BY JAMES R. NIX

CTOBER 22, 1844—THE TENTH DAY OF the seventh Jewish month.¹ The world had never before experienced anything exactly like it. At no time had so many people expected to see the world come to its fiery end on a specific day that was pinpointed for them by their understanding of Bible prophecy.

How exactly should one be living when expecting to face his or her life's record at the judgment bar of God in just a few more weeks? And for the leaders of the movement, what guidance should they be giving their followers, believing Jesus was coming back in only a matter of days?

Our Millerite forebears, living 160 years ago this month, faced these and other sobering questions as they approached Tuesday, October 22. There was no example in history for them to follow. They were now in uncharted territory. What a solemn time in which to be living. Am I really ready to meet Jesus? they wondered. Have I done all in my power to help others—my friends, relatives, and even strangers—to be ready to meet Him too? It really was an exciting, yet terrifying, time to be alive. "Jesus is coming! Are you ready to meet Him? Hurry! Hurry! There's no time to delay!" was the message on the lips of every fervent believer.

Weeks earlier, Samuel S. Snow at an August Exeter, New Hampshire, camp meeting had electrified his audience with his understanding that the prophecies pointed to the close of probation and Jesus' return on the Jewish Day of Atonement that year. The news had spread like wildfire.²

Twenty-three-year-old James White, who was present at the meeting, later recalled: "Language cannot describe the solemnity of that hour. . . . The time for shouting, and display of talent in speaking, singing, and praying seemed to be past. The brethren and sisters calmly consecrated themselves and their all to the Lord and His cause, and with humble prayers and tears sought His pardon and favor."³

Fifty-two-year-old Joseph Bates, who also was there, said, "When that meeting closed, the granite hills of New Hampshire were ringing with the mighty cry, 'Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.' As the loaded wagons, stages, and railroad cars rolled away through the different states, cities, and villages of New England, the cry was still resounding, 'Behold the bridegroom cometh!' Christ, our blessed Lord, is coming on the tenth day of the seventh month! Get ready! Get ready!"⁴

Many were excited at the news that Jesus would return in about two months, but others were terrified. At first, even the foremost leaders of the Millerite movement did not endorse the October 22 date, though as the groundswell of acceptance grew among the laity, eventually most of the leadership came to accept it.⁵ William Miller himself was among the last of the leaders to do so. On October 6, little more than two weeks before the much-anticipated day, he wrote to Joshua V. Himes:

"I see a glory in the seventh month which I never saw before. . . . Thank the Lord, O my soul. . . . I am almost home. Glory! Glory!! Glory!!!"⁶

It is impossible for us today to understand fully what it must have been like to believe that in just a few short days Jesus would return. Fortunately, word descriptions by those who went through that experience give us some inkling of their thinking and feelings as they approached what they firmly believed would be the end of the world.

Ellen White described their earnestness:

"With diligent searching of heart and humble confessions we came prayerfully up to the time of expectation. Every morning we felt that it was our first work to secure the evidence that our lives were right before God. Our interest for one another increased; we prayed much with and for one another. We assembled in the orchards and groves to commune with God and to offer up our petitions to Him, feeling more fully in His presence when surrounded by His natural works. The joys of salvation were more necessary to us than our food and drink. If clouds obscured our minds, we dared not rest or sleep till they were swept away by the consciousness of our acceptance with the Lord."⁷

Luther Boutelle, another Millerite believer, recalled, "The Advent Herald, the Midnight Cry, and other Advent papers, periodicals, pamphlets, tracts, leaflets, voicing the coming glory, were scattered broadcast and everywhere, like autumn leaves in the forest. Every house was visited by them. . . . Everything now began to converge to a point. October was the closing time of probation! The judgment and rewards! A mighty effort through the Spirit and the word preached was made to bring sinners to repentance, and to have the wandering return. All were awake to this great end—salvation. The tenth day of the seventh month drew nigh. With joy all the ready ones anticipated the day."⁸

James White, describing one of those camp meetings held during what was believed to be earth's waning hours, later wrote, "Sins were confessed with tears, and there was a general breaking down before God, and strong pleadings for pardon, and a fitness to meet the Lord at His coming. . . . Before that meeting closed, hundreds testified with tears of joy that they had sought the Lord and found Him, and had tasted the sweets of sins forgiven.

