Chapter 18—New Light in the New World

An upright, honest farmer who sincerely desired to know the truth was the man God chose to lead in proclaiming Christ's second coming. Like many other Reformers, William Miller had battled poverty and learned the lessons of self-denial. 5TC 187.2

Even as a child Miller showed more than ordinary intellectual strength. As he grew older, his mind was active and well developed, and he had a deep thirst for knowledge. He loved to study and made a habit of careful thought and keen analysis. These things made him a man of sound judgment and broad views. His moral character was excellent, and he had an enviable reputation. He performed well in the various civil and military positions he held. Wealth and honor seemed to be in his future. 5TC 187.3

In childhood he had been responsive to religious matters. In early manhood, however, he began to associate with deists,^{*Deism: The belief that God exists and created the world, but thereafter assumed no control over it nor concern for the lives of people; the belief that reason is sufficient for the knowledge of truth, thus rejecting revelation.—Webster’s New World Dictionary.} whose influence was strong because they were mostly good citizens, humane, and benevolent. Living in the midst of a Christian society, their characters had been molded to some extent by their surroundings. They were indebted to the Bible for the qualities that won them respect, and yet they perverted these good gifts to influence people against the Word of God. Miller adopted their views. 5TC 188.1

The interpretations of Scripture that people held then presented difficulties that seemed unsolvable to him. Yet his new belief, which set aside the Bible, offered nothing better, and he remained far from satisfied. But when Miller was thirty-four, the Holy Spirit impressed his heart that he was a sinner. He found no assurance of happiness beyond the grave. The future was dark and gloomy. Referring to his feelings at this time, he said: 5TC 188.2

“The heavens were like brass over my head, and the earth like iron under my feet.... The more I thought, the more scattered were my conclusions. I tried to stop thinking, but my thoughts would not be controlled. I was truly miserable, but I did not understand why. I was unhappy and complaining, but didn’t know whom to blame. I knew that there was a wrong, but I did not know how or where to find the right.” 5TC 188.3

Miller Finds a Friend

“Suddenly,” he says, “the character of a Savior came vividly to my mind. It seemed that there might be a being so good and compassionate that he would himself atone for our transgressions, and so save us from suffering the penalty of sin.... But the question arose, How can we prove that such a being does exist? Aside from the Bible, I found that I could get no evidence of the existence of such a Savior, or even of a future life.... 5TC 188.4

“I saw that the Bible did tell about just the kind of Savior I needed, and I was perplexed over how an uninspired book could develop principles so perfectly adapted to the needs of a fallen world. I was forced to admit that the Scriptures must be a revelation from God. They became my delight, and in Jesus I found a friend. The Savior became to me the Chief among ten thousand. The Scriptures, which before seemed dark and contradictory, now became the lamp to my feet and light to my path.... I found the Lord God to be a Rock in the midst of the ocean of life. The Bible now became my main study, and I can truly say, I searched it with great delight.... I wondered why I had not seen its beauty and glory before, and I was amazed that I could have ever rejected it.... I lost all desire for other reading and applied my heart to get wisdom from God.”^{1S. Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller, pages 65-67.} 5TC 189.1

Miller publicly acknowledged his faith. But his unbelieving friends brought up all the arguments that he himself had often used against the Scriptures. He reasoned that if the Bible is a revelation from God, it must be consistent with itself. He decided to study the Scriptures and see whether every apparent contradiction could be harmonized. 5TC 189.2

Setting commentaries aside, he compared scripture with scripture by the aid of the marginal references and a concordance. Beginning with Genesis, reading verse by verse, when he found anything unclear he compared it with every other text that seemed to refer to the topic. He allowed every word to have its influence on the text. So whenever he came across a passage hard to understand, he found an explanation in some other part of the Scriptures. As he studied, he prayed earnestly for God to enlighten his mind, and he experienced the truth of the psalmist's words, “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130). 5TC 189.3

With intense interest he studied Daniel and Revelation and found that the prophetic symbols could be understood. He saw that all the various symbols, metaphors, illustrations, etc., were either explained in their immediate context or defined in other scriptures and should then be understood literally. He found link after link in the chain of truth, which rewarded his efforts. Step by step he found the meaning of the great Bible prophecies. Angels of heaven were guiding his mind. 5TC 189.4

He became satisfied that the Word of God did not teach the popular view of an earthly millennium before the end of the world. This doctrine, pointing to a thousand years of righteousness and peace before the coming of the Lord, is the opposite of the teachings of Christ and His apostles, who declared that the wheat and the tares are to grow together until the harvest, the end of the world, and that “evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse” (2 Timothy 3:13). 5TC 190.1

