Why Hermeneutics Matter – The Great Disappointment

20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded,
or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” 21 You may
say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the
LORD?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or
come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken
presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22 NIV)

The Return of Christ Predictions

Throughout the history of the church various predictions have been made regarding the return
of Christ. Both the explicit teaching of the scriptures , and the general themes relating to the
great day of the Lord make it plain that predictions regarding the return of Christ are foolhardy
and erroneous. Often, when these predictions are made, there is tremendous harm done. Take
for example the instance of the failed prediction by William Miller that Christ would return in
1843.

False Hope in an Expected Return

Miller grew up in the north east in western Massachusetts and New York state. Initially a deist,
Miller made a profession and became a baptist. He served as an infantryman during the war of
1812, and after the war settled on a farm in New York. As Miller studied the Bible on his own, he
began to develop an interpretive method that calculated the return of Christ by paralleling
symbolic days with modern years. Through this faulty hermeneutic Miller preached and spread
false hope of an expected return of Christ. Miller set date ranges for the return of Christ based
on his faulty hermeneutic multiple times, and some have followed his footsteps in constructing
their own frameworks for predictions. The last date associated with his calculations was October
22nd of 1844. The day came and went. One follower of Miller penned the following:

I waited all Tuesday [October 22] and dear Jesus did not come;—I waited all the
forenoon of Wednesday, and was well in body as I ever was, but after 12 o’clock I began
to feel faint, and before dark I needed someone to help me up to my chamber, as my
natural strength was leaving me very fast, and I lay prostrate for 2 days without any
pain—sick with disappointment. (1)

The Millerite Movement

One of the tragic consequences of all these false predictions, were the number of people who
were bamboozled into falsely putting their hope in a message not spoken by the Lord. While the
millerite movement had claimed a following of tens of thousands in the early 1840s, by the end
of the false predictions of 1844 (known in US religious history as the Great Disappointment)
most had walked away from any confession of Christianity entirely. Beyond this terrible falling
away was another fallout: offshooting heretical groups.

Faulty Hermeneutics

As a result of Miller’s faulty hermeneutics a variety of unsound, unbiblical, oppositional heretical
groups sprung up in the United States and globally. Today, groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses,
the Shakers, the Advent Christian Church, and Seventh-Day Adventists exist as a result of
Millerite theology. Internationally, a religion founded in Iran and Iraq Baháʼí Faith (a middle
eastern form of near monotheistic universalism) even puts weight and credence in the teachings
of William Miller.

Be on Your Guard

Eschatology matters. The scriptures have promised the return of Christ. How we live now will be
impacted greatly by how we consider His return, and what we listen to regarding His promised
triumphal coming. We today ought to be very suspicious and cautious to be on guard against
such predictions, while warning others of such spurious methods of interpretation and those
who propagate them.
If you’d like to hear more about distinctions and biblical corrections to Seventh Day Adventist
eschatology, take a listen to our YouTube episode featuring Myles Christian (Click here for link)

Citations –
(1) Knight, George R.. Millennial Fever and the End of the World: A Study of Millerite
Adventism. United States: Pacific Press, 1993.