"The parting was most solemn. That was the last camp meeting the brethren expected to attend on these mortal shores. And as brother shook the hand of brother, each pointed the other to the final gathering on the immortal shores at the grand encampment of the saints in the New Jerusalem. Tears flowed profusely, and strong men wept aloud."⁹

Luther Boutelle remembered other partings in which other kinds of tears also flowed: "Solemn, however, were the last gatherings. Those of a family who were ready to meet the Lord, expecting an eternal separation from those who were not ready. Husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters separated, and that forever!"¹⁰

Among the brokenhearted were Joseph and Prudence Bates. On October 21, the very day before Christ was to return, their 14-year-old son, Joseph, Jr., sailed out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, on the Marcus, a whaling ship.¹¹

As the climactic day drew nearer, opposition to those awaiting its arrival intensified.

"There was a great stir and talk, in many places, about putting the Millerites under guardianship. But this did not cause any to go back on their faith."¹²

In addition to the legal challenges they faced, the Millerites had many of their meetings disrupted during those final turbulent days. In fact, in some places meetings actually had to be suspended for a time because of the opposition.¹³ Years later Uriah Smith recalled what happened at the one he and his family attended on October 21:

"In the evening, a rabble came up from the village, and began to pelt the tent where the meeting was held, with apples from the orchard. Waxing bolder, as the meeting became more earnest, they gathered around the door and began to direct their missiles against the lanterns hanging on the center-poles in the house-shaped tent. These were soon hit and demolished, and the glass scattered over the floor of the tent, and all were left in total darkness. The rabble grew bolder, and seizing hold of the framework of the tent, and cutting the guy-ropes, soon leveled it to the ground. Meanwhile, the crowd had seized a large hog, brought him to the tent, lifted up the curtain and pushed him in, and there we were—women, children, and the hog—in darkness under the cover of the tent—not a very pleasant companion, and not a very agreeable situation."¹⁴

Besides the physical violence, scorn and ridicule were heaped upon the Millerites. Cartoons were published in the newspapers. Articles made fun of them and their beliefs. Taunts such as "Millerite! Millerite! When are you going up?"¹⁵ were chanted by the scornful.

But some scoffers trembled. Maybe—just maybe—the Millerites were correct. One young girl was so confident her father would be among the saved that she planned on sticking close to him all day on October 22. "I knew," she wrote later, "he would never shake me off from his arms into the fire, and I meant to have a firm hold on him when the crisis arrived."¹⁶

Despite the opposition and ridicule, William Miller sensed a real change among those awaiting the end.

"I think I have never seen among our brethren such faith as is manifested in the seventh month. . . . There is a forsaking of the world, an unconcern for the wants of life, a general searching of heart, confession of sin, and a deep feeling in prayer for Christ to come. A preparation of heart to meet Him seems to be the labor of their agonizing spirits. There is something in this present waking up different from anything I have ever before seen."¹⁷

With time passing rapidly, steam presses were operating around the clock publishing Adventist literature.¹⁸ Those able to do so donated funds so that more materials could be printed and given away. Everything must be done quickly! The momentous day was just ahead; all must be warned!

One who experienced that climactic period recalled, "All grew more enthusiastic. Crops were left unharvested, their owners expecting never to want what they had raised. Men paid up their debts. Many sold their property to help others to pay their debts, who could not have done it themselves. Beef cattle were slaughtered and distributed among the poor. At no time since 'the day of Pentecost was fully come' had there been the like—a day when that pentecost was so completely duplicated as in 1844, when Adventism prevailed and reigned."¹⁹

Hymn We Sing The earliest Adventists expressed their faith in the soon coming of Jesus through every medium known to them—preaching, teaching, literature, testimony, and music. The hymns sung by tens of thousands of Millerites in the months preceding October 22, 1844, are full of the longing and expectation seen in their relationships, their business dealings, and the earnestness with which they sought to convince unbelieving friends and family members of the need to prepare for Jesus' return. The hymn, "O, When Shall I See Jesus?", is one of the most popular American folk hymns. Its author, John Leland, was a Baptist minister who served in both Virginia and Massachusetts. In use since at least 1805, it was already included in an early hymnal, The Sacred Harp, used by Millerites and others in the autumn of 1844. This edition is from the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal. (Reprinted with permission of Melvin West.)