Personal Coming of Christ

The church in the apostles’ time did not teach that the world would be converted and that Christ would reign only spiritually. Christians did not generally believe that way until about the beginning of the eighteenth century. This doctrine taught people to look far in the future for the coming of the Lord and prevented them from noticing the signs announcing His approach. It led many to neglect preparing to meet their Lord. 5TC 190.2

Miller found that the Bible plainly taught the literal, personal coming of Christ. “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” “As the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” “The Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him.” “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 24:30, 27; 25:31; 24:31.) 5TC 190.3

When Jesus comes, the righteous dead will be raised and the righteous living changed. “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.) 5TC 190.4

In our present condition we human beings are mortal and corruptible, but the kingdom of God will be incorruptible. Therefore in our present condition we cannot enter into the kingdom of God. When Jesus comes, He gives immortality to His people, and then He calls them to inherit the kingdom that has been theirs only by promise up to then. 5TC 191.1

Scripture and Chronology

These and other scriptures clearly proved to Miller that the universal reign of peace and God's setting up His kingdom on the earth would come after Jesus’ second advent. Further, the condition of the world around Miller matched the prophetic description of the last days. He was forced to conclude that time was almost over for the earth as we know it. 5TC 191.2

“Another kind of evidence that vitally affected my mind,” he says, “was the chronology of the Scriptures.... I found that predicted events that had been fulfilled in the past often happened within a certain stated time.... Events ... that were once only a matter of prophecy, ... were fulfilled in harmony with the predictions of time.”^{2S. Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller, pages 74, 75.} 5TC 191.3

When he found time periods in the Bible that extended to the second coming of Christ, he could not avoid seeing them as the “preappointed times” (Acts 17:26), which God had shown to His servants. “Those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever.” The Lord declares that He “does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” (Deuteronomy 29:29; Amos 3:7.) People who study God's Word may confidently expect to find the Bible clearly pointing out the greatest event in human history. 5TC 191.4

“I was fully convinced,” says Miller, “that all Scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable; that it ... was written as holy men were moved by the Holy Spirit, and it was written ‘for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.’ ... I therefore felt that in trying to understand what God in His mercy had seen fit to reveal to us, I had no right to ignore the prophetic periods.”^{3S. Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller, pages 74, 75.} 5TC 191.5

The prophecy that seemed to reveal the time of the Second Advent most clearly was Daniel 8:14: “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” Making Scripture its own interpreter, Miller learned that a day in symbolic prophecy represents a year (see Appendix). He saw that the 2,300 prophetic days, or literal years, would extend far beyond the close of the Jewish era, and so it could not refer to the sanctuary of that time. 5TC 192.1

Miller accepted the widely held view that in the Christian age the earth is the “sanctuary,” so he thought that the cleansing of the sanctuary that Daniel 8:14 predicted represented the purifying of the earth by fire at the second coming of Christ. He concluded that if he could find the correct starting point for the 2,300 days, it would reveal the time of the Second Advent. 5TC 192.2

Discovering the Prophetic Timetable

Miller continued to examine the prophecies, devoting whole nights as well as days to studying what now seemed so greatly important. In the eighth chapter of Daniel he could find no clue to the starting point of the 2,300 days. The angel Gabriel, though commanded to make Daniel understand the vision, gave him only a partial explanation. As the terrible persecution to come on the church was revealed to the prophet, he could not bear it all. Daniel “fainted and was sick for days.” “I was astonished by the vision,” he says, “but no one understood it.” (Daniel 8:27.) 5TC 192.3

Yet God had told the angel, “Make this man understand the vision.” In obedience, the angel returned to Daniel, saying: “I have now come forth to give you skill to understand ... therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.” He had left one important point in chapter 8 unexplained, specifically, the 2,300 days. So when the angel resumed his explanation, he dealt mainly with the time: 5TC 192.4

“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city.... Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself.... Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.” (Daniel 8:16; 9:22, 23, 24-27.) 5TC 193.1

God had sent the angel to Daniel to explain the point he had failed to understand—“for two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” The first words of the angel are, “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city.” The word translated determined literally means “cut off.” Seventy weeks, 490 years, are to be cut off especially for the Jews. 5TC 193.2

Two Time Periods Begin Together

But from what were they cut off? Since the 2,300 days was the only period of time mentioned in chapter 8, the seventy weeks must be a part of the 2,300 days. The two periods must begin together, with the seventy weeks starting from “the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem.” If the date of this command could be found, then the starting point for the 2,300 days would be known. 5TC 193.3

