Abstract
1844 marks a year of the Great Disappointment for Advent people. The mistake pertained to the nature of the event to transpire, not to the time. At the termination of the 2300-day prophetic period, announced in Daniel 8:14, Christ came to the Ancient of Days, rather than to Earth, to finalize the final work of atonement, an event called the cleansing of the sanctuary. As Advent people waited for Christ to return, and Christ did not come, this caused the Great Disappointment, where the faith of many was severely tested. It was the shaking which resulted in the purification of the church, and eventually brought forth the Seventh-day Adventist Church into existence.
The Reasons for Disappointment
“Like the first disciples, William Miller and his associates did not, themselves, fully comprehend the import of the message which they bore. Errors that had been long established in the church prevented them from arriving at a correct interpretation of an important point in the prophecy. Therefore, though they proclaimed the message which God had committed to them to be given to the world, yet through a misapprehension of its meaning they suffered disappointment.” {EGW, GC 351.2; 1888}
“In explaining Daniel 8:14, ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,’ Miller, as has been stated, adopted the generally received view that the earth is the sanctuary, and he believed that the cleansing of the sanctuary represented the purification of the earth by fire at the coming of the Lord. When, therefore, he found that the close of the 2300 days was definitely foretold, he concluded that this revealed the time of the second advent. His error resulted from accepting the popular view as to what constitutes the sanctuary.” {EGW, GC 352.1; 1888}
“In the typical system, which was a shadow of the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the last service performed by the high priest in the yearly round of ministration. It was the closing work of the atonement—a removal or putting away of sin from Israel. It prefigured the closing work in the ministration of our High Priest in heaven, in the removal or blotting out of the sins of His people, which are registered in the heavenly records. This service involves a work of investigation, a work of judgment; and it immediately precedes the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; for when He comes, every case has been decided. Says Jesus: ‘My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.’ Revelation 22:12. It is this work of judgment, immediately preceding the second advent, that is announced in the first angel’s message of Revelation 14:7: ‘Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.’” {EGW, GC 352.2; 1888}
“Those who proclaimed this warning gave the right message at the right time. But as the early disciples declared, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand,’ based on the prophecy of Daniel 9 while they failed to perceive that the death of the Messiah was foretold in the same scripture, so Miller and his associates preached the message based on Daniel 8:14 and Revelation 14:7, and failed to see that there were still other messages brought to view in Revelation 14, which were also to be given before the advent of the Lord. As the disciples were mistaken in regard to the kingdom to be set up at the end of the seventy weeks, so Adventists were mistaken in regard to the event to take place at the expiration of the 2300 days. In both cases there was an acceptance of, or rather an adherence to, popular errors that blinded the mind to the truth. Both classes fulfilled the will of God in delivering the message which He desired to be given, and both, through their own misapprehension of their message, suffered disappointment.” {EGW, GC 352.3; 1888}
Designed as a Test
The history of ancient Israel is a striking illustration of the past experience of the Adventist body. God led His people in the advent movement, even as He led the children of Israel from Egypt. {EGW; GC99 457.1}
The Millerite movement was powerful and accompanied by God’s providence, yet there was a disappointment. Was this an accident, or was it the providence of God?
Yet God accomplished His own beneficent purpose in permitting the warning of the judgment to be given just as it was. The great day was at hand, and in His providence the people were brought to the test of a definite time, in order to reveal to them what was in their hearts. The message was designed for the testing and purification of the church. They were to be led to see whether their affections were set upon this world or upon Christ and heaven. They professed to love the Saviour; now they were to prove their love. Were they ready to renounce their worldly hopes and ambitions, and welcome with joy the advent of their Lord? The message was designed to enable them to discern their true spiritual state; it was sent in mercy to arouse them to seek the Lord with repentance and humiliation. {EGW; GC 353.1; 1888}
The Great Disappointment was not an accident, but rather a test for God’s people. It was the shaking designed to filter chaff from the wheat. What was the ultimate purpose behind this test?
