Welcome to Anchors Of Truth,
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live from the
3ABN Worship Center.
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Indeed, we do welcome you
to the 3ABN Worship Center
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and to night and
presentation number two of,
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A Heritage Worth Remembering.
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Our speaker is the director
of the Ellen White Estate,
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and he is Jim Nix.
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And we are so very, very
pleased to have him with us.
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On last night, we got
an overview of the times
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in which the second
coming movement had its birth.
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And we realized that it was not
just a North American phenomena,
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but a worldwide phenomena.
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So that when God
moves, He doesn't usually
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move in one place.
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He moves
everywhere at the same time.
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And it was really quite
an interesting presentation.
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As one who loves
history, I find this series
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very, very intriguing,
very, very interesting.
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Informative, but also
very, very inspirational.
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And it does make you,
dare I say, humbly proud
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that we come in a line
of people that stretches
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all the way back to the
very beginning of this earth
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of men and women who follow the
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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And we will discover
that again this evening.
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I have with me an artifact
that I want to show you.
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I've had it 20 years this year.
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I got this actually the
very first time I met Jim Nix.
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This is a slate tile from the
roof of William Miller's home.
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Back in 1994, the
church was celebrating the
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150th anniversary
of the 1844 movement,
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and they were refurbishing
the William Miller home
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because the roof
beams were rotting.
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So they had to take
down all the slate tile,
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and they had this
huge pile on the ground.
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And since it was on the ground
and I didn't have to climb up
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to the roof to get it, I figured
the Lord wanted me to have it.
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And actually, they were
trying to get rid of them.
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Because as you
can see, it is broken.
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And many of them were broken,
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in being taken
down they were broken.
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So I wanted my very own
William Miller roof slate tile
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from the original home.
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And so I've had
this, yea, these 20 years
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from a big meeting we had at
the William Miller farm in 1994.
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So I thought I'd bring this out.
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It doesn't get
too much daylight,
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I don't bring it out that much.
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But it's my artifact
from the William Miller home.
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We're going to be talking
about William Miller tonight,
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and a number of
other individuals.
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And I'm, as I've said,
very excited and anxious to hear
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Jim Nix's presentation.
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He has done these
things all over the world.
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And he is a lover of
history and a great speaker
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for the Lord and for our church.
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So without further ado,
we're going to have prayer.
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Then after prayer we will
have music from Celestine Berry,
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Mike will
accompany her on the piano.
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She's going to be
singing, The Warrior Is A Child.
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And then after she shall
have sung, the next voice that
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you will hear will be that
of our friend, Pastor Jim Nix.
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Shall we pray.
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Gracious Father, we praise You
and thank You so very, very much
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for Your Word, and we
thank You that we can look back
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and see the
evidences of Your guiding power
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in the establishment of
this church, and we can see a
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remnant line of
faithful soldiers of Christ
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stretching all the
way back to faithful Adam.
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And so, Father, now as we
take a look at our church,
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its formation, those who
built the foundation blocks
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that became the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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the forerunners of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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may we rededicate
ourselves to go forward in faith
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as we look back and
see Your guiding hand
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in our past history.
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For truly, we have
nothing to fear for the future
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except that we shall forget
the Lord's leading in our past.
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Help us, Lord, always
to remember that we are
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never alone, but
that God is by our side.
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And if we would but follow Him,
He will lead us safely home.
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Bless now our
speaker this night.
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Give him words that
shall be of inspiration
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and information for us.
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Help us to be hearers of
the Word and doers thereof.
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And we thank You, dear
Father, in Jesus' name, amen.
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Mike and Celestine.
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Lately I've been
winning battles left and right,
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but even winners can
get wounded in the fight.
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People say that I'm amazing
and strong beyond my years,
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but they don't see inside of me;
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I'm hiding all the tears.
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They don't know that I come
running home when I fall down.
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They don't know who picks
me up when no one is around.
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I drop my sword and
cry for just a while;
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because deep inside this armor
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the warrior is a child.
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Unafraid because
His armor is the best,
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but even soldiers
need a quiet place to rest.
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People say that I'm
amazing, I never face retreat;
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but they don't see the
enemies that lay me at His feet.
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They don't know that I go
running home when I fall down.
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They don't know who picks
me up when no one is around.
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I drop my sword and
cry for just a while;
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because deep inside this armor
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the warrior is a child.
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They don't know that I come
running home when I fall down.
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They don't know who picks
me up when no one is around.
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I drop my sword and
look up for a smile;
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because deep inside this armor,
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deep inside this armor,
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deep inside this armor
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the warrior is a child.
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Good evening.
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Glad to see some
people back tonight to listen
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to a little more history.
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Always amazes me.
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History is usually not the
most popular class in school,
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so I'm always
surprised when people show up
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to listen to history.
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Anyway, we're
going to talk tonight,
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as has already been
announced, about William Miller.
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We're not going to do, like
last night, we're not going to
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talk about his theology.
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Others will discuss that.
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We're going to talk
about him as a person,
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what kind of a person was he,
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and see if we can share a
few things, insights about him
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that maybe you
don't know or remind you
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if you've already
heard them before.
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I want to start
by reading a text.
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This is a text that
William Miller marked
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in one of his preaching Bibles.
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It's Psalm 69 verses 3 to 5.
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You probably thought I was
going to turn to Daniel 8:14.
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But it's Psalm 69 verses 3 to 5.
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"I am weary of my
crying; my throat is dried;
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mine eyes fail
while I wait for my God.
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They that hate me without
a cause are more than the
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hairs of mine head.
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They that would
destroy me, being mine enemies
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wrongfully, are mighty.
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Then I restored that
which I took not away.
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O God, thou
knowest my foolishness;
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and my sins are
not hid from thee."
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Why in the world would Miller,
of all people, the person that
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we trace historically
the "Adventist" part of our
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church name, Seventh-day
Adventist, back to Miller,
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why would he
mark a text like that?
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Well as I said, let's try to
unpack a little bit of the story
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and maybe you'll
better understand what he was
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thinking when he
marked that particular text.
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He was born February 15, 1782
in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
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His father, who was
also named William Miller,
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was a veteran of
the American Revolution.
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And so from his father he
learned the kind of things
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that you would expect
a child to learn that was
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the son of a patriot; duty,
honor of country, patriotism.
00:11:05.58\00:11:09.66
Those kind of things.
00:11:09.69\00:11:10.77
His mother was named, her
name was Paulina Phelps Miller.
00:11:10.85\00:11:14.72
She was the daughter
of a Baptist minister.
00:11:14.75\00:11:17.74
So from his mother he
learned the kind of things
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that you would expect a devout
Christian to teach her children.
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And that is love of
God, the value of prayer,
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spiritual values;
those kinds of things.
00:11:27.83\00:11:30.21
And there were actually
sixteen children in the family.
00:11:30.66\00:11:35.54
Miller, our Miller,
William Miller, was the oldest
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of the sixteen.
00:11:38.46\00:11:39.68
They were not all born
down in Massachusetts, though,
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because when our William Miller,
the one that we're talking about
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this evening, was
just four years of age,
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they moved, the family
moved from Massachusetts
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up to a little place
called, Low Hampton, New York.
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There is no such place
now as Low Hampton, New York.
00:11:53.10\00:11:56.08
It was a little community
back there in the mid 1780's.
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But today, it is
only in the history books,
00:12:01.13\00:12:03.72
or the archives,
the county records,
00:12:03.75\00:12:05.54
those kinds of places.
00:12:05.57\00:12:06.87
And there Miller grew up.
00:12:07.13\00:12:09.06
It was very
isolated. It's still isolated.
00:12:09.18\00:12:11.58
If you go to the Miller home,
which is open to the public
00:12:11.61\00:12:15.02
as a museum, if you go
to William Miller's home,
00:12:15.05\00:12:17.41
you'll see it's still isolated
all these many years later.
00:12:17.44\00:12:20.25
But not quite as
isolated as back then.
00:12:20.35\00:12:22.52
So he's growing up
there, he's a farm kid.
00:12:22.72\00:12:24.76
His father owned some land.
00:12:24.79\00:12:26.25
Or at least trying to buy.
00:12:26.28\00:12:27.44
He never did get
the mortgage paid off,
00:12:27.47\00:12:29.13
but he was trying
to acquire some land.
00:12:29.16\00:12:31.51
And Miller grows up, and there
was not much of an opportunity
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to get an
education in those days.
00:12:36.69\00:12:38.84
I mean, in the late fall or
early winter a school teacher
00:12:38.94\00:12:43.52
would come around maybe for
five or six months at the most,
00:12:43.55\00:12:46.94
four or five was
probably more apt,
00:12:46.97\00:12:49.13
and would try to teach the
kids together a little bit about
00:12:49.16\00:12:51.97
reading, writing, and
arithmetic, as they say.
00:12:52.00\00:12:54.30
And that was about it.
00:12:54.33\00:12:55.81
But Miller, Bill Miller as
he was known as a young man,
00:12:56.03\00:12:58.93
Bill Miller wanted more.
00:12:59.03\00:13:00.69
He was not happy,
he was not satisfied,
00:13:00.72\00:13:03.28
with the limited
education that he was getting
00:13:03.38\00:13:06.35
from those
country school teachers
00:13:06.38\00:13:08.38
that came through
every year and held classes.
00:13:08.41\00:13:11.23
And so as he got a little
bit older he would borrow books.
00:13:11.26\00:13:14.16
He would go to the local
lawyer or to a physician,
00:13:14.26\00:13:17.80
someone that had maybe
more books than what they had
00:13:17.83\00:13:20.27
in the Miller family,
and he would borrow them.
00:13:20.30\00:13:22.41
Now the Miller family, we're
told, they had three books;
00:13:22.44\00:13:25.31
they had a Bible, they had a
hymn book, and a prayer book.
00:13:25.51\00:13:29.20
And Bill Miller had devoured
those and still wanted more.
00:13:29.44\00:13:33.63
So that's why he
would go borrow books.
00:13:33.66\00:13:35.94
And like Abraham Lincoln
did a decade or two later,
00:13:35.97\00:13:39.94
why, at night after
the family had gone to bed,
00:13:40.14\00:13:42.97
Bill would get
back up, go downstairs,
00:13:43.13\00:13:46.45
light a fire, and by
the light of the pine knots,
00:13:46.70\00:13:49.83
the glow of the pine
knots, he would read more,
00:13:49.86\00:13:53.48
trying to just become
a little more educated.
00:13:53.51\00:13:57.03
His father apparently
didn't have a lot of interest
00:13:57.06\00:13:58.93
in education, but one night,
not realizing that his son
00:13:58.96\00:14:01.85
did this, he woke
up and he saw the glow.
00:14:01.88\00:14:04.70
He thought the
house was on fire.
00:14:04.73\00:14:06.14
And he later found out
it was just his firstborn
00:14:06.34\00:14:08.65
trying to get an education.
