Investiture Achievement/Friend/Spiritual Discovery
The Great Disappointment, occurred after Jesus failed to reappear on the appointed day of October 22, 1844 as some Christians had expected.
Between 1831 and 1844, William Miller, a Baptist preacher, launched what has been called by historians as Second Great Awakening, of which the Millerite Movement was a major part. Miller preached a set of fourteen rules for the interpretation of the Bible. Based on his study of the prophecy of Template:Bibleverse, Miller calculated that Jesus would return to Earth sometime between 21 March 1843 and 21 March 1844. After the latter date came and went, the date was revised and set as 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 out why they had been disappointed. A group of the remaining followers concluded that the prophecy predicted not that Jesus would return to earth in 1844, but that investigative judgement in heaven would begin in that year.
Miller recorded his personal disappointment in his memoirs: "Were I to live my life over again, with the same evidence that I then had, to be honest with God and man, I should have to do as I have done. I confess my error, and acknowledge my disappointment." (Sears, 1961) Miller continued to wait for the second coming until his death in 1849.
Repercussions
Seventh-day Adventists
When Seventh-day Adventist Church historians write about the morning of October 23 they refer to a vision said to have been received by Hiram Edson, an early Adventist. Edson's saw in vision that the date that Miller had predicted was in fact correct. Later Bible study and visions led to the belief by the early Seventh-day Adventists 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 worthy of going to heaven. (see [1], #24) This investigative judgment is said to take place prior to his second coming, which they believe to be very soon. A number of issues related to the doctrine of this investigative judgement were raised by Adventist theologian Desmond Ford in the 1970s which led to a doctrinal crisis and Ford's dismissal from the church's South Pacific tertiary institute, Avondale College, in 1980 where he was previously a lecturer in theology.
Jehovah's Witnesses
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.
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.
Other references
Bahá'í
The Bahá'í Faith also attach importance to the date. Although their heritage does not trace back to the Millerite movement which was solely made up of Christians, members of the Bahá'í Faith believe that the Great Disappointment was a fulfillment of prophecy but not a disappointment. They believe that the the coming of the Báb fulfilled the same Biblical prophecies. The Báb, born Ali Muhammad, began openly declaring in Persia in October 1844 that he was the Promised One. Several Bahá'í books and pamphlets make mention of the Millerites and the Great Disappointment, most notably William Sears' Thief in the Night. Bahá'ís often use the same arguments that Miller used as proof that their religion fulfills the prophesied second coming of Christ.
Interestingly, an Islamic group known as the Shaykhí movement, followed the Shi'a sect under the guidance of Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsá'í (1753 - 1826) who predicted the return of Al-Mahdi and Al-Masih (The Messiah Christ). After the death of Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsá'í, his ministry passed to Siyyid Kázim-i-Rashti (1793-1843) who, before his own death, instructed all the Shaykhís to travel and search for the Mahdi. It was one of those Shaykhís, Mullá Husayn, who on the eve of May 23rd, 1844, after meeting Siyyid Mírzá `Alí-Muhammad (the Báb) (1819-1850) in Shiraz, accepted him as the Manifestation of the Mahdi. Thus began the Bábí movement and later (in 1863) with the declaration of Mírzá Husayn-`Alí, (Bahá'u'lláh (The Glory of God))(1817-1892) the Bahá'í Faith.
References
- Stone, Jon R. (2000). Expecting Armageddon: Essential Readings in Failed Prophecy. Routledge. ISBN 041592331X.
- Sears, William (1961). Thief in the Night. London: George Ronald. ISBN 085398008X.