In the seventh chapter of Ezra we find the decree, issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in 457 B.C. Three kings had a part in issuing and completing the decree, bringing it to the conclusion required by the prophecy to mark the beginning of the 2,300 years. Taking 457 B.C., when the decree was completed, as the date of the “commandment,” every point of the seventy-week prophecy clearly had been fulfilled (see Appendix). 5TC 193.4

“From the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks”—sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years. The decree of Artaxerxes went into effect in the autumn of 457 B.C. From this date, 483 years extend to the autumn of A.D. 27. At that time this prophecy was fulfilled. In the autumn of A.D. 27 Christ was baptized by John and received the anointing of the Spirit. After His baptism He went into Galilee, “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled’” (Mark 1:14, 15). 5TC 193.5

The Gospel Given to the World

“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week”—the last seven years of the period marked off for the Jews. During this time, from A.D. 27 to A.D. 34, Christ and His disciples gave the gospel invitation especially to the Jews. The Savior's instruction to the apostles was: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5, 6). 5TC 194.1

“In the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.” In A.D. 31, three and a half years after His baptism, our Lord was crucified. With the great sacrifice offered on Calvary, symbol had met fulfillment. All the sacrifices and offerings of the ceremonial system were to end. 5TC 194.2

The 490 years given to the Jews ended in A.D. 34. At that time, through the action of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the nation sealed its rejection of the gospel by killing Stephen and persecuting the followers of Christ. Then the message of salvation went beyond the chosen people to the world. The disciples, forced to flee from Jerusalem because of persecution, “went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). 5TC 194.3

So far every point of the prophecies was strikingly fulfilled. The beginning of the seventy weeks is established beyond question at 457 B.C., and they ended in A.D. 34. Since the seventy weeks (490 days) were cut off from the 2,300, there were 1810 days remaining. After the end of the 490 days, the 1810 days were still left to be fulfilled. From A.D. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844. So the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14 end in 1844. At the end of this great prophetic period, “the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” So the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary—which almost everyone believed would happen at the Second Advent—was pointed out. (See chart.) 5TC 194.4

Startling Conclusion

At the beginning Miller had no idea that he would reach the conclusion at which he had now arrived. He himself could hardly believe the results of his investigation. But the Scripture evidence was too clear for him to ignore. 5TC 195.1

In 1818 he reached the solemn conviction that in about twenty-five years Christ would appear to redeem His people. “I don’t need to mention,” says Miller, “the joy that filled my heart at this delightful prospect, nor how deeply I longed to participate in the joys of the redeemed.... Oh, how bright and glorious the truth appeared! ... 5TC 195.2

“The question came home to me with mighty power about my duty to the world, in view of the evidence that had stirred up my own mind.”^{4S. Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller, pages 76, 77, 81.} He could not help feeling that it was his duty to give to others the light he had received. He expected opposition from the ungodly, but he was confident that all Christians would rejoice in the hope of meeting the Savior. Still, he hesitated to present the hope of glorious deliverance, expected so soon, in case he might be wrong and mislead others. This led him to review the evidence and to consider carefully every objection he could think of. Five years of doing this left him convinced that his position was correct. 5TC 195.3

“Go and Tell It to the World”

“When I was going about my business,” he said, “‘Go and tell the world of their danger’ was continually ringing in my ears. This text constantly came to my mind: ‘When I say to the wicked, “O wicked man, you shall surely die!” and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.’ I felt that if the wicked could be warned effectively, large numbers of them would repent, but that if they were not warned, their blood might be required at my hand.”^{5Ezekiel 33:8, 9; S. Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller, page 92.} The words kept on coming to his mind: “Go and tell it to the world; their blood will I require at your hand.” For nine years he waited, and the burden got heavier on his heart, until in 1831 for the first time he publicly gave the reasons for his faith. 5TC 195.4

He was now fifty, not used to public speaking, but God blessed his labors. His first lecture sparked a religious awakening. Thirteen entire families, with the exception of two persons, were converted. People urged him to speak in other places, and in nearly every place sinners were converted. Christians were stirred to greater dedication, and deists and scoffers were led to acknowledge the truth of the Bible. His preaching awakened the public mind and obstructed the growing worldliness and immorality of the age. 5TC 196.1

