Who was William Miller?

[taikachanz]

The following post is to bring to the fore the man who basically is responsible for the Advent movement. Although there are many who can be credited with it's growth, the Whites, Bates, A. T. Jones, Loughbrough, just to name a few, Miller was the catalist that brought the message of the soon return of the Lord to the U.S.

Unfortunately, I have discovered and most Adventists today have a very scetchy (sp) knowledge of who he really was or even what he actually believed. This is not going to be detailed account but more of an overview of the more important aspects that lead him to believe as he did and the mistakes he made along the way formulating his hypothesis concerning Christ's return.

Some facts: He was not originally a Christian but a Diest. He was a family man and a farmer, well respected in his community. A war veteran of the war of 1812, also respected by both his commanders and those who served under him. He became disallusioned and saw now hope in his faith and began a thorough study of the scriptures in an endevour to find truth. During this time he developed some rules for biblical interpretation that he handed down to the movement, Adventist today claim to still apply these to thier studies; I have that that is not entirely correct, as will be seen later.

Miller's Rules of Interpretation

1. Every word must have its proper bearing on the subject presented in the Bible.
(When studying a particular subject in the Bible the scritures used must have relevance to that subject. Without this relevance the study becomes useless.)

2. All Scripture is necessary, and may be understood by a diligent application and study. Proof, 2 Tim. 3:15-17 "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteouness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good work" (Self explanitory)

3. Nothing revealed in Scripture can or will be hid from those who ask in faith, not wavering. Proof, Deut. 29:29; Matt. 10:26, 27; 1 Cor. 2:10; Phil. 3:15; Isa. 45:11; Matt. 21:22; John 14:13, 14; 15;7; James 1:5, 6; 1 John 5:13-15.
(Those who see God's wisdom and knowledge will receive it if they ask earnestly and honestly and keep their faith that they shall receive it. God will reveal to them the meaning of scriptures when asked in this manner.)


4. To understand doctrine, bring all the Scriptures together on the subject you wish to know; then let every word have its proper influence; and, if you can form your theory without a contradiction, you cannot be in error. Proof, Isa. 28:7-29; 35:8; Prov. 19:27; Luke 24:27, 44, 45; Rom. 16:26; James 5:19; 2 Pet. 1:19, 20.


("Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little." Miller understood that to prove a doctrine to be true we must compare scripture to itself to determine what the truth is. We cannot take a singe scripture and build a doctrine from it and in some cases it takes many scriptures to understand what the scriptures teach concerning a subject.)

5. Scripture must be its own expositor, since it is the rule of itself. If I depend on a teacher to expound to me, and he should guess at its meaning, or desire to have it so on account of his sectarian creed, or to be thought wise, then his guessing, desire, creed, or wisdom, is my rule, and not the Bible.

6.

(Basically Miller is stating that we adhere to the Bible and the Bible only. I include these references: Ps 1:7-11; 119:97-105, Matt. 23:9-10. It is the Word of God that we submit ourselves to, no MAN can wisely tell us what the scriptures are telling us unless he can show all that he teaches comes from God's word, thoroughly. 1 Cor. 2:12-16, When we pray for guidance, and we accept the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, to lead us in all things then we cannot go wrong, earnest, honest, reverent study will lead to the truth. Eze. 34:18-19, God takes vengeance, against those who would pollute His word. Luke 11:53, Again, another warning for those who would deny the truth to those seeking it. Matt. 1:7-8, Had Herod studied the scriptures himself he could have found the answer, yet he relied on others and the others fled from him when warned of his intent and so he lost his opportunity to comlete that wicked intent.)

6. God has revealed things to come, by visions, in figures and parables; and in this way the same things are oftentimes revealed again and again, by different visions, or in different figures and parables. If you wish to understand them, you must combine them all in one.

(As seen in the prophecies in Daniel 2, 7, 8 and 9, God revealed to Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel the same timeline but using differet imagery. To understand these images by themselves is near impossible, but comparing them together the prophecy and the time periods become clear. Reference these scriptures: Ps 89:19, Hos. 12:10, Hab 2:2, Acts 2:17, Ps 78:2, Matt. 13:13 & 34, Gen. 41:1-32, Dan. 2, 7 & 8, Acts 10:9-16.)

7. Visions are always mentioned as such.

(Search the prophetic books and this can be verified.)

To be Continued.