00:14:08.85\00:14:10.75
Now I'm sure you're not going
to believe what I'm going to
00:14:11.18\00:14:13.13
tell you next, but
when he was a late teenager,
00:14:13.16\00:14:17.25
in the late 1700's, he
went about 8 or 10 miles
00:14:17.28\00:14:22.31
east of where they lived to a
place called Poultney, Vermont.
00:14:22.34\00:14:26.57
As far as I know, he went over
there to work in the summer.
00:14:26.86\00:14:29.05
And while he was
over there, guess what.
00:14:29.08\00:14:32.42
He met a young lady.
00:14:32.45\00:14:34.24
Now this is a part of the story
I know you'll never believe.
00:14:34.27\00:14:36.90
But from then on, Bill
could find more excuses
00:14:36.93\00:14:40.83
to get over to
Poultney to be in the company
00:14:40.86\00:14:43.49
of this young lady
whose name was Lucy Smith.
00:14:43.52\00:14:47.90
And so he's there
and he's courting Lucy.
00:14:48.21\00:14:51.32
And finally in 1803,
June 29, Lucy P. Smith becomes
00:14:51.35\00:14:56.93
Lucy P. Miller.
00:14:56.96\00:14:58.54
And now Miller moves
over to Poultney himself.
00:14:58.57\00:15:01.98
And unfortunately, we
don't know where they lived
00:15:02.01\00:15:04.08
because there was a
fire a number of years ago
00:15:04.11\00:15:05.90
that burned all
the property records.
00:15:05.93\00:15:07.52
But we do know
that the newlyweds
00:15:07.55\00:15:10.05
lived over there in Poultney.
00:15:10.08\00:15:11.48
Now Miller must have...
00:15:11.51\00:15:13.91
And this is not
good Adventist theology,
00:15:13.94\00:15:15.88
but I'm going to
put it this way anyway.
00:15:15.91\00:15:17.74
When he arrived in
Poultney, he must have thought
00:15:17.77\00:15:21.33
he had died and
gone straight to heaven.
00:15:21.36\00:15:23.66
Now why do I say that?
00:15:23.88\00:15:25.25
Well according to one
history book I was looking at,
00:15:25.28\00:15:27.22
Poultney was the first village
in the entire state of Vermont
00:15:27.42\00:15:31.75
to have a free public library.
00:15:31.97\00:15:33.93
He didn't have to go borrow
books any more from the lawyer,
00:15:34.60\00:15:37.93
or the teacher, or
the physician, or whoever.
00:15:37.96\00:15:40.45
He could go to
the public library.
00:15:40.48\00:15:42.09
And his new bride
realized that she had married
00:15:42.12\00:15:45.80
this farm kid, and so she
thought, "Well if I let him
00:15:45.83\00:15:50.23
go and I let him read,
he will become refined.
00:15:50.26\00:15:55.06
And if he becomes refined,
he will make a better husband
00:15:55.69\00:15:59.35
and father to any
children that we might have."
00:15:59.38\00:16:02.52
And eventually they
did have ten children.
00:16:02.55\00:16:04.61
Eight of them grew
up, two died young.
00:16:04.88\00:16:07.07
And so he's there reading.
00:16:07.41\00:16:09.49
And he is also...
00:16:09.79\00:16:11.30
I don't want you to think he
did nothing besides just read.
00:16:11.33\00:16:13.70
No, no, no, no.
00:16:13.73\00:16:14.76
He was an up and coming
young man in that community.
00:16:14.79\00:16:17.83
We know that, for instance,
he became a deputy sheriff.
00:16:17.93\00:16:20.91
In 1810 when they
took the federal census,
00:16:21.16\00:16:24.03
he was the census
taker for Poultney.
00:16:24.23\00:16:27.38
He was also a tax
collector for a while.
00:16:27.41\00:16:31.01
He was a good tax collector.
00:16:31.47\00:16:33.28
That may sound like
an oxymoron, but anyway
00:16:33.49\00:16:35.47
he was a good tax collector.
00:16:35.50\00:16:37.06
We'll come back
to that in a minute.
00:16:37.09\00:16:38.33
Anyway, he's there.
00:16:38.43\00:16:39.46
He also had something else
that's kind of interesting.
00:16:39.49\00:16:41.53
He earned a nickname.
00:16:41.56\00:16:43.58
Scribbler General.
00:16:43.85\00:16:45.73
Now what in the world?
00:16:45.95\00:16:47.05
What did he do to get the
nickname, Scribbler General?
00:16:47.08\00:16:49.83
Well now remember,
he is more educated,
00:16:49.93\00:16:52.33
primarily self
educated, he's more educated
00:16:52.70\00:16:55.26
than most of the guys
that lived there in Poultney.
00:16:55.29\00:16:57.90
So when some young man
would see some lovely young lady
00:16:58.01\00:17:02.31
that he wanted to
impress, but he had no idea
00:17:02.34\00:17:05.47
how to go about saying
all the wonderful things
00:17:05.50\00:17:08.25
that he wanted to say to
the young lady to impress her,
00:17:08.28\00:17:10.61
he would come to Bill Miller.
00:17:10.71\00:17:12.52
And he would describe
all the attributes of this
00:17:12.93\00:17:15.34
wonderful young
lady, and then Bill Miller
00:17:15.44\00:17:18.52
would write these flowery
love letters for the guys
00:17:18.55\00:17:21.86
to give to their girlfriends.
00:17:21.89\00:17:23.63
Or the ones who wanted to
have the girlfriends, at least.
00:17:23.66\00:17:26.23
And so he got the
nickname of Scribbler General
00:17:26.26\00:17:29.46
because of all the love
letters he wrote for these guys
00:17:30.40\00:17:32.75
who couldn't express
themselves as they wanted to.
00:17:32.78\00:17:35.09
My point is, he is an
up and coming young man.
00:17:35.26\00:17:37.95
As an up and coming
young citizen of that town,
00:17:38.05\00:17:40.68
he also joined
the deist society.
00:17:40.71\00:17:43.94
Deists were these people,
a very popular philosophy,
00:17:44.16\00:17:47.13
that many, many,
who knows how long ago,
00:17:47.23\00:17:49.97
somewhere in
the dim distant past
00:17:50.00\00:17:51.52
God created the universe.
00:17:51.55\00:17:53.25
And when He created
it, created the earth,
00:17:53.46\00:17:56.26
it was sort of like
winding up an old fashion clock.
00:17:56.29\00:17:58.57
And He wound it
up and set it going,
00:17:58.77\00:18:00.46
and let it tick,
tick, tick, tick away.
00:18:00.49\00:18:01.82
He never came back.
Had no interest in us.
00:18:01.85\00:18:03.86
And so Miller, this is the
popular philosophy of the day.
00:18:03.89\00:18:07.96
He joins the debating
society, the deist society,
00:18:07.99\00:18:10.77
there in Poultney.
00:18:10.80\00:18:11.83
In fact, if you go to Poultney
today, the local historical
00:18:11.86\00:18:14.86
society has restored what
is called the Union Academy.
00:18:14.89\00:18:18.48
It was a school building.
00:18:18.76\00:18:19.79
Downstairs they had the school,
00:18:19.82\00:18:21.26
upstairs they
had a big open room.
00:18:21.36\00:18:23.79
You can go in that room
if you make arrangements
00:18:23.82\00:18:25.77
with the historical society.
00:18:25.80\00:18:27.19
And you can see where
the deists use to meet.
00:18:27.22\00:18:29.23
And there, they would
talk about all this philosophy.
00:18:29.33\00:18:31.95
He had been reading, Miller had
also been reading the writings
00:18:31.98\00:18:35.02
of Voltaire, and
Hume, and Thomas Paine;
00:18:35.05\00:18:37.46
these skeptics, these deists.
00:18:37.49\00:18:39.42
And now he's sharing all of
this, what he's been reading,
00:18:39.52\00:18:42.64
there going back
and forth talking.
00:18:42.67\00:18:44.40
But sometimes they
would really get Miller going.
00:18:44.43\00:18:47.75
And he would begin to mimic
the piety of his grandfather
00:18:47.78\00:18:51.34
who was a Baptist minister,
of his mother who was a
00:18:51.37\00:18:53.86
pious Baptist, of his
wife who was a pious Baptist.
00:18:53.89\00:18:57.04
He loved to mimic their piety.
00:18:57.19\00:19:00.04
And of course, all
these deists would sit and
00:19:00.07\00:19:02.15
laugh and laugh and laugh.
00:19:02.18\00:19:03.56
And the more he
mimicked, the more they laughed.
00:19:03.65\00:19:05.21
And he had no idea
that all of this scorn
00:19:05.24\00:19:09.47
that he was heaping in
absentia on his pious relatives
00:19:09.73\00:19:13.85
would come back many
times over in the future.
00:19:14.13\00:19:17.73
Now Miller's mother was, of
course, concerned about her son.
00:19:18.26\00:19:22.20
And so was his wife.
00:19:22.46\00:19:23.74
They could see
what was happening.
00:19:23.77\00:19:25.30
And she went to
talk to her father.
00:19:25.71\00:19:27.64
And her father said,
"The Lord has a work.
00:19:27.67\00:19:29.37
Just be patient.
00:19:29.40\00:19:30.45
The Lord has a work for Miller."
00:19:30.55\00:19:33.14
And so she was.
00:19:33.57\00:19:35.16
So there he is in the town,
an up and coming young man.
00:19:35.19\00:19:39.18
And the United States gets into
what we call, the war of 1812.
00:19:39.28\00:19:42.75
Sometimes referred
to as the second war
00:19:42.78\00:19:45.02
of American independence.
00:19:45.05\00:19:46.40
The president called for
men to come and defend the honor
00:19:46.43\00:19:51.15
of the United States.
00:19:51.18\00:19:52.49
Now guess what.
00:19:52.74\00:19:53.84
Here is the son of a
revolutionary war veteran.
00:19:53.87\00:19:57.26
And the country
needs to be defended.
00:19:57.57\00:20:00.64
And so what does he
do? Obviously he signs up.
00:20:00.97\00:20:03.70
Now I mentioned a
couple of minutes ago
00:20:03.73\00:20:05.17
that he was a
good tax collector.
00:20:05.39\00:20:07.79
Now here's why I'm saying
he was a good tax collector.
00:20:07.99\00:20:11.78
Forty-seven men,
forty-seven citizens,
00:20:12.45\00:20:15.78
in that little town of Poultney
signed up to go off to war
00:20:16.12\00:20:22.53
on one condition.
00:20:22.56\00:20:24.08
That William Miller be
appointed their officer.
00:20:24.55\00:20:27.45
Now I ask you, those
that are watching also,
00:20:28.38\00:20:31.92
how many today would go defend
the honor of the United States,
00:20:31.95\00:20:35.87
or your home country, but go
defend the honor of your country
00:20:35.90\00:20:38.63
on one condition; that your
tax agent was made your officer?
