The Great Disappointment and the Millerite Movement

What Happens When We Are Not Vigilant Against False Prophets and Predictions

Oct 07, 2024

This post is #2 in a series on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. In these articles, I set out to expose the false teachings in the Flat Earth movement that deny the Trinity — and I reveal how faulty views of the Trinity originate in Freemasonry and false prophets.

In the first installment, I dug into why this topic matters:

Are Flat Earthers Committing the Unpardonable Sin?

Mischelle Sandowich

September 30, 2024

Read full story

Now let’s dig into Part Two!

What Was The Great Disappointment?

Before understanding what was so disappointing about October 22, 1844, one must understand “The Great Expectation” and the influence of those who guided the movement, William Miller and his followers. The Millerite movement, which has its roots in freemasonry, laid the foundation for many cults that would follow, including those that deny the doctrine of the Trinity and see the Holy Spirit as a “force” not a person.

Events Leading to the Great Disappointment

William Miller was esteemed on the same footings as the Protestant Reformers of old, at least, according to former Millerite, Ellen G. White (Harmon). In “The Great Controversy,” she writes:

An upright, honest-hearted farmer, who had been led to doubt the divine authority of the Scriptures, yet who sincerely desired to know the truth, was the man specially chosen of God to lead out in the proclamation of Christ’s second coming. Like many other reformers, William Miller had in early life battled with poverty and had thus learned the great lessons of energy and self-denial. 1

Lisa Winn, of Life Assurance Ministries, adds to the story. “In the fall of 1816, Miller came to Christ. He desired to prove the Bible consistent and set out to harmonize seeming contradictions.” 2 So, he began to study the Scriptures afresh to understand their true meaning.

Ellen White writes:

Endeavoring to lay aside all preconceived opinions, and dispensing with commentaries, he compared scripture with scripture by the aid of the marginal references and the concordance. He pursued his study in a regular and methodical manner; beginning with Genesis, and reading verse by verse, he proceeded no faster than the meaning of the several passages so unfolded as to leave him free from all embarrassment. 3

After much study using this method, Miller concluded “that the popular view of the spiritual reign of Christ—a temporal millennium before the end of the world—was not sustained by the word of God.” A doctrine, according to Mrs. White, that pointed to a “thousand years of righteousness and peace before the personal coming of the Lord.” 4 The result of this doctrine, according to White, was to “put far off the terrors of the day of God.”

“It induced a feeling of confidence and security that was not well founded and led many to neglect the preparation necessary in order to meet their Lord.” 5

Or said another way: It would make Christians lazy to do the work of God.

The Imminent Return of Christ

Through his unaided studies of the Bible, Miller became convinced of the imminent return of Christ.

Winn writes:

Becoming obsessed with prophecy, he utilized the popular day/year principle to determine the time of Christ’s imminent return. He was not alone. When Napoleon temporarily dethroned the Pope in 1798, excited English scholars interpreted this as the “beast” receiving the “deadly wound” of Revelation 13:3, thus providing a road map from which, as was believed, they could predict Christ’s coming. Miller, too, viewed Bonaparte’s military campaign as a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. It made sense—Jesus would indeed return “on or before 1843.” 6

Miller later changed the date to between 1843 and 1844, finally resting on October 22, 1844, as the day of the Great Expectation of Christ’s bodily return to earth.

The Scripture that most influenced Miller was Daniel 8:14.

Ellen G. White writes in The Great Controversy:

The prophecy which seemed most clearly to reveal the time of the second advent was that of Daniel 8:14: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Following his rule of making Scripture its own interpreter, Miller learned that a day in symbolic prophecy represents a year (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6); he saw that the period of 2300 prophetic days, or literal years, would extend far beyond the close of the Jewish dispensation, hence it could not refer to the sanctuary of that dispensation. Miller accepted the generally received view that in the Christian age the earth is the sanctuary, and he therefore understood that the cleansing of the sanctuary foretold in Daniel 8:14 represented the purification of the earth by fire at the second coming of Christ. 7

Miller wanted to present this new and improved doctrine of Christ’s Return to the Christian world. But a couple of things were holding him back. Namely, he was a Grand Master Freemason8, and “Christians were railing against the organization. How could he, a Mason, speak publicly without coming under attack?” 9

The Dream That Opened the Door

Miller was certain of the dating of Christ’s imminent return, but kept his revelation to himself for almost a decade. But something changed: Miller had a dream that compelled him to share his new light with the world.

Sadly for Miller, his dream presented another problem. Not only was Miller still a Freemason, an organization not held in high esteem by Christians, but his dream was riddled with Freemason symbolism.

How could he get the ear of the Christians, who would not understand the symbolism nor accept his vision due to his unattractive connection with Freemasonry? Miller was a committed believer in freemasonry, thinking it a wonderful organization to improve society. Yet, his involvement made it impossible for him to achieve his greater vision.

Miller was at a crossroads, torn between his Freemason brotherhood and his newfound revelation of the return of Christ. “Miller grudgingly resigned from the Masons near the end of 1831. Less than a month later, he began to preach” 10 about his dreams and vision that Christ would return around 1843-1844, eventually landing on October 22, 1844.

The Movement Grew Interdenominationally

Before coming out with his new teaching, Miller had shared his ideas privately with friends and acquaintances. He was disappointed when they did not hardily welcome his ideas. So in 1832, when Miller submitted a series of articles to the Baptist-owned Vermont Telegraph, he was delighted at the response. After his first article on May 15, Miller was flooded with letters of inquiry respecting his views, and “visitors flocked to converse with” him “on the subject.” 11

Overwhelmed with requests for more information and numerous invitations to speak, Miller turned his articles into a 64-page pamphlet titled, “Evidences from Scripture and History of the Second Coming of Christ About the Year A.D. 1843, and of His Personal Reign for 1,000 Years.” 12 13 These tracts were distributed widely, mailed to inquirers, and sent to all the places where he could not visit personally.