This test would reveal the strength of those who with real faith had obeyed what they believed to be the teaching of the word and the Spirit of God. It would teach them, as only such an experience could, the danger of accepting the theories and interpretations of men, instead of making the Bible its own interpreter. To the children of faith the perplexity and sorrow resulting from their error would work the needed correction. They would be led to a closer study of the prophetic word. They would be taught to examine more carefully the foundation of their faith, and to reject everything, however widely accepted by the Christian world, that was not founded upon the Scriptures of truth. {EGW; GC 354.1; 1888}
Shaking - Trying Ordeal
The great disappointment in 1844 was a trying ordeal. They had not the light that would have enabled them to discern the reason of their disappointment, some gave up the Faith; others held to their past experience, but became bewildered in regard to their position after 1844; they were exposed to temptation, and received various errors as Bible truth. But I was shown that the Lord would, in His providence, clear away the rubbish of error and reveal to them the jewels of truth. These would be gladly received by many, and the harps that had been left tuneless would be taken from the willows, and again give forth sweet music. Many will discover the lost links in the chain of truth, and they will see a beautiful harmony in the whole. They will have a fresh experience, being assured that He whom they trusted has not forsaken them and left them in darkness. “The Lord will command his loving kindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me.” [Psalm 42:8.] {EGW; 6LtMs, Lt 22, 1890, par. 4}
The Wheat
The shaking is the process of separation between the wheat and the chaff. Who remained as wheat?
After the great disappointment there were few who set themselves to seek the Word with all their heart. But some souls would not settle down in discouragement and deny that the Lord had led them. To these the truth was opened point by point, and entwined with their most hallowed recollections and sympathies. The searchers after truth felt that the identification of Christ with their nature and interest was complete. Truth was made to shine forth, beautiful in its simplicity, dignified with a power and invested with an assurance unknown before the disappointment. We could then proclaim the message in unity. {EGW; 2SM 109.4; 1958}
The Way He Lead Us
For elaborate explanations of how God raised the Seventh-day Adventist church out of the Great Disappointment, see The Way He Led Us.
The result was establishing the firm foundation of our faith. It happened as follows:
Many of our people do not realize how firmly the foundation of our faith has been laid. My husband, Elder Joseph Bates, Father Pierce, Elder Edson, and others who were keen, noble, and true, were among those who, after the passing of the time in 1844, searched for the truth as for hidden treasure. I met with them, and we studied and prayed earnestly. Often we remained together until late at night, and sometimes through the entire night, praying for light and studying the word. Again and again these brethren came together to study the Bible, in order that they might know its meaning, and be prepared to teach it with power. When they came to the point in their study where they said, “We can do nothing more,” the Spirit of the Lord would come upon me, I would be taken off in vision, and a clear explanation of the passages we had been studying would be given me, with instruction as to how we were to labor and teach effectively. Thus light was given that helped us to understand the scriptures in regard to Christ, His mission, and His priesthood. A line of truth extending from that time to the time when we shall enter the city of God, was made plain to me, and I gave to others the instruction that the Lord had given me. {EGW; SpTB02 56.4; 1904}
Therefore, from the shaking in the Great Disappointment, Seventh-day Adventists emerged as wheat, and God entrusted them with the important proclamation of all three angels’ messages.
The Error Explained
In these meetings, the Lord explained the error and the reason behind the Great Disappointment:
“‘I beheld,’ says the prophet Daniel, ‘till thrones were placed, and One that was Ancient of Days did sit: His raiment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.’ Daniel 7:9, 10, R.V.” {EGW, GC 479.1; 1888}
“Thus was presented to the prophet’s vision the great and solemn day when the characters and the lives of men should pass in review before the Judge of all the earth, and to every man should be rendered ‘according to his works.’ The Ancient of Days is God the Father. Says the psalmist: ‘Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.’ Psalm 90:2. It is He, the source of all being, and the fountain of all law, that is to preside in the judgment. And holy angels as ministers and witnesses, in number ‘ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,’ attend this great tribunal.” {EGW, GC 479.2; 1888}
“‘And, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.’ Daniel 7:13, 14. The coming of Christ here described is not His second coming to the earth. He comes to the Ancient of Days in heaven to receive dominion and glory and a kingdom, which will be given Him at the close of His work as a mediator. It is this coming, and not His second advent to the earth, that was foretold in prophecy to take place at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844. Attended by heavenly angels, our great High Priest enters the holy of holies and there appears in the presence of God to engage in the last acts of His ministration in behalf of man—to perform the work of investigative judgment and to make an atonement for all who are shown to be entitled to its benefits.” {EGW, GC 479.3; 1888}
The Establishment of the Fundamental Principles
As our pioneers studied the Word of God, rejecting the errors of men, the Lord was establishing the foundation of our faith:
As a people, we are to stand firm on the platform of eternal truth that has withstood test and trial. We are to hold to the sure pillars of our faith. The principles of truth that God has revealed to us are our only true foundation. They have made us what we are. The lapse of time has not lessened their value. {EGW; SpTB02 51.2; 1904}
We are God’s commandment-keeping people. For the past fifty years every phase of heresy has been brought to bear upon us, to becloud our minds regarding the teaching of the word,—especially concerning the ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, and the message of heaven for these last days, as given by the angels of the fourteenth chapter of Revelation. Messages of every order and kind have been urged upon Seventh-day Adventists, to take the place of the truth which, point by point, has been sought out by prayerful study, and testified to by the miracle-working power of the Lord. But the way-marks which have made us what we are, are to be preserved, and they will be preserved, as God has signified through His word and the testimony of His Spirit. He calls upon us to hold firmly, with the grip of faith, to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority. {EGW; SpTB02 59.1; 1904}
As the Seventh-day Adventist Church was established, their position was often misrepresented, so our pioneers decided to write down a short synopsis of our fundamental principles to mitigate misrepresentations of the church. They wrote “The Declaration of the Fundamental Principles, Taught and Practiced by Seventh-day Adventists”. This document was the official statement of Seventh-day Adventists’ beliefs throughout the entire life of Ellen White.
