Great Disappointment
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The Great Disappointment was a period in the early history of certain Christian denominations in the United States, which began when Jesus failed to reappear on the appointed day of October 22, 1844 as some Christians had expected.
Between 1831 and 1844, William Miller, a Baptist preacher, launched what has been called by historians as Second Great Awakening, of which the Millerite movement was a major part. Miller preached a set of fourteen rules for the interpretation of the Bible.[Miller's Rules of Scriptural Interpretation] Based on his study of the prophecy of [Daniel 8:14], Miller calculated that Jesus would return to Earth sometime between 21 March 1843 and 21 March 1844.[Miller Mistakenly Set a Date for Christ's Return] After the latter date came and went, the date was revised and set as October 22, 1844 based on the yearly Day of Atonement in Karaite Judaism.
When Jesus did not appear, Miller's followers experienced what came to be called "the Great Disappointment". Most of the thousands of followers left the movement. A few, however, went back to their Bibles to find out why they had been disappointed. A group of the remaining followers concluded that the prophecy predicted not that Jesus would return to earth in 1844, but that investigative judgement in heaven would begin in that year.
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 have done. I confess my error, and acknowledge my disappointment." Miller continued to wait for the second coming until his death in 1849.
Repercussions
Seventh-day Adventists
Seventh-day Adventist Church historians writing about the morning of October 23 refer to a vision said to have been received by Hiram Edson (1806-1882), an early Adventist.#redirect Edson claimed he had a vision that indicated the date predicted by Miller was in fact correct. Later Bible study and visions led to the belief by the early Seventh-day Adventists that Christ went into the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 to begin the investigative judgment of both righteous and wicked to see who is worthy of going to heaven.[28 Fundamental SDA beliefs] #24 This investigative judgment is said to take place prior to his second coming, which they believe to be very soon. A number of issues related to the doctrine of this investigative judgement were raised by Adventist theologian Desmond Ford in the 1970s.
Charles Taze Russell and Jehovah's Witnesses
Jonas Wendell, an Adventist preacher, experienced periods of weak faith after 1844. After studying bible chronology, he came to the conclusion that the Second Coming would be in 1868, and in 1870 published a booklet concluding it was to be in 1873.
Charles Taze Russell was in turn influenced by Jonas Wendell (as well as by the Millerites in general), and predicted the Second Coming for 1874. One-time Millerite ministers George Storrs (1796-1879) and George Stetson proved to be a great assistance and guide to the development and growth of his worldwide ministry, the Bible Student movement. A schism in that movement occurred in 1933, where the leadership changed the date of the Second Coming to 1914. The main branch of that movement came to be known as the Jehovah's Witnesses, while many members refused the change; Bible Students today still hold that the Second Coming was in 1874.
Religious Studies
The Great Disappointment is viewed as an example of how the psychological phenomenon of cognitive dissonance manifests itself through failed prophecies which often arise in a religious context. The theory was proposed by Leon Festinger to describe the formation of new beliefs and increased proselyting 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 references
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 fore-runner of their own religion, the Báb, who declared that he was the "Promised One" on May 23, 1844, and began openly teaching in Persia in October 1844. Several Bahá'í books and pamphlets make mention of the Millerites and the prophecies used by Miller, most notably William Sears' Thief in the Night.References
- Stone, Jon R. (2000). Expecting Armageddon: Essential Readings in Failed Prophecy. Routledge. ISBN 041592331X.
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