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WILLIAM MILLER

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The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 14, 1868

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 31, No. 18.

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WILLIAM MILLER.

By JAMES WHITE

INTERVAL BETWEEN HIS CONVERSION AND PUBLIC LABORS.

[By no means have we designed to quote the memoir of Wm. Miller in full. We clip only those incidents and facts of most value, sometimes passing over years of his interesting experience and labors. But we design to quote sufficiently from this work and other publications, to give the readers of the Review a clear view of all that it is really important to know of him and his labors. JAMES WHITE.]
From the time that Mr. Miller became established in his religious faith, till he commenced his public labors—a period of twelve or fourteen years—there were few prominent incidents in his life to distinguish him from other men. He was a good citizen, a kind neighbor, an affectionate husband and parent, and a devoted Christian; good to the poor, and benevolent, as objects of charity were presented; in the Sunday School was teacher and superintendent; in the church he performed important service as a reader and exhorter, and, in the support of religious worship, no other member, perhaps, did as much as he. He was very exemplary in his life and conversation, endeavored at all times to perform the duties, whether public or private, which devolved on him, and whatever he did was done cheerfully, as for the glory of God. His leisure hours were devoted to reading and meditation; he kept himself well informed respecting the current events of the time; occasionally communicated his thoughts through the press, and often, for his own private amusement, or for the entertainment of friends, indulged in various poetical effusions, which, for unstudied productions, are possessed of some merit; but his principal enjoyment was derived from the study of the Bible. His state of mind at this time can be better given in his own language:
“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 the Greek; that the children of the flesh are accounted for the seed, &c.
“In this way I was occupied for five years,—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.
“I was then fully settled in the conclusions which seven years previously had begun to bear with such impressive force upon my mind; and the duty of presenting the evidence of the nearness of the advent to others—which I had managed to evade while I could find the shadow of an objection remaining against its truth—again came home to me with great force. I had, previously, only thrown out occasional hints of my views. I then began to speak more clearly my opinions to my neighbors, to ministers, and others. To my astonishment, I found very few who listened with any interest. Occasionally, one would see the force of the evidence; but the great majority passed it by as an idle tale. I was, therefore, disappointed in finding any who would declare this doctrine, as, I felt it should be, for the comfort of saints, and as a warning to sinners.”
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, and 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, “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. M. 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 ails, 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 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.
“2,300 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. M. then asked him to turn to the 2d of Daniel, and to the 7th; 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 9th 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 8th 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. M., 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.