Word of the Millerite prophecy continued to spread and grow in popularity. Soon Joshua Vaughan Himes, pastor and publisher, publicized the Millerite teaching in a newly established bi-weekly publication called Signs of the Times.

By October 22, 1844, it is estimated that at least 50,000-100,000 Millerites were expecting Jesus to return on that day. Some sources estimate as many as 1,000,000 followers, with many denominations involved, including Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregationalist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, and Campbellite churches.

What did all these Millerite followers have in common? “They were united by a belief in the imminent return of Jesus Christ—the Second Advent.” 14 Later, after “The Great Disappointment” they would splinter into many groups and “denominations,” with the “Advent” doctrine as the core.

The Day Draws Near

At first, Miller proclaimed that Jesus would return around 1843. Later, that changed to the spring of 1844. When that date came and went without event or Advent, Samuel Sheffield Snow adjusted the date to October 22, 1844, to agree with the Karaite Jewish calendar. After the “Spring Disappointment,” Miller accepted Snow’s interpretation and shared it with his followers. Soon, the Millerites were again ablaze with fervent anticipation. 15

[On an interesting side note, a year or so after The Great Disappointment, “Snow declared himself to be Elijah the prophet, the messenger that would appear immediately prior to the advent of Jesus the King.”] 16

As the day approached for Christ’s Second Advent, the Millerites gathered together, some say 50,000 others say 100,000, to meet their Lord. Leading up to that date, the day-to-day activities of life stopped.

People sold or gave away their belongings, including their homes. Marriages were postponed. Potatoes were not harvested. The Millerites went to “fanatical excesses as ascending hills, housetops, and trees in ascension robes.” 17

Economic Ramifications of the Great Disappointment

When Christ did not return on October 22, 1844, there was much more than a disappointment among the people, there were economic repercussions that devastated families.

The Apostle Paul warned against such things in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15. Jesus also warned His followers against predicting the time of His coming, but instead called saints to work toward building the kingdom by proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the earth.

“Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
— Acts 1:6-8

There was never an expiration date on this command. The same is true for the Great Commission. Never did Christ tell His followers to focus on the Second Advent. Rather, the command has been and always will declare to the world the First Advent of Christ, teach the nations to obey all things Christ commands, and to warn people of the judgment that comes upon peoples who rebel against God.

The very doctrine that Ellen White said would stir up people out of their idleness (focusing on the imminent Return of Christ), led the Millerites to idleness of the worst kind.

“For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread” (2 Thessalonians 3:11-12).

Economic hardship was not the only devastation that came from the disappointment.

Spiritual Ramifications of the Great Disappointment

The spiritual ramifications of the Great Disappointment had far greater repercussions than the economic ones. Many turned away from the faith. Others founded and joined new Advent and anti-trinitarian cults, including Jehovah’s Witnesses. 18

William Miller, faced with the magnitude of the situation, “renounced his prophecy studies after the Great Disappointment [and] died in 1849.” 19 Sadly, William Miller’s Freemasonic vision did not die with him. Hiram Edson took up his mantle.

Edson writes of October 22, 1844: “Our fondest hopes and expectations were blasted and such a spirit of weeping came over us as I never experienced before. It seemed that the loss of all earthly friends could have been no comparison. We wept and wept, till the day dawn.” 20

On October 23, 1844, a small group of Millerites joined together on Edson’s farm and prayed to God to help them understand what could be meant by such a discouraging set of events. Later that day, Edson received a vision while walking through a cornfield. God showed him that He never intended for Christ to return on October 22, 1844. Rather, He intended to cleanse the sanctuary in heaven.

Edson and a small group concluded that Miller had not been wrong about the date after all. He was only wrong about what happened on that day.

A small group of men “spent the next several weeks and months pouring over their Bibles studying the themes of the sanctuary and judgment. In March of 1845, they published their findings in a small paper called The Day Dawn.” 21

The core doctrine that arose out of this new system of interpreting Miller’s freemason dream, led to a complete undermining of the doctrine of the Atonement — something we will discuss in a future post.

Edson had another problem to solve. He desperately wanted to get the Millerites and others back on board with the new teaching on the heavenly sanctuary cleansing of October 22, 1844. But after such a devastating and disappointing event — and with their prophet William Miller jumping ship — Edson would need a miracle.

He got something better: A new prophet.

A Few Concluding Thoughts

As a reminder, this is an installment dealing with the doctrine of the Trinity. These early articles lay a foundation and build a case so the reader can examine the evidence themselves. MANY false doctrines and teachings are circulating the Flat Earth. My heart is to be the voice of one pointing people back to salvation through Grace alone, by Faith alone, through Christ alone, as found in the Bible alone, to the Glory of God alone. This is reformation theology. My heart is to sift through the lies, half-truths, and lack of knowledge that are holding people in bondage.

We will eventually get to the Bible’s true teaching about the person of the Holy Spirit.

You can access the next installment in the series here:

Is Ellen G. White a Prophet or Free Mason?

I guarantee that this is going to get even more interesting.

Please share with anyone who you think needs to hear this message.

If you want a quick look at the doctrine of the Trinity from Scripture, this article gives an introduction to the topic, as well as a biblical defense for the triunity of God.