Our purpose
In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world. On them is shining wonderful light from the word of God. They have been given a work of the most solemn import—the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention. {EGW; 9T 19.1; 1905}
As a people, we should not depart from the foundation of our faith and the purpose God has given us. We need to know clearly what the message was for our people.
We cannot for a moment have any misrepresentation upon these solemn and important subjects of truth which have been the faith of our people since 1844. {EGW; 18LtMs, Lt 300, 1903, par. 9}
The current challenge of SDA church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has undergone a process of reorganization in terms of their beliefs. See Fundamental Principles vs. Fundamental Beliefs. This transformation influences our understanding of the First Angel’s Message. Who is God from the First Angel’s message? See God of First Angel’s Message
Appendix I: What Happened to William Miller?
After the great disappointment in 1844, Satan and his angels were busily engaged in laying snares to unsettle the faith of the body. He was affecting the minds of individuals who had a personal experience in these things. They had an appearance of humility. They changed the first and second messages, and pointed to the future for their fulfillment, while others pointed far back in the past, declaring that they had been there fulfilled. These individuals were drawing the minds of the inexperienced away, and unsettling their faith. Some were searching the Bible to try to build up a faith of their own, independent of the body. Satan exulted in all this; for he knew that those who broke loose from the anchor, he could affect by different errors and drive about with winds of doctrine. Many who had led in the first and second messages, denied them, and division and scattering was throughout the body. I then saw Wm. Miller. He looked perplexed, and was bowed with sorrow and distress for his people. He saw the company who were united and loving in 1844, losing their love for each other, and opposing one another. He saw them fall back into a cold, backslidden state. Grief wasted his strength. I saw leading men watching Wm. Miller, and fearing lest he should embrace the third angel’s message and the commandments of God. And as he would lean towards the light from heaven, these men would lay some plan to draw his mind away. I saw a human influence exerted to keep his mind in darkness, and to retain his influence among them. At length Wm. Miller raised his voice against the light from heaven. He failed in not receiving the message which would have fully explained his disappointment, and cast a light and glory on the past, which would have revived his exhausted energies, brightened up his hope, and led him to glorify God. But he leaned to human wisdom instead of divine, and being broken with arduous labor in his Master’s cause, and by age, he was not as accountable as those who kept him from the truth. They are responsible, and the sin rests upon them. If Wm. Miller could have seen the light of the third message, many things which looked dark and mysterious to him would have been explained. His brethren professed such deep love and interest for him, he thought he could not tear away from them. His heart would incline towards the truth; but then he looked at his brethren. They opposed it. Could he tear away from those who had stood side and shoulder with him in proclaiming Jesus’ coming? He thought they surely would not lead him astray. {EGW; 1SG 166.1; 1858}
Appendix II: S. N. Haskell About Foundation
When the time passed in 1844, there were none who believed the truth as we now hold it. All believed the prophecies that brought us to that time. Then began a greater searching of the Bible than had ever been, probably, at any time since the days of the apostles. They went over and over the old arguments concerning the prophecies that pointed to 1844, and after most thorough examination they could see no other conclusion than that the prophetic periods terminated at that time. As they studied, they began to see one link of truth after another; and as these truths unfolded to the pioneers,— I have reference to such men as Elders James White, J. N. Andrews, Uriah Smith, and J. H. Waggoner,—they did not dare present that truth to the people until they had made it a special subject of prayer and the spirit of prophecy set its seal to it. That was the way the foundation was laid, step by step, until they found they had a system of truth, and understood the third angel’s message as it has been brought to us. At the present time there is but little realizing sense of this, and, in fact, it seems to me that we have been drifting away from the old landmarks, and are in such a condition that, when the test comes, as it surely will, many will be shaken out. {Review and Herald, October 27, 1904; p. 8; S. N. Haskell}