00:20:38.66\00:20:45.29
So he had to be a fair tax
collector to get that kind of
00:20:45.32\00:20:48.70
response from the citizens.
00:20:48.73\00:20:50.73
Now in the war of 1812,
Miller himself was not involved
00:20:50.83\00:20:54.31
in any battles except for one.
00:20:54.34\00:20:57.19
And we're trying,
like we did last night,
00:20:57.29\00:20:58.92
to look to see how God moves
in the lives of these people,
00:20:58.95\00:21:02.65
tonight it's Miller, how
God moves in the lives of these
00:21:02.75\00:21:06.41
people to get them
where He wants them to be
00:21:06.44\00:21:08.96
so He can use them to His glory.
00:21:09.06\00:21:11.37
And Miller, as I say,
was not in any battles,
00:21:11.59\00:21:14.80
he did mostly
recruiting, except for one.
00:21:14.83\00:21:18.18
And it was at the
end of the war of 1812,
00:21:18.38\00:21:21.46
and it was a crucial battle.
00:21:21.49\00:21:23.85
The Battle of Plattsburgh.
00:21:23.88\00:21:25.73
Now Plattsburgh; there's
a long finger lake called,
00:21:25.93\00:21:28.77
Lake Champlain, that comes from
Canada, the Canadian border,
00:21:28.80\00:21:31.35
clear down to
Whitehall, New York.
00:21:31.38\00:21:33.42
It's a long skinny lake.
00:21:33.45\00:21:35.35
And on the west side of
that, up not too far south
00:21:35.38\00:21:38.44
of the Canadian
border, was Plattsburgh.
00:21:38.47\00:21:40.81
And Miller is
stationed up there.
00:21:41.21\00:21:43.29
And apparently had a
little agreement with his wife
00:21:43.51\00:21:45.85
about letter writing.
00:21:45.88\00:21:47.14
Now remember, there
was no texting or email,
00:21:47.17\00:21:49.81
or anything in those days.
00:21:49.84\00:21:51.10
So it's old fashion
hand written letters.
00:21:51.13\00:21:54.76
And apparently Lucy
was not producing letters
00:21:54.79\00:21:57.81
quite as rapidly as
her husband thought.
00:21:58.01\00:22:02.15
And so he wrote to her
from up there in Plattsburgh,
00:22:02.18\00:22:04.72
and he said, "Dear Lucy,
have you departed this life?
00:22:04.75\00:22:08.98
Or are you so engaged that you
cannot devote one hour in a week
00:22:09.44\00:22:12.91
to your humble servant?
00:22:12.94\00:22:14.13
The following are the words you
wrote me not long since, to wit;
00:22:14.98\00:22:17.97
quote, 'If I am alive, I
shall write to you weekly,
00:22:18.00\00:22:21.81
and put a letter into the post
office every Monday morning.'
00:22:21.84\00:22:25.63
Ever since Wednesday noon, I
have been dressed in mourning.
00:22:26.46\00:22:30.79
Shall I ever see my Lucy again?
00:22:31.62\00:22:33.53
I have often exclaimed, 'Ah, no.
00:22:33.81\00:22:35.43
She could not
tell me a falsehood.
00:22:35.63\00:22:37.49
She must be dead.'
00:22:37.89\00:22:39.36
What can I write
to her if she's gone?
00:22:39.58\00:22:42.09
I cannot write
anything; she cannot hear me.
00:22:42.36\00:22:45.04
I can only write to my children,
into whose hands I hope
00:22:45.35\00:22:48.70
this letter will fall.
00:22:48.73\00:22:49.92
Dear children, you
have lost your mother;
00:22:50.77\00:22:53.69
and but a little while,
your father must follow."
00:22:53.95\00:22:56.36
Etcetera,
etcetera. You get the idea.
00:22:56.39\00:22:57.42
He's using a little
humor to get the letter started
00:22:57.45\00:22:59.51
with his wife once again.
00:22:59.54\00:23:00.90
Which apparently they did.
00:23:00.93\00:23:02.05
Anyway, he's up
there at Plattsburgh.
00:23:02.08\00:23:03.77
And as I say, it's
one of the crucial,
00:23:03.80\00:23:06.15
it is, I guess, one of the
most crucial battles in the war.
00:23:06.18\00:23:09.44
Because once the
word got to Europe,
00:23:09.47\00:23:12.39
they went ahead and signed
the peace treaty over there
00:23:12.55\00:23:14.32
and ended the war.
00:23:14.35\00:23:15.38
Now remember, it
took several weeks for
00:23:15.41\00:23:16.72
the news to get over there.
00:23:16.75\00:23:17.84
But in essence, what
happened was that the Americans
00:23:17.90\00:23:21.27
were outnumbered at that battle
00:23:21.37\00:23:23.23
fifty-five hundred
to fifteen thousand.
00:23:23.33\00:23:25.90
Now you don't have to be a
rational logical thinking deist
00:23:26.00\00:23:28.58
even to think, to know
that with those kind of odds;
00:23:28.61\00:23:31.57
5500 on our side, and the scouts
tell us that were sent out
00:23:31.67\00:23:35.40
to find out what we're up
against, there's about 15000
00:23:35.43\00:23:38.00
British troops,
who's going to win?
00:23:38.22\00:23:40.46
Obviously, the
British are going to win.
00:23:40.82\00:23:43.10
And Miller goes into
the battle of Plattsburgh.
00:23:43.32\00:23:45.11
He writes to a friend of
his just a day or two before
00:23:45.14\00:23:48.82
the battle, and he all
but says, "I know I'm going to
00:23:48.85\00:23:52.82
die in this thing.
00:23:52.85\00:23:53.99
But I'm going to, you
know, I'm going to be honorable.
00:23:54.02\00:23:56.25
I'm going to do
what's expected of me.
00:23:56.28\00:23:58.30
I'm going to defend
the honor of the country."
00:23:58.33\00:24:00.14
And then comes the battle.
00:24:00.17\00:24:01.49
And it was a land battle,
and also the British Navy
00:24:01.73\00:24:05.48
was all in full force.
00:24:05.51\00:24:06.64
Well, those Navy's back
then, kind of little tiny lakes.
00:24:06.67\00:24:08.99
You know, there not like today.
00:24:09.19\00:24:11.10
But anyway, a few little
ships came down from Canada.
00:24:11.13\00:24:15.22
And the
Americans had a few ships.
00:24:15.45\00:24:16.99
And to make a long story short,
after the 3 or 4 hour battle
00:24:17.02\00:24:21.21
was finished, those
British ships that had not found
00:24:21.24\00:24:24.56
their way to the
bottom of Lake Champlain
00:24:24.59\00:24:26.85
they crippled, you
know, what was left of them,
00:24:27.44\00:24:29.72
they tried to make
their way back up to Canada.
00:24:29.75\00:24:32.10
And again, telling the
story from Miller's side,
00:24:32.45\00:24:34.90
he is so excited.
00:24:34.93\00:24:36.63
He cannot believe that
the Americans have won.
00:24:36.83\00:24:39.88
And he writes to the same
friend that he had written to
00:24:40.09\00:24:42.80
a few days before
thinking he was going to die.
00:24:42.83\00:24:44.91
Now he's writing,
"Huzzah, huzzah, I'm a man.
00:24:44.94\00:24:46.97
I've learned I can fight."
00:24:47.00\00:24:48.20
So he's all, you know,
he's really excited about this.
00:24:48.23\00:24:51.34
Now why I say, not only
did this battle convince
00:24:51.37\00:24:55.86
those that were
negotiating an end to the war
00:24:55.89\00:24:58.07
over in Europe to finally
sign off the peace treaty
00:24:58.10\00:25:01.06
so the war could end.
00:25:01.09\00:25:02.21
But again, according to one
source that I was looking at,
00:25:02.55\00:25:06.13
of all the battles the
Unites States has ever been in
00:25:07.87\00:25:10.03
in its entire history,
there is only one battle
00:25:11.02\00:25:14.32
where the commanding officer,
when he filed his initial report
00:25:14.74\00:25:18.83
with his superiors, gave
all credit for the victory
00:25:18.86\00:25:22.90
to the Almighty.
00:25:22.93\00:25:24.22
There was no
reason, humanly speaking,
00:25:24.75\00:25:28.07
anyone could conceive
why the Americans won.
00:25:28.10\00:25:32.18
This is the
battle that Miller is in.
00:25:32.42\00:25:34.91
Now of course,
he's still a deist.
00:25:34.95\00:25:36.06
He's not thinking about
any kind of spiritual things.
00:25:36.09\00:25:38.50
He's not having any
impact on his thinking yet.
00:25:38.53\00:25:41.07
He is just, as I said,
caught up in the euphoria of,
00:25:41.10\00:25:44.21
"The Americans have won!
00:25:44.24\00:25:45.44
The Americans have won!"
00:25:45.82\00:25:46.91
He's discharged from the army.
00:25:46.94\00:25:48.44
By the way, the
battle was September 11th.
00:25:48.47\00:25:51.58
That should be a
date you can remember.
00:25:51.61\00:25:52.97
September 11th, 1814.
00:25:53.00\00:25:54.77
He is discharged from
the army the next year.
00:25:54.80\00:25:57.12
He goes back
home, he builds a house.
00:25:57.15\00:25:59.65
An old, we have an
old woodcut of the house
00:26:00.59\00:26:03.17
that he built.
00:26:03.20\00:26:04.35
And that's where he moved
his family, was into the house,
00:26:04.56\00:26:07.48
now near where
his mother was living.
00:26:07.51\00:26:10.00
Because his father had
died while he was in the army.
00:26:10.03\00:26:12.61
And so, now his father
never paid off the mortgage.
00:26:12.64\00:26:15.72
So Miller pays off the mortgage,
gives the other house to her,
00:26:15.75\00:26:18.91
and he builds the
house that is still standing.
00:26:18.94\00:26:21.48
It doesn't look
quite like this today.
00:26:21.51\00:26:22.78
This is the way it
looked back in Miller's time.
00:26:22.81\00:26:25.46
But he builds that house.
00:26:25.72\00:26:27.21
And he begins to settle in.
00:26:27.24\00:26:28.72
He becomes the
justice of the peace.
00:26:29.22\00:26:30.98
Again, like over in
Poultney, he is respected.
00:26:31.18\00:26:33.56
Now he's living in Low Hampton,
but he's a respected person
00:26:33.59\00:26:36.68
in that community.
00:26:36.71\00:26:37.89
But some thoughts are beginning
to go through his mind,
00:26:38.12\00:26:40.45
and during the next year or two.
00:26:40.48\00:26:42.39
He's thinking to himself,
"Why, why did the Americans win?
