The Early Proclamation of the Second Advent
By J. O. CORLISS
The Experiences of Former Days—No. 2
The Early Proclamation of the Second Advent
PROPHETIC utterances of the Bible have ever pointed to a time when signs of the Lord's coming would appear in the heavens. The last of these—the falling stars—came in its order on Nov. 13, 1833. One of the sure indications that this event was the fulfilment of divine prediction, is the fact that when the occurrence came, the prophecies relating to the second advent had been thoroughly studied, and the instrument for heralding the greatest of all events was prepared for his work. William Miller was a farmer of Low Hampton, N. Y. Having been a pronounced infidel for years, he began a diligent search of the Bible for arguments with which to overthrow adherents to Christianity. His mind was singularly called to the prophetic portion of the Word, and being quite well informed on historical points, he was struck with the accuracy with which these historical events accorded with the Biblical predictions concerning them. Becoming satisfied that the prophecies of the Bible could be relied upon, Mr. Miller continued his study, and became thoroughly convinced that the coming of Christ was an event to be looked for in his day. The way being open for him to state his views publicly, he did so for the first time, according to his own statement, in August, 1833, just three months before the falling of the stars in November. Continuing to speak publicly at intervals, he prepared a series of nineteen lectures, which, according to the Advent Shield, page 57, was first delivered in what was then known as the Chardon Street Chapel, in Boston, Mass., during the winter of 1840, and afterward circulated in book form. The pastor of this church was, at that time, Joshua V. Himes, who readily accepted the message as delivered by Mr. Miller, and in the following March issued the first number of a paper entitled Signs of the Times, in which was lucidly set forth the subject of the second advent. By means of this paper, and many tracts, the doctrine of the Lord's immediate coming was soon proclaimed over a large part of the Eastern States; and on October 14 of the same year, the first second-advent conference convened in Boston, where plans were laid for sending that message to all parts of the world. The impetus given its proclamation from that time was very marked, hundreds, in nearly every town of large size, including infidels, rumsellers, and profligates of every kind, were converted. In Portland, Maine, a Mr. Fleming reported that he went into one room over a bank, near midday, where he found between thirty and forty men engaged in earnest prayer. One of the principal booksellers told him that he had sold more Bibles in one month since Mr. Miller opened meetings there, than in any four months previous. Two years before that time,—in 1838,—Mr. Josiah Litch, after studying the ninth chapter of the book of Revelation, announced in the public prints that the fulfilment of that prophecy would be seen on Aug. 11, 1840, in the downfall of the Ottoman empire. As the time drew near for the verification of this bold assertion, all eyes were turned toward events occurring about Constantinople, the seat of that empire. Astonishment was seen in many faces when the news was heralded abroad that the supremacy of the Ottoman empire actually came to an end on the very day foretold by Mr. Litch. The message then went by leaps and bounds, which stirred up considerable opposition among the clergy. Notwithstanding9this, conferences were held in quick succession throughout the New England States. In one of these held in Boston in May, 1842, Charles Fitch, and A. Hale, of Haverhill, introduced cloth charts of the symbols of Daniel and Revelation, and it was voted to have three hundred of them lithographed for those who were willing to carry the message. This conference also voted to hold a camp-meeting, which was appointed to meet the following month at East Kingston, N. H. Other camp- and tent-meetings followed that same year, being held at Littleton, Taunton, Salem, and other places. To reach these, many thousands crowded steamboats, overflowed steam cars, and jammed stage-coaches in their anxiety to be at the various services. In describing this scene, Elder Joseph Bates used one of his nautical figures, to this effect: “The advent ship was making such rapid onward progress under her cloud of well-trimmed sails, that all the opposition of currents and adverse winds could not check her career.” The doctrine of the hour of judgment at hand proclaimed at these gatherings, was called by many the ‘midnight cry,’ and resulted in the establishment in New York City of a paper bearing that title. The reception of the doctrines of that day caused so much rejoicing among the people that they could not, or did not, refrain from shouting praise to God from the roadside, on boats and cars, until the sanity of some was called in question. When remonstrated with about their demonstrations, they only replied: “The message to us who believe that we are now in the hour of God's judgment is, ‘Fear God, and give glory to him.’ We believe fully, and so we render praise to him from every place.” Considering the situation, we may well ask the question, Were they so far out of the way in their devotions? If not, is there not room for improvement by those who have succeeded them in the message, and who are much nearer its culmination than were they?