In many places Protestant churches of nearly all denominations welcomed him, and invitations usually came from the ministers. It was his rule not to work in any place where he had not been invited, yet he soon found himself unable to accept half the requests that poured in. Many were convinced that Christ's coming was certain and near, and that they needed to prepare for it. 5TC 196.2

In some of the large cities, liquor dealers turned their shops into meeting rooms; gambling dens were broken up; scoffers and even the most shamelessly immoral people were reformed. The various denominations scheduled prayer meetings at almost every hour, with businessmen assembling at noon for prayer and praise. There was no extravagant excitement. Miller's work, like that of the early Reformers, tended instead to convince a person's understanding and awaken the conscience, rather than merely excite emotion. 5TC 196.3

In 1833, Miller received a license to preach from the Baptist Church. A large number of the ministers of his denomination approved his work, and he carried on his efforts with their formal endorsement. He traveled and preached without stopping, without ever receiving enough to meet the expense of travel to the places where he was invited. So his preaching put a heavy tax on his personal finances. 5TC 196.4

“The Stars Shall Fall”

In 1833, the last of the signs appeared that Jesus had promised as indications that His second advent was near: “The stars will fall from heaven.” And in the book of Revelation John declared, “The stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.” (Matthew 24:29; Revelation 6:13.) This prophecy was dramatically fulfilled in the great meteor shower of November 13, 1833, the most extensive and awe-inspiring display of falling stars ever recorded. “Rain never fell much thicker than the meteors fell toward the earth; east, west, north, and south, it was the same. In a word, the whole heavens seemed in motion.... From two o'clock until broad daylight, with the sky perfectly serene and cloudless, a constant play of dazzlingly brilliant lights continued in the whole heavens.”^{6R. M. Devens, American Progress: Or, The Great Events of the Greatest Century, chapter 28, pars. 1-5.} “It seemed as if the whole starry sky had come together at one point almost directly overhead, and was simultaneously shooting out, with the speed of lightning, to every part of the horizon. And yet the stars were not used up—thousands quickly followed in the tracks of thousands, as if created for the occasion.”^{7F. Reed, Christian Advocate and Journal, December 13, 1833.} “A more correct picture of a fig tree dropping its figs when blown by a mighty wind, it was not possible to see.”^{8“The Old Countryman,” Portland [Maine] Evening Advertiser, November 26, 1833.} 5TC 196.5

In the New York Journal of Commerce of November 14, 1833, a long article appeared regarding this event: “No philosopher or scholar has told or recorded an event, I suppose, like that of yesterday morning. A prophet eighteen hundred years ago foretold it exactly, if we will take the trouble to understand stars falling to mean falling stars ... in the only sense in which that can be literally true.” 5TC 197.1

So the last of those signs of His coming happened, about which Jesus had told His disciples, “When you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!” (Matthew 24:33). Many who witnessed the falling of the stars understood it as an announcement of the coming judgment. 5TC 197.2

In 1840, another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy drew widespread interest. Two years before, Josiah Litch published an explanation of Revelation 9, predicting the fall of the Ottoman Empire “in A.D. 1840, sometime in the month of August.” Only a few days before it happened he wrote, “It will end on the 11th of August, 1840, when we may expect the Ottoman power in Constantinople to be broken.”^{9Josiah Litch, Signs of the Times, August 1, 1840.} 5TC 197.3

Prediction Fulfilled

At the very time specified, Turkey accepted the protection of the allied powers of Europe and thus placed herself under the control of Christian nations. The event exactly fulfilled the prediction. (See Appendix.) Great numbers of people were convinced that the principles of prophetic interpretation that Miller and his associates adopted were true. Men of learning and position united with Miller in preaching and publishing his views. From 1840 to 1844 the work grew rapidly. 5TC 198.1

William Miller had a strong, powerful mind, and he added to that the wisdom of heaven by connecting himself with the Source of wisdom. His life earned him respect wherever people valued integrity and moral excellence. With Christian humility, he was attentive and gracious to all, ready to listen to others and weigh their arguments. He tested all theories by the Word of God, and his sound reasoning and knowledge of Scripture made him able to refute error. 5TC 198.2

Yet, as earlier Reformers also found, the popular religious teachers did not accept the truths he presented. Since these men could not prove their position by Scripture, they resorted to human doctrines—the traditions of the Fathers. But the Word of God was the only testimony that the preachers of the advent truth would accept. Their opponents used ridicule and scoffing to discredit those who looked joyfully for the return of their Lord and were trying to live holy lives and prepare others for His appearing. The detractors made it seem like a sin to study the prophecies of the coming of Christ and the end of the world. In this way the popular ministry undermined faith in the Word of God. Their teaching made people reject God, and many felt free to indulge in ungodly desires. Then the authors of the evil charged it all upon Adventists. 5TC 198.3

