INTRODUCTION

A system of prophetic exegesis captured the imagination of North America a century and a half ago. It caused more than a little upheaval in the established churches. It initiated the birth of several new religious denominations. This apocalyptic revival, Millerism, generally remembered as a queer, extremist phenomenon of nineteenth century American religiosity, but what is not commonly known is the fact that this revival was one of the turning points in the history of prophetic exegesis.

Millerism represents a Biblical interpretation that not only brought excitement, inspiration as well as trauma to thousands, but also marked a watershed in the history of millennialist exegesis. The inglorious end of Millerism brought disrepute to anyone attempting to calculate a prophetic time-table for world history. Within a few years from the widely publicized failure of Millerite expectations, the centuries-old, well-established historical method of prophetic exposition lost dominance, and gave way to both dispensationalist futurism and to the more scholarly preterism.¹

Very few outside of former Millerites dared keep on using the continuous historical hermeneutic as it was charged with Millerism's infamous failure. This is the reason for the title The End of Historicism. However, one should not get the impression that historicism is dead. There were people who remained faithful to the old hermeneutic, and the denominations that grew out of Millerism now have millions of adherents. The change that took place simply means that within a few decades from Miller historicism was no more the standard protestant method in the universities, theological seminaries or in the churches.

1.1 The Problem

The basic question this research sets out to answer is, "What was the exegesis like that shook America and upset the established tradition of prophetic interpretation?" It may well be that some Millerite viewpoints appear naive to twentieth-century observers, yet the question is worth asking. Naive or not, Miller marks the end of one school of exegesis which he developed to its logical conclusions.

Furthermore, Millerism is a dramatic example of the impact that prophetic expositions may have. Such episodes must be of interest to anyone concerned with the history of exegesis. This is so in spite of the fact that the influence of prophecy on the religious thinking of past centuries is usually underrated by historians.

By any standards Miller and his revival represent a noteworthy part of nineteenth-century American history. In fact Millerism is one of the most widespread apocalyptic revivals ever, and there are still several million people, Seventh-day Adventists, members of the Radio Church of God or of the many small Adventist churches and even Jehovah's Witnesses, that in one way or another have to reckon with William Miller in their spiritual pedegree.²         

1.2 The scope of the research

While Millerism made its impact in North America there were other influences which contributed to the end of the historical method of prophetic interpretation. There was Darbynisim English counterpart of Millerism, there were the Plymouth Brethren and people like Scofield who shaped the new hermeneutic of futurism and of course there was the slowly widening influence of historical, critical research, all of which contributed to exegetical changes in the nineteenth century. Such factors catalyzed the impact of Millerism. They are outside the sphere of this research which is limited to describing prophetic exegesis within Millerism, and the background of this exegesis.

Many aspects of Miller's interpretation are discussed only in a cursory manner. His use of the Bible, his ideas on millennialism and Zionism are passed over with but a few remarks. The primary focus of this research has been on time prophecies that Miller related to a terminus in 1843/4. All of these time calculations, with only a couple of secondary exceptions, stem from the Old Testament. Admittedly a major section of interesting and informative exposition is thus left aside, but this limitation is not only due to lack of space and time but is also prompted by the writer's personal interest.

1.3 Comments on methodology

Attempts at organizing and interpreting other people's ideas are always hazardous. The research has been based on an investigation of Millerite books and periodicals. All material relating to time prophesies has been analyzed and classified, under the headings of Miller's fifteen proofs which cover the essential aspects of Millerite chronological exegesis.

It is important to be aware from the outset that some Old Testament texts that the Millerites used do not appear as prophecies to a modern reader. There are also several explanations which call for the reaction: This is no exegesis at all. However, Miller and many of his followers regarded the texts prophetic (with utter seriousness). Furthermore, the history of exegesis must deal with what people discovered in a text rather than what we think they should have found.

It is also appropriate to note that even though the following pages include phraseology such as Miller "believed" or "liked" or "thought" or "cherished" or "disapproved" there is no device to measure the actual beliefs any more than likes or dislikes of a person no more alive. Here, as in any history of ideas, the only concrete facts are the writings available. The writing itself does not necessarily prove that the author himself believed what he wrote, neither does it usually tell the origin of the idea. The only fact is the text. Everything else is speculation. This means that every time a word implying emotion or thought appears in the following pages, it is not intended to express the actual sentiment of a person but rather that of a piece of writing.

One of the methodological problems related to the study of Millerism is the repetitious nature of Millerite writings. There is no need to read through many Millerite publications before one realizes that on many subjects the contents are virtually identical even when different authors are named on the title page. In addition they loved reprints. Many documents appeared first in the periodicals, then in pamphlet form. After a year or two several pamphlets were collected into a book. No effort has been made to determine who wrote something first.

In a case of similar ideas between Millerites and non Millerites one can at best suspect dependence, but never prove it  unless, of course, clear reference or ipsissima verba are found. This makes the background of Miller's exegesis an illustration of similar thinking rather than a proof of Miller's dependence on earlier exegetes. The same must hold true also in the case of Miller's impact on later exegetes.

1.4 An overview of the contents

The fIrst part is a short background on Miller and Millerism. Historical, political, social, or religious factors that may have affected the rise of Millerism have been cut out. A short description of Miller and his revival remains. The historical background is followed by exegetical background. Chapter three gives a definition of historicism, describes its the rise and draws comparisons between Miller and other historicists.

Miller's exegesis is depicted from two angles. Firstly, to show the foundation of Miller's exegesis his view of the Bible and his hermeneutical methods are described with examples of non chronological exegesis. Secondly, there is a description of Miller's prophetic time-table with a separate chapter on the specific issues relating to date-setting and typological interpretation of the final stage of the revival.

1.5 Literature

In historical research the availability of sources is often a formidable opponent to the researcher. In the case of Millerism one is in a fortunate position. While numerous valuable sources have been lost, University Microfilms has published a microfilm collection of rare books and manuscripts on Millerism.³ These films include over 1000 titles, Millerite as well as non-Millerite, 110 volumes of periodicals, and over 1000 copies of letters and manuscripts. The collection is not exhaustive and there has been frequent need to complement it with other literature, yet it has been invaluable in providing many of the primary sources for this research.

The largest collection of original Millerite material is found at Aurora College, Aurora, Illinois. There are also extensive collections at Ellen G. White Estate, Tacoma Park, Washington, D.C., and Heritage Room, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan. In Europe Newbold College, Bracknell, Berks., England, has a branch of Ellen G. White research center, with some original and some copies of Millerite and early Adventist material.

Footnotes

^1. This development was not limited to North America alone, but took place also in Germany and Great Britain.

^2. Some of these groups (e.g. JWs) are largely unaware of any link they may have to Milierism.

^3. Hoonstra J. ed. The Millerites And Early Adventists, A MicrofIlm Collection of Rare Books and Manuscripts, 1978 [MEA].