 

[taikachanz]

Continued from first post:


8. Figures always have a figurative meaning, and are used much in prophecy to represent future things, times and events—such as mountains, meaning governments; Dan. 2:35,44; beasts, meaning kingdoms; Dan. 7:8,17; waters, meaning people; Rev. 17:1,15; Day meaning year, &c. Eze. 4:6

(Understanding the symbolisms within prophetic script is key to understanding the prophecy itself. Misinterpretation leads to error, many times as can be seen by the scriptures listed, the figures are readily identified and these remain the same though out scripture, old and new.)


9. Parables are used as comparisons to illustrate subjects, and must be explained in the same was as figures, by the subject and the Bible. Mark 4:13.

(Parables are illustrations, to appy them to actual events or places is to pervert the parable and leads, again, to error.)

10. Figures sometimes have two or more different significations, as day is used in a figurative sense to represent three different periods of time, namely, first, indefinite as in Eccl. 7:14; Second, definite, a day for a year, as in Eze. 4:6 and third, a day for a thousand years as in 2 Pet. 3:8. The right construction will harmonize with the Bible and make good sense; other constructions will not.

(Again, the context of the scripture will make the determination as to what is meant by the figure within that scripture. Mixing these figures will lead to great confusion; for example if we apply "a day for a thousand years" to the 490 days at the beginning of the 2300 day prophecy we would still be waiting for Christ's first advent.)

11. If a word makes good sense as it stands, and does no violence to the simple laws of nature, it is to be understood literally; if not, figuratively. Rev. 12:1,2; 17:3-7

(If we were to take the figures presented in these scriptures literally this would not only be strange but miraculous as well. The must be taken figuratively to make any sense.)

12. To learn the meaning of a figure, trace the word through your Bible, and when you find it explained, substitute the explanation for the word used; and, if it makes good sense, you need not look further; if not, look again.

(A good example of this is when Jesus said, "I have not come to destroy the law but to fulfill the law." Many denominations believe that the Law has been "done away with." Doing away with the law is to destroy the law, so if we substitute the phrase "do away with" for "fulfill" we come up with "I have not come to destroy the law but to do away with the lay." this doesn't work, a different meaning needs to be found for "fulfill". It can be found by searching the scriptures. PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO HIGHJACK THIS THREAD WITH THIS ISSUE!!! )


13. To know whether we have the true historical event for the fulfillment of a prophecy: If you find every word of the prophecy (after the figures are understood) is literally fulfilled, then you may know that your history is the true event; but if one word lacks fulfillment, then you must look for another event, or wait its future development; for God takes care that history and prophecy shall agree, so that the true believing children of God may never be ashamed.

(Rule 13 is very important and will be the center theme in later discussion. Remember this one. Ps 22:5, Isa 45:17-19, 1 Pet. 2:6, Rev. 17:17, Acts 3:18)

14. The most important rule of all is, that you must have faith. It must be a faith that requires a sacrifice, and, if tried, would give up the dearest object on earth, the world and all its desires—character, living, occupation, friends, home, comforts and worldly honors. If any of these should hinder our believing any part of God’s word, it would show or faith to be vain. Nor can we ever believe so long as one of these motives lies lurking in our hearts. We must believe that God will never forfeit his word; and we can have confidence that he who takes notice of the sparrow’s fall, and numbers the hairs of our head, will guard the translation of his own word, and throw a barrier around it, and prevent those who sincerely trust in God, and put implicit confidence in his word, from the erring far from the truth.


(God's Word is precious, it is power, it is life itself. Through His Word we learn of love, grace, righteousness, glory and all that is God Himself. When God reveals His truth to use it is a precious treasure worthy of more then all our earthly treasure. And when He reveals to us hidden treasure it becomes our responsibility to share it with others. To shurk that responsibility is a sin unto itself because it displays disrespect for our Father who art in heaven.)

I'm out of time for now so more to come.

GB all

 

[Castaway57]

While Miller was a part of our early history; he never did become a Seventh-day Adventist. This is very important to note; for when Seventh-day Adventists came into being, Miller was not in the picture.

 

[taikachanz]

While Miller was a part of our early history; he never did become a Seventh-day Adventist. This is very important to note; for when Seventh-day Adventists came into being, Miller was not in the picture.

Be that as it may, but what Adventists teach today concerning the 2300 days prophecy comes directly from William Miller's teaching, what came after is a result of what he taught so to minimize him does a great disservice to him. For example Loughbrough wrote many things concerning what Miller taught, James White, whom I will be quoting, wrote a biography on him. Although Miller was not a "SDA" he was an adventist, for that is what the Millerites were called by mainline denominations. I will present later in this thread quotes from J.W.'s biography which shows the appreciation given by the Church after 1844 for William Miller's efforts and his responses. Please be patient.