While Miller was drawing crowds of intelligent hearers, the religious press seldom mentioned his name except to ridicule or condemn him. Emboldened by religious teachers, the ungodly resorted to blasphemous jokes on Miller and his work. The gray-haired man who had left a comfortable home to travel at his own expense to take to the world the solemn warning that the judgment was near was denounced as a fanatic. 5TC 198.4

Interest and Unbelief

Interest continued to increase. From dozens and hundreds, congregations had grown to many thousands. But after a time, opposition arose against these converts, and the churches started to discipline those who had accepted Miller's views. This led him to respond: “If we are wrong, please show us where we are wrong. Show us from the word of God that we are in error. We have had enough ridicule—that can never convince us that we are in the wrong. The word of God alone can change our views. We have formed our conclusions carefully and prayerfully, as we have seen the evidence in the Scriptures.”^{10S. Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller, pages 250, 252.} 5TC 199.1

When the evils of the people moved God to bring a flood on the earth, He first let them know His intentions. For 120 years they heard the warning to repent, but they did not believe it. They made fun of the messenger of God. If Noah's message were true, why did not all the world see and believe it? One man's claims against the wisdom of thousands! They would not believe the warning nor take shelter in the ark. 5TC 199.2

Scoffers pointed to the unchanging sequence of the seasons, the blue skies that had never poured out rain. In contempt they declared that Noah was a wild fanatic. They went on, more set in their evil ways than before. But at the appointed time God's judgments came down on those who rejected His mercy. 5TC 199.3

Skeptics and Unbelievers

Christ declared that as the people of Noah's day “did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:39). When the professed people of God are uniting with the world, when the luxury of the world becomes the luxury of the church, when everyone looks forward to many years of worldly prosperity—then, as suddenly as the lightning flashes, will come the end of their misguided hopes. Just as God sent Noah to warn the world of the coming Flood, He also sent chosen messengers to proclaim that the final judgment was near. And as Noah's contemporaries laughed scornfully at the predictions of the preacher of righteousness, so in Miller's day many of the professed people of God scoffed at the words of warning. 5TC 199.4

There can be no more convincing evidence that the churches have wandered from God than their hatred against this Heaven-sent message. 5TC 200.1

Those who accepted the advent doctrine felt that it was time to take a stand. “The things of eternity became real to them.... Heaven was brought near, and they felt that they were guilty before God.”^{11S. Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller, page 146.} Christians felt that time was short, that what they had to do for others must be done quickly. Eternity seemed to open before them. The Spirit of God gave power to their appeals to prepare for the day of God. Their daily life was a rebuke to lukewarm church members. These did not want to be disturbed in their pleasure, money-making, and ambition for worldly honor. This is why they opposed the advent faith. 5TC 200.2

Opposers tried to discourage investigation by teaching that the prophecies were sealed. In this way, Protestants followed in the steps of Catholics. Protestant churches claimed that an important part of the Word, that part especially meant for our time, could not be understood. Ministers declared that Daniel and the Revelation were mysteries beyond comprehension. 5TC 200.3

But Christ had pointed His disciples to the words of the prophet Daniel: “Whoever reads, let him understand” (Matthew 24:15). And the Revelation is to be understood. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place.... Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:1, 3, italics added). 5TC 200.4

“Blessed is he who reads”—there are those who will not read; “and those who hear”—there are some who refuse to hear anything concerning the prophecies; “and keep those things which are written in it”—many refuse to heed the instructions in the Revelation; none of these can claim the blessing promised. 5TC 200.5

How dare anyone teach that the Revelation is beyond human understanding? It is a mystery revealed, a book opened. Revelation directs the mind to Daniel. Both present important instruction about events at the close of world history. 5TC 201.1

John saw the dangers, conflicts, and final deliverance of the people of God. He records the closing messages that are to ripen the harvest of the earth, either for the heavenly storehouse or for the fires of destruction, so that those who turn from error to truth may learn about the dangers and conflicts ahead of them. 5TC 201.2

Why, then, is there this widespread ignorance concerning an important part of Holy Writ? It is the result of a deliberate effort by the prince of darkness to conceal from people the parts of the Bible that reveal his deceptions. For this reason, Christ the Revelator, foreseeing the warfare against the Revelation, pronounced a blessing on everyone who would read, hear, and observe the prophecy. 5TC 201.3