The Apocalyptic Cry is Not New
                        Philip Arnn

The violent events outside Waco, Texas have surprised most people.
David Koresh and his followers are declaring that God's judgement
on this sinful world is imminent. It is imminent because Koresh
claims to be the Lamb of Revelation who has the power to loose
God's judgment. His preaching, he believes, will bring about his
martyrdom and the end of the world. While his beliefs are bizarre,
these apocalyptic predictions are not unique to David Koresh and
his Branch Davidians.

Peter the Hermit in 1095, led one of the first crusades to liberate
the Holy Lands. He believed that his actions, which included the
massacre of a community of Jews in Germany, would usher in the
events of the Book of Revelations.

Joachim of Flor, a Cistercian monk, began an end-time movement
which lasted half a century. He calculated Christ's return in the
year 1260 and that an elite group of priests would arise to convert
the Jews. Followers of the movement believed that the messiah would
reincarnate in the person of a national ruler. When Fredrick II
came to power, he encouraged speculation that he was God's
instrument of deliverance for the Holy Lands and the expected
messiah. He led an army against the Turkish forces which held
Jerusalem. After his victory Fredrick II declared himself King of
Jerusalem. However the movement ended in 1250 with his death.
Thomas Muntzer tried to incite the German people to march against
the Turks in 1524. The defeat of the Turks, who were seen as the
anti-Christ, would bring the millennial kingdom. He was killed in
battle by the German princes.

The parade of end-time prophets and messiahs has marched down
through the ages to the present day. The most famous and certainly
the most influential of these was William Miller.

He was converted to Christianity in 1816 and began an intensive two
year study of the Bible. At the end of his study he had formed this
opinion: "I was thus brought, in 1818, at the close of my two year
study of the Scriptures, to the solemn conclusion, that in about
twenty five years from that time (1818) all the affairs of our
present state would be wound up" (The Prophetic Faith of Our
Fathers, Froom, Vol. IV, p. 463).

Miller began to present his findings publicly in 1831.
Based on Daniel 8-9, Miller counted 2300 years from the time Ezra
was told he could return to Jerusalem to reestablish the Temple.
The date of this event was calculated to be 457 B.C. Thus, 1843
became the date of Christ's return. As the appointed year grew
closer, Miller specified 21 March 1843 to 21 March 1844 as his
predicted climax of the age. After these dates passed, the date was
revised and set as 22 October 1844.

Failure of this event has come to be known as the "great
disappointment." It is estimated that the Millerites, as they came
to be known, numbered nearly 50,000. Miller recorded his personal
disappointment in his memoirs: "Were I to live my life over again,
with the same evidence that I then had, to be honest with God and
man, I should have to do as I have done... I confess my error, and
acknowledge my disappointment..." (Memoirs of William Miller,
Sylvester Bliss, p. 256).

Many Adventists, as they called themselves, left the movement. But
many sought answers to the failure. Hiram Edson, one of Miller's
followers, reported that he had a vision shortly after a prayer
vigil. In his vision he saw Christ enter the heavenly Holy of
Holies to begin purifying the heavenly sanctuary. His conclusion
was that Miller was correct in his date setting but wrong about
where Christ would appear. Christ was to cleanse the sanctuary in
heaven, not on earth.

Another Millerite named Ellen G. White also had visions while in
prayer. Her visions convinced the remaining Adventists that their
movement was God's end-time remnant. She also confirmed Edson's
interpretation because of a vision she had in February 1845. In
time, White was proclaimed a prophetess whose revelations were held
to be equal with scripture.

The question of the proper day of worship was raised by Fredrick
Wheeler and Joseph Bates. Wheeler was challenged by a Seventh day
Baptist to keep Saturday as the Lord's day. Bates, a retired sea
captain, came to the same conclusion after a study of Sabbatarian
material. Ellen G. White confirmed the seventh day sabbath in
another vision. The Seventh Day Adventist Church was a direct
product of the apocalyptic teachings of William Miller. An emphasis
on last days events and the belief in the soon return of Christ are
cornerstones of Adventist theology.

The adoption of the seventh day Sabbath from the Seventh day
Baptist also brought an emphasis on Old Testament law, especially
the Ten Commandments and food laws. The investigative judgement
(see Glossary of Terms) doctrine offered by Hiram Edson added to
the attention of law-keeping.

All of these post-Miller Adventist leaders are important because of
their doctrinal contributions to the original prediction of
Christ's return. They are also important because of their influence
on many non-Christian groups today (see Roots chart elsewhere in
this issue). What had started as a simple end-of-the-world
prediction evolved into a major new denomination with a complete
system of theology.