He went on to say, "Such a concentration of thought; such a oneness of faith was never before witnessed; certainly not in modern times. All that did speak spoke the same things. Solemn, yet joyful. Jesus coming! We to meet Him! Meetings everywhere were being held. Confessions made, wrongs righted; sinners inquiring what they should do to be saved. Those who were not with us were mightily affected. Some were exceedingly frightened with awful forebodings."²⁰

No wonder Ellen White could say, "This was the happiest year of my life. My heart was full of glad expectation."²¹

The beliefs of those earnest Adventists also influenced their actions. A Philadelphia newspaper reported the following sign seen in a shopkeeper's window:

"This shop is closed in honor of the King of kings, who will appear about the 20th of October. Get ready, friends, to crown Him Lord of all."²²

The secretary of the United States Treasury received $5 in conscience money from a Millerite believer. Another man sent $120 to an insurance company with this note: "The Lord is at hand. This was unlawfully taken from you, and I ask forgiveness, for the Lord has forgiven me much." Other crimes, large and small, were likewise confessed and made right.²³

Merchants offered their wares at special prices. One stated, "My only object in offering my goods for sale, is that I may meet all obligations to my fellow men as far as possible, before that day arrives. All persons indebted, will oblige by settling the same immediately—and all to whom I am indebted will please send their accounts for settlement."²⁴

No one wanted to meet the Lord owing others money. Even Nathaniel Southard, editor of The Midnight Cry, published the following notice over his signature. "If any human being has just pecuniary claim against me, he is requested to inform me instantly."²⁵

One businessman witnessed to his faith by giving away his wares. "I had some things for sale; when any person came to buy, I would let them have these articles," he wrote. "When they wanted to pay for them I would not receive it, telling them that the world was coming to an end by such a time, and I needed no money as it would do me no good. Of course they sometimes stared at me, astonished."²⁶

The urgency of the hour required unusual actions.

Finally, less than a week remained. On Tuesday, October 15, the last issue of The Advent Herald came off the press in Boston. Four days later, on October 19, the last issue of The Midnight Cry was printed in New York City. More literature had been produced than could possibly be given away by the following Tuesday. For those who still wanted to donate money to help spread the word, it was now too late.

"The time immediately preceding the 22nd of October was one of great calmness of mind and of pleasurable expectation on the part of those who regarded that point of time with interest. There was a nearness of approach to God, and a sweetness of communion with Him, to which those who experience it will ever recur with pleasure. During the last ten days, secular business was, for the most part, suspended; and those who looked for the Advent gave themselves to the work of preparation for the event, as they would for death, were they on a bed of sickness, expecting soon to close their eyes on earthly scenes forever."²⁷

By Monday evening, October 21, the Millerite leaders had returned to their homes.²⁸ Everything possible they knew to do had been done to warn the world of its danger. All that was now left was to anxiously wait . . . and watch . . . and pray. The ticking of the clock on the wall, or the chiming of the clock in the hall, reminded them that their sojourn on earth was almost over. Glory! Glory!! Glory!!! We are almost home! they thought. Tomorrow Jesus will come.
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¹ According to the method of reckoning of the Karaite Jews.
² See George Knight, Millennial Fever, 1993, pp. 189, 190.
³ James White, Life Incidents, 1868, p. 166.
⁴ Joseph Bates, The Autobiography of Elder Joseph Bates, 1868, p. 298.
⁵ Knight, pp. 199-203.
⁶ William Miller letter to Joshua V. Himes, quoted in Knight, op. cit., pp. 203, 204.
⁷ Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, 1948, p. 55.
⁸ Luther Boutelle, Sketch of the Life and Religious Experience of Elder Luther Boutelle (Boston: Advent Christian Publication Society, 1891), p. 65.
⁹ James White, pp. 167, 168.
¹⁰ Boutelle, pp. 65, 66.
¹¹ Godfrey T. Anderson, Outrider of the Apocalypse, 1972, pp. 41, 59.
¹² Boutelle, p. 63.
¹³ Francis D. Nichol, The Midnight Cry, 1944, pp. 235, 239, 259.
¹⁴ Uriah Smith, "Former Things," The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Jan. 13, 1903, p. 4.
¹⁵ Jane Marsh Parker, "A Little Millerite," The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, December 1886, p. 314.
¹⁶ Ibid., p. 316.
¹⁷ William Miller letter, Oct. 11, 1844; quoted in Sylvester Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller, 1853, p. 270.
¹⁸ See Nichol, p. 246; Knight, p. 205.
¹⁹ Boutelle, p. 63.
²⁰ Ibid., p. 67.
²¹ Ellen G. White, p. 54.
²² Quoted in Nichol, p. 254.
²³ Ibid., p. 255. Lists these and other illustrations.
²⁴ Ibid., p. 254.
²⁵ Nathaniel Southard, "Notice," The Midnight Cry, Oct. 3, 1844, p. 104.
²⁶ Henry B. Bear, Henry B. Bear's Advent Experiences, reprinted in Ronald L. Numbers and Jonathan M. Butler, The Disappointed (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1993), p. 219.
²⁷ Bliss, pp. 275, 276.
²⁸ Bates, p. 300.

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James R. Nix is the director of the Ellen G. White Estate at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Silver Spring, Maryland.