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The Great Disappointment was an event in the early history of certain Christian denominations, when Jesus failed to reappear on the appointed day of October 22, 1844 as some Christians expected.

William Miller

Between 1831 and 1844, William Miller, a Baptist preacher, launched what he called the "great second advent awakening", also known as the Millerite Movement. Miller preached a set of fourteen rules for the interpretation of the Bible, which spread to followers throughout the world. Based on his study of the prophecy of Daniel 8:14, Miller calculated that Jesus would return to Earth sometime between 1843 and 1844 . Others within the movement calculated a specific date of October 22, 1844 based on the yearly Day of Atonement in Karaite Judaism.

When Jesus did not appear, Miller's followers experienced what came to be called "the Great Disappointment". Most of the thousands of followers left the movement. A few, however, went back to their Bibles to find why they had been disappointed. They concluded that the prophecy predicted not that Jesus would return to earth in 1844, but that a special ministry in heaven would be formed on that date. Miller continued to wait for the second coming and died in 1849.

Seventh-day Adventists maintain that Christ went into the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 to begin the investigative judgment of both righteous and wicked to see who is ready to go to heaven. (see [1], #24) This investigative judgment takes place prior to his return to earth, which they believe to be very soon.

Members of the Bahá'í Faith believe that the Great Disappointment wasn't a disappointment at all, and that the Biblical prophecies were fulfilled by the coming of the Báb, who heralded the coming of the return of Christ, Bahá'u'lláh. October 1844 is when the Báb started to make his public claim and began the Bábí religion.

The religious group known as Jehovah's Witnesses developed theories on end time events closely linked to Millerite views. One-time Millerite ministers George Storrs and George Stetson proved to be a great assistance and guide to the development and growth of Charles Taze Russell's worldwide ministry. Russell is often, though incorrectly, defined as the founder of that movement.

In Religious Studies, the Great Disappointment is viewed as an example of how the psychological phenomenon of cognitive dissonance manifests itself in a diversity of religious perspectives. The cognitive tension between belief in the failed prediction of Jesus' reappearance in 1844 and belief that such an appearance would occur led quickly to a variety of explanations. The various solutions to this individual struggle of faith form a part of the teachings of the different groups that outlived the disappointment.

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