00:26:42.84\00:26:48.17
There's no reason the
Americans should have won.
00:26:48.69\00:26:50.74
Could it possibly
be that there is a God
00:26:51.13\00:26:54.50
who takes an interest
in the affairs of nations?"
00:26:54.53\00:26:57.95
And something else that I forgot
to mention to you was that
00:26:58.16\00:27:00.59
during the battle, while
he was in the thick of it all
00:27:00.67\00:27:04.07
that September 11th
day, why, a cannon ball
00:27:04.10\00:27:07.43
came and landed about a meter,
three feet, from where he was,
00:27:07.46\00:27:11.65
exploded, and
Miller wasn't even touched.
00:27:11.68\00:27:14.64
And he's beginning to
think, "Oh, so could it be...
00:27:14.90\00:27:17.25
Now a deist wouldn't
think like this, but could it be
00:27:18.16\00:27:20.83
that there is a God out there
that actually protects us?"
00:27:21.35\00:27:25.67
And so these
thoughts are beginning
00:27:26.25\00:27:27.88
to go through his mind.
00:27:28.08\00:27:29.11
He still hasn't
become a Christian.
00:27:29.14\00:27:31.21
But the Holy Spirit, you can see
when you read his life story,
00:27:31.37\00:27:34.04
is beginning to work on him.
00:27:34.07\00:27:36.49
And another
thing that bothered him
00:27:36.69\00:27:38.39
was that a deist does
not believe in any afterlife.
00:27:38.42\00:27:41.77
So as he described it,
"Is there no more to life
00:27:42.31\00:27:45.97
than just a taper?"
00:27:46.00\00:27:47.30
Or we would today say, a candle.
00:27:47.33\00:27:49.07
You know how a candle just will
burn down, down, down, down.
00:27:49.10\00:27:52.16
And finally, there'd be one last
puff of smoke, and that's it.
00:27:52.36\00:27:55.87
Is there nothing
more to life than a taper?
00:27:56.51\00:27:59.11
To use the old term.
00:27:59.14\00:28:00.43
And he said, "Annihilation
was a cold and chilling thought.
00:28:00.67\00:28:04.00
The heavens were
as brass over my head,
00:28:04.03\00:28:06.40
and the earth as
iron under my feet.
00:28:06.43\00:28:08.42
Eternity; what was it?
00:28:08.45\00:28:10.03
Death; why was it?"
00:28:10.06\00:28:11.66
These kinds of thoughts
are going through his mind
00:28:11.69\00:28:15.02
as the Holy
Spirit is working on him.
00:28:15.05\00:28:17.98
Now down the road
from where Miller lived...
00:28:18.44\00:28:21.02
If you kind of imagine, Miller's
mother is on a corner up here.
00:28:21.05\00:28:25.29
And she's in the house
that Miller had grown up in.
00:28:25.39\00:28:27.34
And he'd paid it off and given
it to her after his father died.
00:28:27.37\00:28:30.08
He builds a house
half a mile or so down the
00:28:30.11\00:28:32.23
same side of the road.
00:28:32.26\00:28:33.34
And you go down another
quarter of a mile or so,
00:28:33.37\00:28:34.95
across the road, there
was a little Baptist church.
00:28:34.98\00:28:37.52
Now because it was
the proper thing to do,
00:28:37.72\00:28:39.93
Miller would go
to church on Sunday.
00:28:40.04\00:28:41.98
He didn't believe it, but
that's where you got business.
00:28:42.01\00:28:44.80
And that's, you know.
00:28:44.83\00:28:45.86
Religion, as far as he
was concerned at this point
00:28:45.89\00:28:48.47
in his life, "Religion was
good for women and children,
00:28:48.50\00:28:51.32
and all that, but not a
sophisticated man like me.
00:28:51.35\00:28:54.17
No, so. No, no, no."
00:28:54.44\00:28:55.66
So he would go to
church some Sundays,
00:28:55.69\00:28:57.84
but other Sundays he didn't go.
00:28:57.87\00:28:59.45
Now the pastor of that
church was his father's brother,
00:28:59.64\00:29:03.33
Elihu Miller.
00:29:03.36\00:29:04.75
Uncle Elihu.
00:29:04.95\00:29:06.32
And so he's pastoring
the little Baptist church.
00:29:06.63\00:29:10.12
And the mother is
down here on the corner,
00:29:10.32\00:29:12.07
and she notices that some
Sundays her son is in church
00:29:12.10\00:29:15.59
and some Sundays
he's not in church.
00:29:15.62\00:29:17.62
And she can't quite
get it all figured out
00:29:17.65\00:29:19.62
as to what's going on.
00:29:19.65\00:29:20.71
So one day she asked
him, she said, "Why is it that
00:29:20.74\00:29:23.86
some Sundays you go to church,
and some Sundays you stay home?
00:29:23.89\00:29:27.66
What's going on?"
00:29:27.95\00:29:29.01
Well it so happened
that Uncle Elihu Miller
00:29:29.23\00:29:32.30
was a circuit riding preacher.
00:29:32.33\00:29:33.87
In other words, he
had several churches
00:29:33.90\00:29:35.81
that he was responsible for.
00:29:35.84\00:29:37.58
And when he was not
there in that little church
00:29:38.23\00:29:41.17
in Low Hampton, why, they
had sets of books of sermons.
00:29:41.20\00:29:44.84
And one of the
deacons would select a sermon,
00:29:45.13\00:29:48.07
and then one of these farmer
types would get up and read.
00:29:48.10\00:29:50.91
And they were not
use to public speaking,
00:29:51.12\00:29:53.47
and they'd, "Uh, uh, uh, uh."
00:29:53.50\00:29:54.58
And Miller couldn't stand it.
00:29:54.61\00:29:55.97
So he told his mother,
"When Uncle Elihu is there,
00:29:56.07\00:29:58.96
I always go to church.
00:29:58.99\00:30:00.62
But when he's not
there, I stay home."
00:30:01.11\00:30:05.20
And then he added, "Now
if when Uncle Elihu was away
00:30:05.92\00:30:10.70
they invited me
to read the sermon,
00:30:10.73\00:30:13.59
I'd always be present."
00:30:13.93\00:30:15.41
Now any mother that's
worth her salt, as we would say,
00:30:16.42\00:30:20.14
what is she going to
make certain happens?
00:30:20.17\00:30:21.92
Whenever her
brother-in-law is called away,
00:30:21.95\00:30:24.71
guess who is going to be
invited to read the sermon.
00:30:24.74\00:30:27.57
He didn't have to select
it, the deacons could select it,
00:30:27.60\00:30:30.94
but he was asked to read it.
00:30:30.97\00:30:32.94
And that's how he
happened to be in church
00:30:32.97\00:30:35.09
on the Sunday closest
to the second anniversary
00:30:35.12\00:30:38.27
of the battle of Plattsburgh.
00:30:38.30\00:30:39.97
It was a very patriotic time.
00:30:40.00\00:30:41.64
There had been
speeches given, and all that,
00:30:41.84\00:30:43.68
on the weekend,
during the weekend.
00:30:43.71\00:30:45.88
And now on Sunday he's there,
and he is reading a sermon
00:30:45.91\00:30:50.20
written by a man
named Alexander Proudfit.
00:30:50.30\00:30:53.95
Now the sermon is one
that's about duty of parents
00:30:53.98\00:30:57.85
to their children, how we
should raise our children.
00:30:57.88\00:31:00.10
Believe me, they raised
children a little differently,
00:31:00.13\00:31:02.16
especially with discipline
and things, back in those days
00:31:02.19\00:31:04.40
than what they do today.
00:31:04.43\00:31:05.76
But anyway, he was
reading this sermon.
00:31:05.79\00:31:08.22
And it's interesting
what happened to him.
00:31:08.38\00:31:11.41
He himself tells us that
partway through the sermon,
00:31:11.44\00:31:15.04
he broke down and began to weep.
00:31:15.14\00:31:18.00
He could not finish the sermon.
00:31:18.32\00:31:20.13
And he had to go sit down.
00:31:20.40\00:31:22.20
And my guess is, he handed
the book to one of those people
00:31:22.30\00:31:26.14
that he despised
listening to and let him
00:31:26.17\00:31:28.82
finish reading the sermon.
00:31:28.85\00:31:29.88
Anyway, whatever
happened in that regard,
00:31:29.91\00:31:31.82
Miller did not
read the whole sermon.
00:31:31.92\00:31:33.93
But the Holy Spirit was
once again moving on him.
00:31:34.42\00:31:37.55
And he later would
write, "Suddenly, the character
00:31:37.64\00:31:41.05
of a Savior was
vividly impressed upon my mind.
00:31:41.08\00:31:44.15
It seemed that there
might be a Being so good
00:31:44.18\00:31:47.06
and compassionate as to Himself
atone for our transgressions,
00:31:47.09\00:31:51.05
and thereby save us from
suffering the penalty of sin."
00:31:51.08\00:31:54.42
And so, now for the
first time in his life
00:31:54.78\00:31:56.71
he wants to know what kind of
a God is revealed in Scripture.
00:31:56.74\00:32:00.29
And he tells us
his method of study.
00:32:00.67\00:32:02.30
It's not what I would
recommend that we do today
00:32:02.33\00:32:04.77
with all the various resources
we have available to help us
00:32:04.80\00:32:07.36
understand the Bible.
00:32:07.39\00:32:08.45
But his method
was, you take your Bible
00:32:08.48\00:32:11.63
and you take your
concordance, nothing else.
00:32:11.87\00:32:14.56
He didn't want any commentaries,
he didn't want anything.
00:32:14.59\00:32:16.54
Your Bible and your concordance.
00:32:16.57\00:32:18.08
He would start with Genesis 1,
00:32:18.11\00:32:19.62
he would read right
straight through the Bible.
00:32:19.72\00:32:21.71
Every time he came to a
word he didn't understand,
00:32:21.74\00:32:24.66
he looked it up in
his Cruden's Concordance.
00:32:24.69\00:32:26.79
And then he would look
up all the text in the Bible
00:32:27.15\00:32:29.38
where that
particular word was used.
00:32:29.41\00:32:31.81
And by then he had a
pretty good idea how the Bible
00:32:31.84\00:32:34.36
defined the word.
00:32:34.39\00:32:35.44
And he kept on reading.
00:32:35.47\00:32:36.81
This began in 1816.
00:32:36.84\00:32:38.63
And during this next two years
he had this intense Bible study.
00:32:38.73\00:32:42.36
And he would later
write, "I saw that the Bible
00:32:42.69\00:32:45.09
did bring to view just
such a Savior as I needed."
00:32:45.12\00:32:49.58
And he kept reading.
00:32:49.61\00:32:50.79
And again, reading from
his description that he wrote
00:32:50.82\00:32:53.30
years later about this
time in his life, he said,
00:32:53.33\00:32:55.32
"I was
constrained..." As he read.
00:32:55.35\00:32:57.75
"I was constrained..."
What does that mean?
00:32:57.78\00:32:59.56
"I was forced."
00:32:59.59\00:33:00.62
"I was forced to
admit that the Scriptures
00:33:00.65\00:33:03.51
must be a Revelation from God.
00:33:03.54\00:33:05.72
They became my delight."
00:33:06.42\00:33:08.13
What is, "they?" The Scriptures.
00:33:08.16\00:33:09.54
"...became my delight.
00:33:09.57\00:33:11.03
And in Jesus I found a friend."
00:33:11.37\00:33:14.08
If you don't remember anything
else I say about William Miller,
00:33:14.69\00:33:17.07
you need to remember that.
00:33:17.59\00:33:18.88
First and foremost,
Jesus became Miller's friend.
00:33:18.91\00:33:23.08
That's the key that
unlocks his entire experience.
00:33:23.36\00:33:26.48
Why he did what he
did was because Jesus
00:33:26.51\00:33:29.26
became his best friend.
00:33:29.29\00:33:30.93
He went on to say, "The
Bible now became my chief study.
00:33:30.96\00:33:33.35
And I can truly say, I
searched it with great delight."
00:33:33.38\00:33:37.03
Now during this period of
time, he of course is reading
00:33:37.06\00:33:40.87
Daniel and Revelation.
00:33:40.90\00:33:42.38
And I can see him
coming to Daniel 8:14,
00:33:42.49\00:33:45.06
"Unto to 2300 days, then shall
the Sanctuary be cleansed."
00:33:45.29\00:33:48.08
Well what does,
"sanctuary," mean?
00:33:48.11\00:33:49.42
I can see him, if he hadn't
already defined it for himself,
00:33:49.45\00:33:51.96
looking it up in
Cruden's Concordance,
00:33:51.99\00:33:53.48
and he finds
different ways that the word,
00:33:53.51\00:33:57.12
"sanctuary," is defined.
00:33:57.15\00:33:58.71
It's used to
talk about the body,
00:33:58.74\00:34:00.72
the Old Testament
Sanctuary, the earth.
00:34:00.75\00:34:02.87
You know, so there's various
ways that the word was used.
00:34:03.35\00:34:06.64
And Miller also, because of
back there when he was studying
00:34:06.67\00:34:10.74
all these books in the little
public library in Poultney
00:34:10.77\00:34:13.46
many years before, he'd
reveled in reading history,
00:34:13.49\00:34:16.48
now with uncanny
ability he was able to decipher
00:34:16.75\00:34:20.68
when that great time prophecy
of Daniel 8:14 began and ended.
00:34:20.71\00:34:24.57
And he makes his fatal mistake.
00:34:24.77\00:34:26.89
He concludes that the
Sanctuary that's to be cleansed,
00:34:27.00\00:34:30.92
he could not
imagine anything in heaven
00:34:30.95\00:34:33.20
that needed to be cleansed, that
the Sanctuary must be the earth.
00:34:33.23\00:34:36.84
And it will be
destroyed when Jesus comes.
00:34:37.57\00:34:40.54
It will be cleansed at
the second coming of Christ.
00:34:40.57\00:34:43.75
And there he is sitting
in his study up there in that
00:34:44.16\00:34:46.65
little house, well not
so little, but his house
00:34:46.68\00:34:49.35
there in Low Hampton,
and he's saying, "Can it be
00:34:49.38\00:34:53.18
that my new best friend
Jesus really is going to be
00:34:53.48\00:34:57.46
coming back in about 25 years?
00:34:57.49\00:35:00.29
No, no. That can't be.
00:35:00.46\00:35:03.28
But yes, that's
what's so clear here."
00:35:03.31\00:35:04.79
And so he keeps studying.
00:35:04.82\00:35:05.87
For the next five years
he studies and restudies.
00:35:05.90\00:35:07.94
And the more he studies,
the more convinced he becomes
00:35:07.97\00:35:10.30
that the great time prophecies
of Daniel and Revelation
00:35:10.33\00:35:12.69
were about to
meet their fulfillment.
00:35:12.72\00:35:14.43
And as he
mistakenly understood it,
00:35:14.46\00:35:17.01
when the 2300 day prophecy ended
00:35:17.04\00:35:19.21
Jesus would return.
00:35:19.24\00:35:20.76
Now, when you have
that kind of light,
00:35:21.08\00:35:24.05
what do you have to do with it?
00:35:24.36\00:35:25.89
You have to share it, right?
00:35:26.84\00:35:28.19
"But how can I share it?
00:35:29.43\00:35:30.93
I'm a farmer,
I'm not a preacher.
00:35:31.35\00:35:33.17
Who'd listen to me?"
00:35:33.70\00:35:34.80
He referred to himself
sometimes as the old man.
00:35:34.83\00:35:37.23
"Who'd listen to the
old man? Or the farmer?
00:35:37.26\00:35:39.41
Who would
possibly listen to me?"
00:35:39.44\00:35:42.28
And yet, he feels
compelled he must share.
00:35:42.71\00:35:46.96
Now it's during this
period of time that one of those
00:35:47.21\00:35:49.68
interesting stories
happened that we like to tell
00:35:49.71\00:35:53.71
when we're talking about Miller.
00:35:53.74\00:35:55.24
And so let's just use a
little prop here in a minute.
00:35:56.17\00:35:59.11
One day, one of
Miller's children became ill.
00:36:01.66\00:36:05.48
I don't know which one.
00:36:05.83\00:36:07.11
As I said, they had
eight of them that grew up.
00:36:07.14\00:36:09.01
So he had plenty.
00:36:09.04\00:36:10.07
I don't know
which room in the house.
00:36:10.11\00:36:11.56
I wish I did because it
would be fun to go to the room
00:36:11.59\00:36:13.41
where the story happened.
00:36:13.44\00:36:14.56
But one of the
children became ill.
00:36:14.79\00:36:18.43
Now there was a
doctor in that area
00:36:18.46\00:36:20.62
that had heard about Miller's
studying of the prophecies.
00:36:20.65\00:36:23.29
And he thought it was
all a bunch of foolishness.
00:36:23.49\00:36:25.61
In fact, the doctor
went around telling people
00:36:25.71\00:36:27.97
when they discussed Miller,
"You know, he's a good guy.
00:36:28.00\00:36:30.27
He's the justice of the peace,
00:36:30.30\00:36:32.21
he's fair when he
renders decisions.
00:36:32.32\00:36:34.35
He's a good guy, except
when you get him started
00:36:34.38\00:36:37.20
talking about the prophecies."
00:36:37.23\00:36:38.68
Then he'd say, "Mono maniac."
00:36:38.71\00:36:41.71
Mono, of course,
is what? On one topic.
00:36:41.93\00:36:44.72
You get him going on one topic.
00:36:44.75\00:36:46.10
Maniac is crazy.
00:36:46.13\00:36:47.47
So he's crazy on one topic.
00:36:47.50\00:36:48.95
Everything else he's fine.
00:36:48.98\00:36:50.20
Now obviously in a
small community, especially
00:36:50.40\00:36:53.36
if you're making that
kind of comments about someone,
00:36:53.58\00:36:56.01
guess what.
00:36:56.31\00:36:57.34
Miller is going
to hear about it.
00:36:57.95\00:36:59.36
So when one of his
children becomes ill,
00:36:59.72\00:37:01.89
guess which doctor he sent for.
00:37:02.72\00:37:05.33
Back in those day, no
hospitals with emergency rooms
00:37:05.51\00:37:07.72
and all that,
they were house calls.
00:37:07.75\00:37:08.96
So guess which
doctor he sent for.
00:37:08.99\00:37:11.26
Well the doctor
came, examined the child,
00:37:11.29\00:37:14.48
prescribed something.
00:37:14.86\00:37:16.32
Knowing the state of
medicine in the United States
00:37:16.62\00:37:18.44
in those days, it probably would
have been better if the child
00:37:18.47\00:37:20.96
had not taken whatever it
was that the doctor prescribed.
00:37:20.99\00:37:24.25
But anyway.
00:37:24.28\00:37:25.31
And the doctor is
ready to leave, and Miller is
00:37:25.34\00:37:27.88
sitting there by the door.
00:37:27.91\00:37:29.45
And he is looking
very down and dejected,
00:37:29.64\00:37:33.35
like he's got
something wrong with him.
00:37:33.56\00:37:35.59
And the doctor
looks at him and says,
00:37:35.62\00:37:36.84
"Are you alright today?"
00:37:36.87\00:37:38.11
"Well I really
don't know," Miller said.
00:37:38.83\00:37:43.06
And then he held out
his hand so the doctor
00:37:43.85\00:37:46.77
could check his pulse.
00:37:46.80\00:37:48.05
"Well that seems to be fine.
00:37:48.20\00:37:49.63
What's wrong?
How are you feeling?"
00:37:49.83\00:37:52.02
"Well," Miller said,
"I really don't know.
00:37:52.49\00:37:55.86
Do you think, doctor, that
maybe I could be a mono maniac?"
00:37:58.12\00:38:03.51
Now the doctor
knew he was cornered.
00:38:04.48\00:38:06.42
What he didn't know was that
once Miller had you cornered,
00:38:06.45\00:38:08.77
he didn't let go.
00:38:08.85\00:38:10.05
He went right on.
00:38:10.31\00:38:11.53
He said, "Doctor, would
you really know a mono maniac
00:38:11.62\00:38:15.45
if you saw one?"
00:38:15.48\00:38:16.86
Well the doctor
stammered and stuttered,
00:38:16.96\00:38:18.58
according to the old story.
00:38:18.61\00:38:19.90
But Miller is not going
to let him off that easily.
00:38:19.93\00:38:22.05
He's going right on.
00:38:22.08\00:38:23.17
He says, "You've
got to examine me.
00:38:23.20\00:38:25.96
You know, it's for
my mental, my mind."
00:38:26.16\00:38:29.36
Well, some
things haven't changed.
00:38:29.39\00:38:30.53
Our mental health we
still have to know about.
00:38:30.56\00:38:32.07
"My mind.
00:38:32.10\00:38:33.27
You've got to examine me.
00:38:33.61\00:38:35.59
Find out if I'm
really a mono maniac.
00:38:35.62\00:38:38.04
And by the way, doctor,
when you give the examination,
00:38:38.63\00:38:42.69
you can charge your normal fee."
00:38:43.14\00:38:45.45
Now do you realize
what Miller was just saying?
00:38:46.49\00:38:48.36
Miller knew there was
only one way that this doctor
00:38:48.39\00:38:51.78
was going to find out whether
or not Miller was a mono maniac
00:38:51.81\00:38:54.84
on these prophecies
that he'd been studying.
00:38:54.87\00:38:57.14
And that is, he was going
to have to have a Bible study.
00:38:57.33\00:39:01.08
And Miller was so
interested in that doctor's soul
00:39:01.80\00:39:05.38
that he was willing to pay the
examination fee to that doctor
00:39:05.48\00:39:08.85
if he could just
share with that man
00:39:08.96\00:39:10.93
why he thought
his best friend Jesus
00:39:11.18\00:39:13.53
would be coming
back before long.
00:39:13.84\00:39:15.30
Well there was
obviously no way that the
00:39:15.33\00:39:16.56
doctor could get out of it.
00:39:16.59\00:39:17.87
So what do they do?
They go to Miller's study.
00:39:17.90\00:39:20.20
And there, they
go in and sit down.
00:39:20.23\00:39:22.78
They open the Bible to Daniel 8;
they work down through Daniel 8.
00:39:22.81\00:39:25.82
They go back to Daniel 2;
they work through Daniel 2.
00:39:25.85\00:39:28.17
They go forward then to
Daniel 7, and on into Daniel 9.
00:39:28.30\00:39:31.97
And guess what.
00:39:32.07\00:39:33.67
The doctor can't
believe his eyes or his ears,
00:39:33.70\00:39:35.83
what he's learning.
00:39:35.86\00:39:36.89
It makes sense.
00:39:36.92\00:39:38.47
It is not some
crazy gobbledygook.
00:39:38.50\00:39:41.72
It makes sense.
00:39:41.75\00:39:43.13
And away he headed out the door.
00:39:43.40\00:39:45.83
Because, you know, that's
the last thing he could admit.
00:39:46.08\00:39:48.36
The next morning,
according to the old story,
00:39:48.39\00:39:50.73
there's a knock on the door.
00:39:50.76\00:39:52.16
And who's there but the doctor.
00:39:52.19\00:39:54.32
He looks like he
hasn't slept a wink all night.
00:39:54.35\00:39:56.63
He confirms, when Miller
comes to the door, that in fact
00:39:56.73\00:39:58.93
he had not slept all night.
00:39:58.96\00:40:00.42
And he says to Miller,
"You've got to study with me.
00:40:00.45\00:40:03.69
I'm a lost man.
00:40:03.79\00:40:05.34
I'm not ready to meet the Lord.
00:40:05.37\00:40:06.83
You have to study with me."
00:40:07.04\00:40:08.52
And so they set up
a course of studies.
00:40:08.79\00:40:11.37
Sometimes the old 19th
century English gets in the way,
00:40:11.40\00:40:14.25
but other times it is so quaint
it's really kind of beautiful.
00:40:14.28\00:40:18.19
And the old story tells
us that Miller set up the
00:40:18.46\00:40:21.32
course of study and pointed
the doctor to the ark of safety.
00:40:21.35\00:40:25.88
And at the end of
that series of studies,
00:40:26.43\00:40:28.88
the story tells us the
doctor went away rejoicing,
00:40:28.91\00:40:32.41
as much a mono
maniac on the prophecies
00:40:32.62\00:40:35.53
as William Miller.
00:40:35.56\00:40:36.81
Now this is one
on one witnessing.
00:40:37.24\00:40:40.06
There is no way that
Miller thinks he could stand up
00:40:40.09\00:40:43.42
and preach a series of sermons.
00:40:43.59\00:40:45.90
No way. Couldn't do it.
00:40:45.93\00:40:48.05
But he could witness one on one.
00:40:48.50\00:40:50.53
Then in August of 1831
according to some accounts,
00:40:51.63\00:40:56.03
1833 according
to other accounts...
00:40:56.23\00:40:58.70
Anyway, sometime this happened
whether it was 31 or 33.
00:40:58.90\00:41:02.25
I don't think any of us were
there, so we're not going to
00:41:02.50\00:41:04.35
be able to discuss
which one it really was.
00:41:04.38\00:41:06.68
But one of those years.
00:41:06.71\00:41:07.82
Miller, on a Saturday morning...
00:41:08.41\00:41:11.76
Why didn't I say Sabbath?
00:41:11.79\00:41:13.31
He's a Baptist.
When was his Sabbath?
00:41:13.67\00:41:15.41
Sunday, right?
00:41:16.11\00:41:17.15
So on this Saturday
morning, it's not his Sabbath,
00:41:17.36\00:41:19.75
so he's in his
study and he is studying.
00:41:19.78\00:41:22.59
And he's coming
under conviction.
00:41:22.62\00:41:25.58
The Holy Spirit is
moving in on Miller
00:41:25.61\00:41:28.10
and telling him,
"Go tell the world."
00:41:28.13\00:41:29.37
"I can't go tell the world.
00:41:29.40\00:41:30.81
Who'd listen to me?"
00:41:30.97\00:41:32.03
"Go share what you've been..."
00:41:32.06\00:41:33.15
"No," he says to his
conscience, "I can't go."
00:41:33.18\00:41:35.92
And his conscience, the
Holy Spirit is working on him.
00:41:35.95\00:41:38.41
Finally, to shut up his
conscience, Miller says,
00:41:38.64\00:41:41.37
"If I'm ever asked
to preach, I'll go.
00:41:41.59\00:41:46.11
Whew."
00:41:46.65\00:41:47.81
Oh yeah, he's read sermons
that somebody else has written.
00:41:47.84\00:41:51.03
But to be asked to preach?
00:41:51.40\00:41:53.12
Nobody has asked the farmer,
or the old man, to go preach.
00:41:53.15\00:41:57.14
Whew.
00:41:57.49\00:41:58.60
Well, as probably most
of you have discovered,
00:41:58.63\00:42:01.59
you don't make a commitment
to God unless you're serious.
00:42:01.69\00:42:04.74
Because within 30
minutes of having told God,
00:42:04.99\00:42:07.65
"If I'm ever asked to
preach, I will go and preach,"
00:42:07.68\00:42:11.53
there is a knock on the door.
00:42:11.56\00:42:13.12
He goes to the door and
there is his 16 year old nephew,
00:42:13.27\00:42:16.21
Irving Guilford,
his sister's son,
00:42:16.24\00:42:18.37
who lived over in Dresden about
16 miles or so to the west.
00:42:18.40\00:42:22.49
And he's just
ridden up on a horse.
00:42:22.66\00:42:24.51
Now remember, in 1831 or 33,
whichever year this happened,
00:42:24.54\00:42:27.66
there's no telephones, no
way to make communication.
00:42:27.87\00:42:30.62
I can imagine the first thing
that went through Miller's mind
00:42:30.65\00:42:33.53
as he saw his nephew there and
the horse panting, probably...
00:42:33.56\00:42:36.42
I mean, he's a teenager. He
probably rode the horse fast.
00:42:36.45\00:42:38.60
Anyway, panting you
know, and the kid is, young man
00:42:38.70\00:42:42.84
is out of breath a bit himself.
00:42:42.87\00:42:44.50
And I'm sure Miller is
thinking, "What in the world?
00:42:44.69\00:42:46.65
Something happened.
Is everything okay?"
00:42:46.86\00:42:48.25
"No, it's all fine.
It's fine Uncle Bill.
00:42:48.28\00:42:50.16
But the pastor has been
called away unexpectedly.
00:42:50.75\00:42:54.79
And father is
responsible for church tomorrow.
00:42:54.99\00:42:58.78
And he's
wondering, would you come over
00:42:59.12\00:43:01.69
and share with us
what you've been studying
00:43:01.91\00:43:04.61
from the books of
Daniel and Revelation?"
00:43:04.83\00:43:06.53
Wow, now this is not
what Miller was expecting
00:43:07.08\00:43:10.07
when he told God
30 minutes earlier,
00:43:10.10\00:43:11.62
"If I'm ever asked, I'll go."
00:43:11.65\00:43:13.37
He is so mad, he goes
out into the maple grove
00:43:13.69\00:43:17.11
out to the west of his house.
00:43:17.14\00:43:18.86
And there like Jacob of
old, he wrestles with God.
00:43:18.89\00:43:21.33
Whether he was jumping around,
whether he was waving his fists
00:43:21.36\00:43:23.84
at God, what, I don't know.
00:43:23.87\00:43:25.28
He was angry, he was
loud probably out there.
00:43:25.31\00:43:27.70
His little daughter,
Lucy, his youngest child,
00:43:27.90\00:43:30.15
comes out of the house,
sees her father out there
00:43:30.18\00:43:32.46
in the maple grove, gets
scared, runs back into the house
00:43:32.49\00:43:35.91
and says, "Mama,
mama, come quick.
00:43:35.94\00:43:37.49
Something's happened to papa."
00:43:37.59\00:43:39.09
And sure enough,
something had happened to papa.
00:43:39.78\00:43:42.21
As an Adventist historian
described it many years ago,
00:43:42.55\00:43:45.52
Miller went into that
grove of trees a farmer.
00:43:45.55\00:43:50.20
He came out a preacher.
00:43:50.77\00:43:53.20
And so he went with
his nephew later that day
00:43:53.89\00:43:57.52
over to the home in
Dresden, to his sister's home.
00:43:57.55\00:44:01.23
And there, not in a
little white, you know,
00:44:01.46\00:44:03.92
not a little white framed church
with a steeple, and all that...
00:44:03.95\00:44:06.81
No, that's not
where the movement began.
00:44:06.91\00:44:08.79
He still wasn't
quite over his shyness.
00:44:09.57\00:44:11.45
So his sister and her husband,
they arranged for the people,
00:44:12.23\00:44:16.92
for the members of the
little church to come over there
00:44:16.95\00:44:19.48
to their own home.
00:44:19.51\00:44:20.54
And Miller, we're
told, sat with a Bible
00:44:20.57\00:44:23.64
in his sister's armchair
and opened it up to them,
00:44:23.67\00:44:27.00
and began to share
with them why he thought
00:44:27.11\00:44:29.53
his best friend Jesus would
be coming back in a few years.
00:44:29.56\00:44:32.46
And guess what.
They got excited.
00:44:32.79\00:44:34.42
And guess what else happened.
00:44:34.77\00:44:35.89
Now remember,
this is 1831 or 33,
00:44:35.92\00:44:37.85
depending on
which year you want.
00:44:37.88\00:44:39.14
And he's been studying this
since 1817 or 1818 back there.
00:44:39.17\00:44:42.59
He's got a lot of
stuff up here in his mind.
00:44:42.79\00:44:44.74
And they asked him to stay
all week and hold meetings.
00:44:44.77\00:44:47.59
And he did.
00:44:47.62\00:44:48.65
And then when he got
home, there was a letter
00:44:49.32\00:44:51.58
from over in Poultney,
the Baptist church in Poultney
00:44:51.61\00:44:53.94
where he'd lived years before.
00:44:53.97\00:44:55.42
The associate pastor
asked him to come and share.
00:44:55.45\00:44:59.01
So within one week of
telling God, "If I'm ever asked
00:44:59.30\00:45:01.74
to preach, I'll go preach," he
had his first two invitations.
00:45:01.77\00:45:05.44
And over the next few years
he kept preaching and preaching.
00:45:05.98\00:45:09.12
He kept a log book or a journal
where he wrote all the places,
00:45:09.15\00:45:13.59
the dates, the text
that he opened his talks with
00:45:13.62\00:45:16.42
at every place;
it's quite interesting.
00:45:16.45\00:45:18.07
And if you plot it on a map,
it's sort of like dropping a
00:45:18.10\00:45:20.67
pebble in a lake or throwing
a pebble out in the lake
00:45:20.70\00:45:23.57
and you see the ripples.
00:45:23.60\00:45:24.67
Well that's the
way it was with Miller.
00:45:24.70\00:45:26.59
It just seems to
get larger and larger.
00:45:26.79\00:45:28.55
So you plot a place here,
and here, and here, and here.
00:45:28.58\00:45:32.20
Because as one pastor would
talk to another pastor and say,
00:45:32.23\00:45:34.41
"You know, if you want to
get revival and reformation
00:45:34.44\00:45:36.76
in your church, get
that Miller guy to come.
00:45:36.79\00:45:39.07
I mean, the Lord
honors and revival will
00:45:39.69\00:45:42.25
break out in your church."
00:45:42.28\00:45:43.31
And pastors wanted that.
00:45:43.34\00:45:44.56
So this is safe, it's
still several years before
00:45:44.59\00:45:47.21
Miller is saying the
Lord will come sometime
00:45:47.24\00:45:49.27
around the year 1843 or 1844.
00:45:49.30\00:45:51.21
So it's way in
the future, so sure.
00:45:51.38\00:45:53.51
Revival and
reformation is breaking out.
00:45:53.71\00:45:55.83
And Miller is getting more
and more speaking appointments.
00:45:55.93\00:45:58.64
And as I say, if
you plot them on a map,
00:45:58.88\00:46:00.86
it's sort of like
dropping a pebble in the water.
00:46:00.96\00:46:03.09
By 1839, early 1839,
Miller had not yet preached
00:46:03.27\00:46:08.59
in any of the large
cities of the United States
00:46:08.62\00:46:11.35
back in those days,
like Portland, Maine,
00:46:11.38\00:46:13.29
Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, etc.
00:46:13.32\00:46:16.93
He had not preached in
any of those at that point.
00:46:16.96\00:46:19.54
But there was a pastor
by the name of Timothy Cole
00:46:20.55\00:46:24.16
who lived in
Lowell, Massachusetts.
00:46:24.19\00:46:26.54
He was the pastor of a
church in Lowell, Massachusetts.
00:46:26.57\00:46:29.50
And Cole heard about
what happened when Miller
00:46:29.73\00:46:33.77
was invited to preach.
00:46:33.80\00:46:35.66
And of course, he wanted
that in his congregation.
00:46:35.76\00:46:38.99
So he wrote to Miller and he
asked Miller if he would come
00:46:39.02\00:46:42.15
and hold meetings in his church.
00:46:42.18\00:46:45.17
Now Cole...
Remember this is 1839.
00:46:45.27\00:46:47.62
There were no
newspapers that had pictures.
00:46:47.65\00:46:49.68
Photography was very new.
00:46:49.71\00:46:50.96
The newspapers
didn't know how to produce
00:46:50.99\00:46:53.52
pictures to put in there.
00:46:53.55\00:46:54.65
They had some primitive
woodcuts, but no pictures.
00:46:54.68\00:46:57.38
And so Cole really didn't
know what Miller looked like.
00:46:57.41\00:47:00.10
And he wrote to Miller and
asked Miller, "Now when you come
00:47:00.13\00:47:02.62
on the train, what
will you look like?
00:47:02.65\00:47:05.10
What will you be
wearing? How will I know you?"
00:47:05.54\00:47:07.81
You know, I mean, he
must make certain that he's
00:47:08.54\00:47:10.84
getting this impressive
person that has such an impact.
00:47:10.87\00:47:15.24
He wants to make certain
he knows what he looks like.
00:47:15.27\00:47:16.72
So anyway, Miller
writes back and says,
00:47:16.75\00:47:18.88
"I'll be wearing a
white hat and a camlet coat."
00:47:18.91\00:47:22.00
A certain kind of cloth.
00:47:22.10\00:47:23.34
Camlet coat.
00:47:23.57\00:47:24.60
And so I can imagine this
young man marching up and down
00:47:24.77\00:47:27.77
there waiting for that
early train to come in.
00:47:27.80\00:47:30.36
Now the train is not the kind
you're probably thinking about.
00:47:30.39\00:47:32.85
They were very
primitive still in 1839.
00:47:32.95\00:47:35.45
And they probably did
all of 18 or 20 miles an hour
00:47:35.55\00:47:39.24
at top speed.
00:47:39.27\00:47:40.30
But anyway, pretty soon...
00:47:40.33\00:47:41.73
Yeah, that's
the way they looked.
00:47:41.76\00:47:43.33
There's a picture of one.
00:47:43.36\00:47:44.46
Thank you for showing us that.
00:47:44.67\00:47:45.95
So here they came, the train
came in squeaking, you know,
00:47:45.98\00:47:49.25
and the brakes, and all that.
00:47:49.28\00:47:50.52
You can just kind of imagine.
00:47:50.55\00:47:51.92
And the people start
getting off the train.
00:47:51.95\00:47:53.66
And Cole is looking for
somebody, as we would say,
00:47:53.69\00:47:57.35
tall, distinguished, handsome.
00:47:57.38\00:47:59.04
Anybody that's having
that kind of impact must be
00:47:59.07\00:48:01.44
really impressive looking.
00:48:01.64\00:48:02.88
But, what? What?
00:48:03.70\00:48:05.51
There's nobody tall
that's wearing a white hat.
00:48:05.54\00:48:07.36
Pretty soon there is
a gentleman over there.
00:48:07.39\00:48:10.17
He's an older gentleman.
00:48:11.13\00:48:12.42
He's got a white hat.
00:48:12.79\00:48:14.00
He's wearing a camlet coat.
00:48:14.37\00:48:15.97
But look at him.
00:48:17.70\00:48:18.73
That can't be the guy.
00:48:19.06\00:48:20.25
The newspapers tell us
that Miller had auburn hair,
00:48:20.45\00:48:23.52
reddish hair, a
round face, a bull neck,
00:48:23.55\00:48:27.94
a body that's corpulent.
00:48:28.30\00:48:30.43
You know that
old word, corpulent.
00:48:30.46\00:48:31.97
Fat, in other
words. Heavy, overweight.
00:48:32.36\00:48:33.85
He was corpulent.
00:48:34.47\00:48:35.67
And I can imagine
Cole looking and saying,
00:48:35.93\00:48:38.04
"That can't
possibly be the guy."
00:48:38.07\00:48:40.30
And so he goes over, and
he doesn't put his hand out
00:48:40.50\00:48:42.75
and say, "Hello,
are you brother Miller?
00:48:42.78\00:48:44.00
I'm Pastor Cole."
00:48:44.03\00:48:45.33
No, he whispers in his
ear, "Are you William Miller?"
00:48:45.36\00:48:49.61
Because there might
be people on the platform
00:48:49.64\00:48:51.34
or on the station there
that knew that wasn't Miller.
00:48:51.37\00:48:53.89
It would be embarrassing,
wouldn't it, to not know
00:48:53.92\00:48:56.92
the speaker yourself.
00:48:56.95\00:48:57.98
And Miller said, "Yes, I am."
00:48:58.01\00:48:59.70
And so, away they go to home.
00:49:00.79\00:49:02.49
And Cole, being
younger, he heads off first.
00:49:02.52\00:49:05.40
Miller is coming along
with this trunk trying to
00:49:05.43\00:49:07.93
follow along as
best as he could.
00:49:07.96\00:49:09.32
They go to
Cole's house for a meal,
00:49:09.42\00:49:12.08
and then they go to the church.
00:49:12.11\00:49:13.29
And during this period
of time Cole is thinking,
00:49:13.32\00:49:15.22
"Oh my, look at that."
00:49:15.25\00:49:16.38
Now something else I
haven't mentioned to you is,
00:49:16.49\00:49:18.03
the newspapers
mention, describe, that when
00:49:18.06\00:49:21.85
Miller spoke his
hands would shake.
00:49:22.05\00:49:25.38
And some also talk
about his head shaking.
00:49:25.41\00:49:28.36
So put that with the
auburn hair, and the round face,
00:49:28.46\00:49:31.68
and the bull neck,
and the corpulent body.
00:49:31.71\00:49:33.58
And you can see why this
younger minister is thinking,
00:49:33.61\00:49:35.69
"Oh my word.
00:49:35.72\00:49:36.85
Oh I hope
everybody has misunderstood."
00:49:36.88\00:49:39.13
But he gets to the
church and it's full.
00:49:39.32\00:49:41.61
It's always full when
Miller was going to preach.
00:49:41.73\00:49:43.75
And so he shows
Miller to the pulpit.
00:49:43.78\00:49:45.90
I think Miller knew
what a pulpit was, frankly.
00:49:46.31\00:49:48.10
He had been
preaching two sermons a day
00:49:48.13\00:49:50.37
for I don't know how many years.
00:49:50.74\00:49:52.04
I think he knew
what a pulpit was.
00:49:52.07\00:49:53.20
But anyway, the story says
he showed him to the pulpit,
00:49:53.23\00:49:54.98
and Cole goes and sits
down somewhere out there,
00:49:55.12\00:49:57.82
and Miller begins to speak.
00:49:57.85\00:49:59.93
He gets up, he lines out a hymn,
teaches it to them line by line.
00:50:00.30\00:50:04.21
They sang a
cappella in those days.
00:50:04.24\00:50:05.62
He lined out a second hymn.
00:50:05.65\00:50:07.14
And then he turned to the text
that he used to open more series
00:50:07.17\00:50:11.64
of meetings than
any other; Titus 2:13.
00:50:11.67\00:50:14.19
"Looking for that blessed
hope, and the glorious appearing
00:50:14.32\00:50:17.53
of the great God and
our Savior Jesus Christ."
00:50:17.56\00:50:19.52
And he began to share
with them why he thought
00:50:19.55\00:50:22.00
his best friend Jesus would
be coming back in a few years.
00:50:22.03\00:50:25.74
Timothy Cole has gone
out there and sat down
00:50:26.07\00:50:28.04
somewhere in the congregation.
00:50:28.07\00:50:29.38
He's listening.
00:50:29.48\00:50:30.54
He's forgotten all
about the auburn hair.
00:50:30.58\00:50:32.47
He's forgotten all
about the bull neck.
00:50:32.50\00:50:34.14
He's forgotten
all about the tremor.
