was
usually invited to fields of labor by the ministers of the several
congregations whom I visited, who gave me their countenance; and I
have never labored in any place to which I was not previously invited.
The most pressing invitations from the ministry, and the leading
members of the churches, poured in continually from that time, during
the whole period of my public labors, and with more than one-half of
which I was unable to comply. Churches were thrown open everywhere,
and I lectured to crowded houses, through the western part of Vermont,
the northern part of New York, and in Canada East; and powerful
reformations were the results of my labors.”
“CONVERSION OF ONE HUNDRED INFIDELS.
“With the 1st of January, 1838, he commenced a second course of
lectures at Lansingburgh, N. Y., in compliance with the urgent
request of the Baptist church in that place, and of E. B. Crandall,
their pastor. The lectures continued nine days, and were listened
to by crowded and attentive audiences. The result also was most
heart-cheering. Infidelity had several strongholds in that
neighborhood, and many of that class attended his lectures, and were
greatly affected by them. In a letter dated on the 25th of that month,
two weeks after the close of the lectures, a gentleman of that place
writes to Mr. Miller: