Back to Seventh-day Adventist Overview Millerism

William Miller, the 1843 and 1844 chronology, the midnight cry, and the Great Disappointment.

Millerism was the American prophetic awakening built on William Miller's conclusion that the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14, understood by the year-day principle, would end about 1843 with the cleansing of the earth and the second coming of Christ. Miller taught from Daniel and Revelation, published his evidence in 1836, and inspired a national movement led by preachers such as Joshua V. Himes. When the expected year passed, Miller's followers moved the date to October 22, 1844, preached the midnight cry from the parable of the ten virgins, and then suffered the Great Disappointment when Christ did not appear.

Millerite ClaimThe Bible's prophetic days are years, and the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14 end with the cleansing of the sanctuary and the second coming of Christ.

Main ReceiptsMiller, Evidence from Scripture and History of the Second Coming of Christ (1836/1840); James White, Life Incidents in Connection with the Great Advent Movement (1868).

Live DisputeCritics rejected Miller's chronology, his interpretation of Daniel 8:14 as applying to the earth, and his expectation of a specific date; after 1844 Adventists themselves divided over what the prophecy meant.

Component Map

6 pieces that have to be kept distinct.

Miller's Conversion and StudyA Baptist farmer in Low Hampton, New York, Miller was converted in 1816 and spent fourteen years studying the Bible, especially Daniel, using a chain-reference method and a large Bible and concordance.

The 2,300 DaysMiller calculated Daniel 8:14's 2,300 days as 2,300 years, beginning in 457 BCE with the decree to restore Jerusalem, and ending about 1843.

The Year-Day PrincipleThe prophetic day equals a literal year, a principle Miller drew from Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6, and applied consistently to the time prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.

Evidence from Scripture and HistoryPublished in 1836 and expanded in 1840, this treatise laid out Miller's fifteen rules of interpretation and his chronological proof that Christ would return about 1843.

The Midnight CryWhen the spring of 1844 passed, Samuel S. Snow and others identified October 22, 1844 as the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement, and the midnight cry of Matthew 25 swept through the movement.

The Great DisappointmentOn October 22, 1844, Christ did not return. Thousands of Millerites were devastated, ridiculed, and scattered; the date became the central problem that Adventists would reinterpret as the beginning of the sanctuary work.

Receipt Trail

Start here before drawing conclusions.

Evidence from Scripture and History (1836/1840)Miller's foundational chronology and fifteen rules of prophetic interpretation.

Life Incidents (1868)James White's first-person account of the midnight cry, the disappointment, and the early Sabbath-keeping work.

Early Writings (1851/1882)Ellen White's early visions, including her later explanation of the 1844 sanctuary movement and the disappointment.