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MILLER'S HERITAGE CONCLUSIONS
7.1 The power of prophecy
Millerism proves the impact that prophetic exegesis may have. The calculations of a man whose mind was loaded with historical events and who was able not only to "repeat almost any passage" of Scripture, but also to "name the exact place, book, chapter and verse" proved convincing to thousands.1 Miller must be viewed within the context of historicist exegesis. His interpretations were the logical absolute of popular Biblicism. This gave the revival enormous potential for growth.2
7.2 The nature of Miller's exegesis
The partisan character of books on Millerism has kept many aspects of Miller's exegesis in the dark. It appears that his imagination was even more fertile than has been recognized. In particular Miller played with one idea: the whole Bible is a prophecy. Subsequently he found time-prophecies in all parts of the Scriptures from the Pentateuch all the way to the book of Revelation. Fifteen of these prophecies he called "proofs" of the parousia around 1843.
A description of these various time-prophecies is the primary contribution of this piece of research. Miller counted the time of the Advent from Leviticus 26, the "prophecy of Moses." He found the same length of time also in a typological interpretation of the year of release, the prophecy of Gog and Magog, as well as that of Nebuchadnezzar's madness in Daniel 4. The details were filled up with imaginative use of historical and Biblical data.
One fundamental aspect of prophetic exegesis came from Biblical chronogenealogies. The weekly cycle was turned into a prophecy of the world lasting 6000 years to be followed by the millennial Sabbath. Detailed compositions on chronological detail were part of any Millerite's spiritual diet. There is also another example of a thousand years for a day interpretation in Miller's writings, a pearl lying deep in the waters of prophecy.3 This came from the two days of Hosea 6:1,2 and ,Luke 13:32.
Miller also found a typological interpretation of the second advent in the Jubilee feast. He expected the 50th Jubilee to announce the parousia.
Furthermore there were Miller's better known interpretations of Daniel 7, 8, 9, and 12. These prophecies Miller combined with a chronological application of the number of the Beast and turned them into a complex map of prophetic lines all concluding in 1843.
7.3 The Seventh-month movement
When the target year approached concentration on Daniel 8:14 increased with the result that a polarization took place among the Millerites. The exegesis changed from regular historicism into a combination of typology and historicism. The developments that led to the birth of various Adventist churches, the Seventh-day Adventist church as well as the Watchtower society are related to the attitudes that the various factions within Millerism took to the seventh month exegesis. The specific date provided by Snow 22nd of October 1844, is the real exegetical crux that determined not only the future of the various post-Millerite denominations but also the future of the historicist method.
7.4 New ways of prophetic exegesis
What is important to the history of exegesis as a whole is the fact that the whole historicist method appeared to lose much of its appeal as well as its power to kindle revivals after the great disappointment. Very few wanted to take the risks involved in fresh time setting and identification with Miller. Those who did take the risk found it difficult to arouse interest.
The situation in North America after Miller and in England after Irving and his associates made it easy for John Darby to gain interest in his dispensationalist views. Darby promoted immediatism referred to as the doctrine of the any-moment coming: the invisible secret rapture first, and then, after the literal fulfillment of all unfulfilled prophecies, the final coming of Christ. This expectation of the imminent advent, with no obstacle in the way of Christ's return has proved to be the greatest attraction of dispensationalist theology.4 There is no point in describing further details of the development of historicism or in comparing and contrasting the theories related to these successive conservative methods of prophetic interpretation. It should be noted that the rise of dispensationalism was probably more dependant on the shame of time setting than on clearer logic or more faithful adherence to the intend of the Biblical writers.
7.5 The end and continuation of Millerism
Millerism had come to an end. With it historicism gradually ceased to be the only popular method of interpretation. It was largely replaced by futurism and preterism. Yet one must acknowledge that in fact historicism did not die with Miller. It still lives in a modified and partly renewed form within the groups that have some roots in Millerism. The fact that some of these groups are growing rapidly shows that the method still has vitality. Miller's heritage is twofold. On the one hand he contributed to the end of a dominant system of exegesis, on the other he is regarded as a spiritual father by millions of Christians who have taken some parts of the Millerite exegesis as their raison d'etre. Whether he would be happy to be so regarded is another matter.
Footnotes 1. Anon. "The Honest Editor again" ST Apr 1, 1841. 2. Cross 1965, 320. Because most of Miller's opponents agreed with his method, and because of Miller's Scriptural and historical information the clergy was careful not to approach him but rather fired "their small guns at a distance." Anon. "The Honest Editor again" ST Apr 1, 1841. 3. Miller 18421c, 46. 4. Sandeen 1970, 63f.
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