00:50:34.17\00:50:36.56
What he's hearing is a message
that's touching his heart.
00:50:36.66\00:50:38.86
And the story tells us that
within 15 minutes he gets up,
00:50:38.97\00:50:41.56
he walks up on the platform,
sits down behind Miller.
00:50:41.76\00:50:44.72
He waits until the
sermon is over, he rushes over,
00:50:44.75\00:50:47.18
thanks him profusely,
and said, "Will you stay
00:50:47.21\00:50:49.84
and hold meetings in my church?"
00:50:49.87\00:50:52.58
And at the end of that series of
meetings, Timothy Cole himself
00:50:52.76\00:50:55.79
decided to become
a Millerite lecturer.
00:50:55.99\00:50:59.39
That's the kind of impact that
Miller's preaching was having.
00:50:59.74\00:51:02.96
And during the next few years,
they began to publish papers.
00:51:03.28\00:51:06.50
Things were getting...
00:51:06.53\00:51:07.56
The movement is
having a great impact.
00:51:07.59\00:51:10.07
You read the newspapers,
and they're mostly critical,
00:51:11.38\00:51:14.03
but you do realize that
the newspapers are reporting
00:51:14.06\00:51:16.75
on the fact that
things are happening.
00:51:16.78\00:51:18.00
The Millerites
are holding meetings
00:51:18.03\00:51:19.32
even though almost
all of them are critical.
00:51:19.35\00:51:22.06
Now Miller himself, of course,
had said the Lord would come
00:51:22.17\00:51:24.80
sometime about 1843 or 1844.
00:51:24.83\00:51:28.40
The reason he didn't set a date
is because the Bible tells us,
00:51:29.05\00:51:31.67
no man knows the
day nor the hour.
00:51:31.88\00:51:33.37
But Miller said, if
you have 2300 years,
00:51:33.40\00:51:35.65
why, certainly at
the end of the 2300 years
00:51:35.89\00:51:38.66
you've got a whole year.
00:51:38.69\00:51:39.72
So he expected that the
Lord would come sometime between
00:51:39.75\00:51:42.82
the beginning of the
Jewish year March 21, 1843
00:51:42.85\00:51:45.90
and March 21, 1844.
00:51:45.93\00:51:47.77
When the Lord did not come in
the spring of 1844 as Miller had
00:51:47.80\00:51:51.24
first thought, why, we
call it the spring disappoint.
00:51:51.27\00:51:54.86
There was a lot
of disappointment.
00:51:55.04\00:51:56.81
The newspapers had
been full of all kinds of
00:51:56.84\00:51:59.13
terrible things they were
saying about the Millerites
00:51:59.38\00:52:01.85
just leading up to the
March/April era of time in 1844.
00:52:01.88\00:52:06.47
And somebody wrote to
Miller a little while later
00:52:06.68\00:52:10.31
and said to him,
"How are you doing?"
00:52:10.34\00:52:12.27
And Miller writes
back, and I want to read
00:52:13.03\00:52:14.49
just a few lines from his...
00:52:14.52\00:52:16.56
It gives you the
measure of this man, actually.
00:52:16.89\00:52:19.05
A few lines of the response
that he sent to Elon Galusha.
00:52:19.08\00:52:21.94
He said, "I'm doing
fine. Thanks for asking."
00:52:22.45\00:52:23.98
And then he goes on to
say, and I'm quoting now,
00:52:24.01\00:52:25.90
"Why then should I complain
if God should give a few days
00:52:26.13\00:52:29.50
or even months
more as a probation time
00:52:29.53\00:52:31.56
for some to find salvation.
00:52:31.59\00:52:33.23
It is my Savior's will.
00:52:33.97\00:52:35.85
And I rejoice that He
will do things right."
00:52:36.23\00:52:39.82
It's as if Miller is
saying, "Let them ridicule me
00:52:40.24\00:52:42.27
from the pulpit.
00:52:42.30\00:52:43.37
Let them say whatever they want
on the street corners about me.
00:52:43.47\00:52:46.33
Let them call me
names. I don't care.
00:52:46.36\00:52:48.87
If God, my best
friend, Jesus, if He wants
00:52:48.90\00:52:51.79
to wait just a little
longer to save someone else
00:52:52.05\00:52:55.56
for whom He
died, what's it to me?"
00:52:55.59\00:52:58.55
What an attitude.
00:52:59.03\00:53:01.00
Well, then you go
through the summer of 1844.
00:53:01.03\00:53:04.26
They don't know what's going on.
00:53:04.36\00:53:05.39
Someone else comes up
with the October 22 date.
00:53:05.42\00:53:07.87
And that's Samuel Snow.
00:53:08.00\00:53:09.19
Miller does not
accept it until October 6th.
00:53:09.22\00:53:11.87
But he sees the power
of what is known as the
00:53:11.97\00:53:15.20
first angel's message;
the preaching, the power.
00:53:15.23\00:53:17.37
He cannot deny that
something is going on.
00:53:17.40\00:53:19.80
And so on October
6th, he writes and says,
00:53:19.83\00:53:22.75
"Glory, glory, I'm almost home."
00:53:22.78\00:53:24.48
And then comes October 22,
which we call now in history,
00:53:25.06\00:53:28.90
the great disappointment.
00:53:28.93\00:53:30.62
And as you probably know,
Miller again, he's devastated.
00:53:30.65\00:53:37.24
But he's not totally devastated.
00:53:37.27\00:53:39.24
He says that he has
fixed his mind on another time.
00:53:39.86\00:53:44.49
"And here I mean to stand
until God gives me more light.
00:53:44.69\00:53:47.75
And that is today,
today, today until He comes."
00:53:47.78\00:53:53.17
Miller died December 20, 1849.
00:53:53.97\00:53:56.69
No, he never accepted
the seventh-day Sabbath.
00:53:56.72\00:53:59.21
No, he never understood
why the Lord had not come
00:53:59.54\00:54:02.02
and returned on
October 22, 1844.
00:54:02.05\00:54:05.75
Miller gave his life preaching
the first angel's message.
00:54:06.12\00:54:10.92
And some may say, "Well, he
didn't have the full message."
00:54:11.74\00:54:14.50
But he did what
God called him to do.
00:54:14.68\00:54:17.26
And in, Early Writings,
Ellen White has written that,
00:54:17.29\00:54:20.59
"Angels watch the precious
dust of this servant of God,
00:54:20.62\00:54:24.17
and he will come forth at
the sound of the last trump."
00:54:24.67\00:54:28.96
Early Writings, page 258.
00:54:29.20\00:54:31.15
Now as we come to the end
of this meeting this evening,
00:54:31.62\00:54:35.36
I want to share with
you a description of the
00:54:35.62\00:54:39.10
second coming of Christ that
was written by William Miller.
00:54:39.13\00:54:42.59
Now this was not written in
the heat of the anticipation of
00:54:42.83\00:54:46.79
October 22, 1844.
00:54:46.82\00:54:48.94
No, no, no, this was
written way back in 1832
00:54:48.97\00:54:53.66
to a Brother Truman Hendryx.
00:54:53.88\00:54:55.96
And listen to how
excited and how real, how vivid
00:54:56.32\00:55:00.49
the second coming of
Christ was to William Miller.
00:55:00.52\00:55:03.71
Here's what he wrote.
00:55:04.04\00:55:05.10
This is just the
last part of a letter,
00:55:05.13\00:55:07.39
but the last part
of the final paragraph.
00:55:07.42\00:55:09.84
"Look! Look again!
00:55:09.87\00:55:12.60
See crowns, and kings, and
kingdoms tumbling to the dust!
00:55:12.70\00:55:16.27
See lords and nobles,
captains and mighty men,
00:55:16.59\00:55:19.00
all arming for the
bloody, demon fight!
00:55:19.03\00:55:21.33
See the carnivorous fowls
fly screaming through the air!
00:55:21.36\00:55:24.99
See, see these signs!
00:55:25.32\00:55:27.75
Behold, the heavens
grow black with clouds;
00:55:27.78\00:55:30.32
the sun has veiled himself;
the moon, pale and forsaken,
00:55:30.35\00:55:34.23
hangs in middle air; the hail
descends; the seven thunders
00:55:34.26\00:55:37.67
utter loud their voices;
the lightnings send their
00:55:37.70\00:55:40.15
vivid gleams of sulfurous flame
abroad; and the great city of
00:55:40.18\00:55:43.12
the nations falls to rise
no more forever and forever!
00:55:43.15\00:55:48.08
At this dread
moment, look, look!
00:55:48.11\00:55:51.89
O, look and see! What
means that ray of light?
00:55:51.92\00:55:55.06
The clouds have burst
asunder; the heavens appear;
00:55:55.16\00:55:58.32
the great white
throne is in sight!
00:55:58.35\00:56:00.49
Amazement fills
the universe with awe!
00:56:00.59\00:56:03.25
He comes! He comes!
00:56:03.28\00:56:05.79
Behold, the Saviour comes!
00:56:05.82\00:56:07.68
Lift up your heads, ye saints;
He comes! He comes! He comes!"
00:56:07.78\00:56:14.04
And he signed
it, William Miller.
00:56:14.42\00:56:16.44
I wish you could see all
the exclamation points here
00:56:17.00\00:56:19.49
in his written description.
00:56:20.03\00:56:21.55
And here we are,
Seventh-day what?
00:56:23.02\00:56:26.80
Seventh-day Adventists.
00:56:26.83\00:56:29.74
What does that mean?
00:56:29.84\00:56:30.87
That means we're looking
for the coming of the Lord.
00:56:31.49\00:56:34.78
And the question that I
think we must ask ourselves
00:56:35.29\00:56:38.39
as we think about
Miller's story is,
00:56:38.42\00:56:40.68
how real, how
vivid, is the second coming
00:56:40.98\00:56:45.30
still in our lives today?
00:56:45.33\00:56:47.17
For Miller, it
overarched everything he did.
00:56:47.31\00:56:50.24
Every person he
saw was a candidate,
00:56:50.56\00:56:53.36
a potential citizen for heaven.
00:56:53.46\00:56:55.36
Is that the way
we view things today?
00:56:56.23\00:56:59.25
Or have we kind of just
become so use to hearing about
00:56:59.84\00:57:03.30
the second coming
that we don't think much
00:57:03.33\00:57:06.40
about it really anymore, and
it doesn't impact the decisions
00:57:06.43\00:57:10.14
that we make in our lives.
00:57:10.37\00:57:12.74
William Miller, the man
for whom the "Adventist" part
00:57:12.84\00:57:16.76
of our name, Seventh-day
Adventists, our church name,
00:57:16.79\00:57:20.43
historically is traced back to.
00:57:20.66\00:57:22.57
William Miller was
thoroughly in love with Jesus.
00:57:23.21\00:57:27.52
He could hardly
wait for Him to return.
00:57:27.55\00:57:30.55