 

[JohnMarsten]

heard he was a free-mason

 

[Castaway57]

heard he was a free-mason

lol, John, where on earth did you hear that one?

 

[Castaway57]

Be that as it may, but what Adventists teach today concerning the 2300 days prophecy comes directly from William Miller's teaching, what came after is a result of what he taught so to minimize him does a great disservice to him.

Well; if you want to call setting the record straight things like "minimizing;" I guess there's not much I can do about that kind of thinking, however, it is actually very important that people realize the full picture, because although Miller did grasp some great truths, which many still hold to today, including Seventh-day Adventists, he also held to some great errors, which led many astray. Given the title of this topic, I am not sure why it would be "wrong" to mention that William Miller was never a Seventh-day Adventist. Although he was an "Adventist;" he never did become a part of the denomination. That's part of who he was, and therefore fits into this topic well in my mind.

 

[taikachanz]

continuing:

By Miller's own account and in his own word's he state's the following: (why should I try to explain when we can read his own words?)

"I believe all men, coming to years of discretion, do and will disobey God, and this is, in some measure, owing to corrupted nature by the sin of our parent. I believe God will not condemn us for any pollution in our father, but the soul that sinneth shall die. All pollution of which we may be partakers from the sins of our ancestors, in which we could have no agency, can and will be washed away in the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, without our agency. But all sins committed by us as rational, intelligent agents, can only be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, through our repentance and faith. I believe in the salvation of all men who receive the grace of God by repentance and faith in the mediation of Jesus Christ. I believe in the condemnation of all men who reject the gospel and mediation of Christ, and thereby lose the efficacy of the blood and righteousness of our Redeemer, as proffered to us in the gospel. I believe in practical godliness as commanded us in the Scriptures, (which are our only rule of faith and practice,) and that they only will be entitled to heaven and future blessedness, who obey and keep the commandments of God as given us in the Bible, which is the word of God. I believe in God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is a Spirit, omnipresent, omniscient, having all power, creator, preserver, and self-existent. As being holy, just and beneficent, I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, having a body in fashion and form like man, divine in his nature, human in his person, godlike in his character and power. He is a Savior for sinners, a priest to God, a mediator between God and man, and King in Zion. He will be all to his people, God with us forever. The spirit of the Most High is in him, the power of the Most High is given him, the people of the Most High are purchased by him, the glory of the Most High shall be with him, and the kingdom of the Most High is his on earth." Views of the Prophecies and Prophetic Chonology, selected from Manuscripts of William Miller with a Memoir of his life; by Joshua V. Himes; Boston: Published by Moses A. Dow, 107 Hanover Street. 1841. chapter 5 pg 32.

We can see by this statement that William Miller felt strongly in his convictions. Is it any wonder that God chose this man to work through. How often is it that God has chosen the least likely of men to do His work? And know wonder, for through the studies that Miller did he gained an understanding of how God works and tried to pass it on to other. How well he succeeded can be seen in the fruits of his labors.

William Miller also had an understanding of God's timing, not only in the scriptures concerning the specific time prophecies given "I discovered that God had in his word revealed ‘times and seasons;’ and in every case where time had been revealed, every event was accomplished as predicted, (except the case of Nineveh, in Jonah,) in the time and manner; therefore I believed all would be accomplished." ,(same book) but also on God's timing in revealing truth "I believe the Bible is the revealed will of God to man, and all therein is necessary to be understood by Christians in the several ages and circumstances to which they may refer; - for instance, what may be understood to-day might not have been necessary to have been understood 1000 years ago."

Here we see that Miller discovered the consistance of time prophecies in God's Word, not those just found in the book of Daniel, but the multitude that are documented in Genesis and elsewhere. He makes exception of Ninevah and the account of Jonah, but then we must realize that that was a conditional prophecy dependent on a willingness of the citizens of that city to repent, it was for this reason Jonah didn't want to go. Of course Ninevah eventually backslide and God did as He said He would do.

In the second quote we find that Miller sees God's working is to His will and all that happens is on His timetable, whether declared or not. So when God is ready to reveal a truth that He wants revealed He reveals it to either a person or persons He has predetermined and puts upon them the responsibility of revealing it to the world. Unfortunately, history has shown that not all are willing to do as God says, some repent, and others, to their own dismay, completely turn their backs on God, mostly for fear of rebuke and ridicule. It is a grave danger to be a prophet of God, for not only are they attacked by Satan and his demons, but they must face the consternation of those they bring the message to. Ellen White calls these revelations, "Present truth" and "New Light". See how she discribes it in just one of her many quotes and how we are to respond:

"When a brother receives new light upon the Scriptures, he should frankly explain his position, and every minister should search the Scriptures with the spirit of candor to see if the points presented can be substantiated by inspired word. 'The servent of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentence to the acknowledging of the truth.' 2 Tim. 2:24-25 (CET 203.3)

I ask, would EGW write this and the other articles concerning the revelation of present truth had she not believed that there was more to truth to be revealed? She was follower of William Miller, what he taught remained with her in this and in other teachings as well.

Here is how William Miller felt about the Word of God (He makes this statements after presenting his rules of interpretation):

"These are some of the most important rules which I find the word of God warrants me to adopt and follow in order for system and regularity. And if I am not greatly deceived, in so doing, I have found the Bible, as a whole one of the most simple, plain, and intelligible books ever written, containing proof in itself of its divine origin, and full of all knowledge that our hearts could wish to know or enjoy. I have found it a treasure which the world cannot purchase. It gives a calm peace in believing and a firm hope in the future. It sustains the mind in adversity, and teaches us to be humble in prosperity. It prepares us to love and do good to others, and to realize the value of the soul. It makes us bold and valiant for the truth, and nerves the arm to oppose error. It gives us a powerful weapon to break down Infidelity, and makes known the only antidote for sin. It instructs us how death will be conquered, and how the bonds of death will be conquered, and how the bonds of the tomb must be broken. It tells us of future events, and shows the preparation necessary to meet them. It gives us an opportunity to hold conversation with the King of kings, and reveals the best code of laws ever enacted."

Here is a man that loves God and love His Word. Is there any question why God chose him to bring forth this message to light a fire in His people?

Getting late again, more to come.

 

[taikachanz]

Well; if you want to call setting the record straight things like "minimizing;" I guess there's not much I can do about that kind of thinking, however, it is actually very important that people realize the full picture, because although Miller did grasp some great truths, which many still hold to today, including Seventh-day Adventists, he also held to some great errors, which led many astray. Given the title of this topic, I am not sure why it would be "wrong" to mention that William Miller was never a Seventh-day Adventist. Although he was an "Adventist;" he never did become a part of the denomination. That's part of who he was, and therefore fits into this topic well in my mind.

It's nice to know there's at least one other person out there who has done some studying on WM. And your right he never became a SDA, and I won't speculate on way....just yet. Appreciate your input Cast, and please, correct any mistakes I make concerning WM. I can use all the help I can get.

 

[Castaway57]

continuing:


William Miller also had an understanding of God's timing, not only in the scriptures concerning the specific time prophecies given "I discovered that God had in his word revealed ‘times and seasons;’ and in every case where time had been revealed, every event was accomplished as predicted, (except the case of Nineveh, in Jonah,) in the time and manner; therefore I believed all would be accomplished." ,(same book) but also on God's timing in revealing truth "I believe the Bible is the revealed will of God to man, and all therein is necessary to be understood by Christians in the several ages and circumstances to which they may refer; - for instance, what may be understood to-day might not have been necessary to have been understood 1000 years ago."

Here we see that Miller discovered the consistance of time prophecies in God's Word, not those just found in the book of Daniel, but the multitude that are documented in Genesis and elsewhere. He makes exception of Ninevah and the account of Jonah, but then we must realize that that was a conditional prophecy dependent on a willingness of the citizens of that city to repent, it was for this reason Jonah didn't want to go. Of course Ninevah eventually backslide and God did as He said He would do.

There is no doubt that Miller loved God, but he obviously, from all accounts, did not understand the time prophecies correctly. He had a partial understanding only.

 

[Castaway57]

It's nice to know there's at least one other person out there who has done some studying on WM. And your right he never became a SDA, and I won't speculate on way....just yet. Appreciate your input Cast, and please, correct any mistakes I make concerning WM. I can use all the help I can get.

Sounds good, you can do the same. Actually, I have an interesting article about him I'll dig up and post here for you soon

 

[taikachanz]

Sounds good, you can do the same. Actually, I have an interesting article about him I'll dig up and post here for you soon

Love to see it. I'm always interested on prophetic history, especially those involved with the process. It's good to get different prospectives and then compare them to scripture, afterall, that is our measuring stick.

 

[Castaway57]

Love to see it. I'm always interested on prophetic history, especially those involved with the process. It's good to get different prospectives and then compare them to scripture, after all, that is our measuring stick.

Yes; I agree re the "measuring stick." When it comes to history, well, not all history is "biblical" but it nevertheless has happened. Good case in point, re Miller and some of the other leaders (of the Millerite Movement), actually did not believe in the unconscious state of the dead; they were firm believers in the conscious state of the dead. A lot of people dont realize things like this, and I don't say it to put Miller down in any way. But things like this become very important when it comes to answering critics of our church, and in showing how amazingly God led us all along the way. I'll supply some references for this next time. Gotta get going for now.

 

[JohnMarsten]

lol, John, where on earth did you hear that one?

William Miller (preacher) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[taikachanz]

William Miller (preacher) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Your original statement is misleading. This reference may also be misleading if one does not access the site.

Miller resigned his Masonic membership in 1831, stating that he did so to "avoid fellowship with any practice that may be incompatible with the word of God (copied from siad site). The definitive word here in your first statement is WAS. When Miller entered into his ministry he was no longer a Free Manson.

 

[taikachanz]

There is no doubt that Miller loved God, but he obviously, from all accounts, did not understand the time prophecies correctly. He had a partial understanding only.

LOL, your getting ahead of me... but seeing as you've broached that subject let's take it on. In what way, by Adventist teaching or by your opinion do you think this happened. (Just so you know Cast, whenever I've gotten into this discussion with other Adventists they quickly want to abort it for some reason.)

 

[Castaway57]

whenever I've gotten into this discussion with other Adventists they quickly want to abort it for some reason.)

Why did I need to know that ?

 

[taikachanz]

Why did I need to know that ?

Maybe because I appreciate someone who will a least give an ear to an opinion.

 

[Castaway57]

LOL, your getting ahead of me... but seeing as you've broached that subject let's take it on. In what way, by Adventist teaching or by your opinion do you think this happened. (Just so you know Cast, whenever I've gotten into this discussion with other Adventists they quickly want to abort it for some reason.)

Well; it's pretty simple. He came up with a time for when Jesus was to come; and missed the part in the Bible which tells us "no man knows the hour." I get the feeling that you already know this, and that there is something else on your agenda here?

 

[taikachanz]

Well; it's pretty simple. He came up with a time for when Jesus was to come; and missed the part in the Bible which tells us "no man knows the hour." I get the feeling that you already know this, and that there is something else on your agenda here?

How much have you studied those two verses? Have you dug deep into the original Greek they were translated from? Stong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, copyright 1890, twenty-sixth printing, May 1965, pg25 of the Greek dictionary reference 1492:

Knoweth = 1492 eido, a prim verb: used only in certain past tenses, the others belong borrowed from the equiv, 3700 and 3708; prop. to see (lit. or fig.); by impl. (in the perf. only) to know;- be aware, behold X can (+ not tell), consider, (have) know (-ledge), look (on), perceive, see, be sure, tell, understand, wist, wot. Comp 3700

3700 (pg 52) optanomai, a (mid.) prol. form of the prim. (mid.)

optomai, which is used for it in certain tenses; and both as alt. of 3708; to gaze (i.e. with wide-open eyes, as at something remarkable; and thus differing from 991, which denotes simply voluntary observation; and from 1492 which expresses merely mechanical, passive or casual vision: while 2300, and still more emphatically its intens. 2334, signifies an earnest but more continued inspection; and 4648 a watching from a distance): - appear, look, see, shew self.

As can be seen by these explainations when we look at the verses referred to (Matt. 24:36 & Mk. 13:32) that what is being said is not what we have come to understand. If we consider that eido is a past tense word then we must conclude that Jesus was speaking of a past action, "thou hast not known" would have been the proper translation. And when we look at the reference to optomai we see further the reason for their failure to "know" and that is because of their passivity toward the scriptures. Also, consider the context in which Jesus is speaking, not just the context of text but context of time period. They knew not because they failed to study, they knew not because the failed to watch and the knew not because they failed to listen, EGW points this out in Desire of Ages when she writes about the birth of Christ and the difficulty the angels had if finding receptive souls to announce the birth too.

Now, in light of this we have the promises of God, especially in Amos and Joel. Both make prophetic proclimations concerning God's revealing his purposes and how it is to be done. From early times this is the way he has warned his people, through his prophets and his word. "By the law and the testimony" it is by this and through this that we understand and KNOW God. God has tools that he uses, just as he had when he was here on earth as a carpenter (great parallel he used for that) and these are consistant throughout the Biblical accounts. And this is where I loose everyone, because they immediately turn to EGW and say, "but SOP says that there will be no more tests of time ever." Yup, she says that, but she's said a lot of other things after that that have a bearing on this as well. So do I stop now or do I continue?