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October 22nd 1844: The Great Disappoinment

On this day in 1844, the followers of American preacher William Miller expected the world to come to an end with the Second Coming of Christ. In the 1820s, Miller concluded from his close reading of biblical prophetic texts - matching vague quotations from the Book of Daniel to historical events - that the end-times would occur around 1843. In the following decades, Miller garnered a significant following among people convinced that the apocalypse was at hand, and the so-called Millerites devoted themselves to spreading the news of Christ’s imminent return. By 1843, it is estimated that over one million people had attended a Millerite meering. Critics of the movement characterised its adherents as fanatics and fear-mongerers, blaming cases of suicide and commital to mental institutions on terror induced by the Millerites’ talk. The early 1840s were years of trepidation for Miller’s followers, and they grew increasingly frustrated as the apocalypse failed to dawn. Millerites were therefore willing to accept the assertion of Samuel Snow that the exact date of Christ’s return to earth would be October 22nd 1844. On this day, they believed, human history would draw to a close as Jesus Christ descended from heaven to save the souls of the faithful and condemn those of the evil, inaugurating the apocalypse that would lead to an eternal reign of righteousness. Encouraged by the portentious appearance of a comet in the skies, Millerites were determined to purify their lives and set their affairs in order in preparation for the end-times. However, the morning of October 23rd 1844 dawned as usual, to the humiliation and sadness of the Millerites, many of whom had given up their worldly possessions. The failed prediction became known as the ‘Great Disappointment’, and provided a cautionary tale against trying to affix a specific date to the Second Coming. While millennialist and apocalyptic movements such as Miller’s were far from uncommon during this period - indeed, most nineteenth-century Americans believed in the imminent millennium - the Millerites were peculiar for the scope of their movement and their precise timing of the Second Coming.

“The day came and passed, and the darkness of another night closed in upon the world. But with that darkness came a pang of disappointment to the advent believers" - Account of Millerite Washington Morse

#1844 the great disappointment #Ellen g white #sda #seventh day adventist #william miller #The day of atonement