William Miller was a humble man, and stood to be corrected if he needed to be, and was not so over proud of his theological points as to never be willing to correct where necessary.
“... If I have erred, I hope others may see where, and shun the danger. I have no desire to mislead any, but my principle aim is to excite others more able then myself to investigate the subject. The time is at hand that will try my views on this point, and if it should prove different from what I expect, and from what I do now most sincerely believe; then will I if my life is preserved be willing, I hope, to confess my folly to all who may read these pages; I have bad great distrust of myself; but the word of God will be accomplished, not one jot or tittle of his word will fail. ...” - Evidences From Scripture And History Of The Second Coming Of Christ About The Year A.D. 1843, And His Personal Reign Of 1000 Years, Introduction (1833), page 6.2 -
Evidences from Scripture and History of the Second Coming of Christ About the Year A. D. 1843, and of His Personal Reign of 1000 Years
William Miller, at first had differing dates than that of Josiah Litch for what he thought was the end of the 6th Trumper, or 2nd Woe.
“... CHAPTER V
We will now examine, the 9th chapter of Rev. and see what we learn by the last three trumpets, and the three woes. The 1st and 2nd verses describe the Mahometan Religion, which is represented as coming from the bottomless pit, and is compared to the smoke of a great furnace; "And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit." That is, the gospel and its doctrines, became dark in the minds of men; by reason of the Mahometan errors. "And there came out of the smoke Locusts upon the earth;" that is, there arose a nation out of the Mahometan nations, which should be a heavy judgement to the Roman government, here called "Earth," the locusts denoting the Ottoman or present Turkish power. This nation was first formed by the union of soldiers, or mercenaries, that had served in the armies of contending princes, and united under one leader Ottoman, composed of four different nations, as Saracens, Turks, Arabs, and Tartars, afterwards in this chapter called the four Angels, or Messengers of God to punish the Antichristian beast. This power was first established in Bythynia, near, or on the head-waters of the Euphrates, in the year A. D. 1298, where it was confined, or made but little progress in subjecting the Antichristian kingdom, for five months, or 150 years, until it conquered Constantinople A. D. 1453; which ended the eastern empire. "And it was commanded them, that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men that have not the seal of God in their foreheads.“ …”
“… It is a fact, here worthy of notice, that the Turks did not persecute the church of Christ, to that degree that the Romish church did; which gave rise to a saying among the eastern christians, "That they would rather see the Turkish turban on the throne of Constantinople, than the Pope's tiara." By grass and green things, I understand the children of God; and by those men who have not the seal of God, I understand Papists. "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months;" which is 150 years, or five times 30, Daniel's mode of reckoning time, whom John has followed. From the 7th to the 11th verses inclusive, John has described the Turkish army, their manner of fighting, together with the qualities and name of their leader. "One woe is past: and, behold there cometh two woes more hereafter." In A. D. 1448, these four angels were let loose, and the 5th trumpet, & the first woe ended, and the sixth trumpet, and the second woe began. {1833 WiM, ESH 41.1}
"And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, loose the four angels which are bound in the river Euphrates." Waters, we are to understand people; see [42] Rev. 17:15. By the riser Euphrates, I therefore understand the same Turkish power, which power rose up in the countries bordering upon this river. The four angels, are the four different nations of which the Ottomans were composed. Their armies were let loose, or sent out as a scourge upon the earth, or Antichristian church, and with great propriety called angels let loose, because they had been bound act to kill, (not to destroy) but to torment them five months: but were now about to destroy the eastern empire. "And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.“ …”
“… That the time here given, must mean some definite time is very evident, or why has the prophet given so many different periods, and all combined, when one number would have answered for an indefinite period? For an hour, 15 days, and a day, one year, and a month, 30 years, and a year, 360 years; making in all 391 years 15 days; which added to A. D. 1448 the year that the Turks sent out a large army to subdue Constantinople, will bring us down to 1839, when the sixth trumpet will cease to sound, and the second woe be completed. "And the number of the army of horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand; and I heard the number of them." This army is equivalent to the four angels, when they were let loose, and two hundred thousand thousand, is 200,000 twice told or repeated; making 400,000. This agrees with the history of the taking of Constantinople. "After a long siege Mahomet II, took Constantinople in 1453," having an army of 400,000 and almost all of them horsemen. "And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstones and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone." We are in this passage informed that their army would consist of horses principally, and their weapons of warfare would be firearms, guns and gunpowder being exactly described. And it is a well authenticated fact, that gunpowder was invented but a short time before the taking of Constantinople, cannon having been first used in the siege and capture of that place. See Dr. Gill, on this passage, who says, "that one cannon was used at the siege of Constantinople that employed 70 yoke of oxen to draw it. {1833 WiM, ESH 41.2}
The 18 & 19 verses are a further description of the mode of warfare. The 20 & 21 verses show on whom these plagues were sent, viz. those who "worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood; which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk. …”
“… Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, not of their fornication, nor of their thefts." This description applies exactly to the Antichristian church or papal Rome; for they worship the things mentioned in the above texts, they being also the man which were one third to be slain, under this trumpet and woe, for it is supposed that the Ottoman power conquered one third of the Roman government, when the eastern empire fell into their hands. {1833 WiM, ESH 42.1}
Then
if this explanation be correct,
the sixth trumpet will cease [43] sounding in the year A. D. 1839, and the seventh trumpet will begin to sound. "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath delivered to his servants the prophets." "And the second woe is past: and behold the third woe cometh quickly." Rev. 11:14 15. "And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices is heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever." The 16th and 17th verses represent the four and twenty elders worshiping God, and giving thanks, because he had taken to himself his great power, and had reigned. The 18th verse of the 11th chapter, describes what shall be done when the seventh trumpet shall begin to sound. "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them that destroy the earth." The reader will now see, that he is again brought down, when the seventh trumpet begins to sound, to the finishing of the mystery of God; to the fulfilment of all the prophecies; to the time when our Lord and his Christ should take the kingdom, and reign forever and ever; to the great day of his wrath; to the resurrection of the dead, their judgement, the rewards of the prophets, saints and all those that fear the name of the Lord both small and great; and the final destruction of the wicked from the earth. {1833 WiM, ESH 42.2} ...” - Evidences From Scripture And History Of The Second Coming Of Christ About The Year A.D. 1843, And His Personal Reign Of 1000 Years, Chapter V (5) (1833), pages 41.1 – 42.2 -
Signs of the Times and Expositor of Prophecy [Himes], vol. 2
William Miller also originally taught that the “seventh and last vial of God’s wrath will be poured into the air about the year 1840”, similar to that of Josiah Litch. No present-day Seventh-day Adventist believes what William Miller or Josiah Litch taught about the Seven Last Plagues, or Seven Vials of God’s Wrath. They have
not yet been poured out, and this even according to sister Ellen G White, in the book “The Great Controversy” itself (see pages 627.2 - 644.2) -
The Great Controversy
“… "And the seventh angel poured his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne, saying, It is done."
The seventh and last vial of God's wrath will be poured into the air about the year 1840, if my former calculations are correct, when this judgment will have a quick and rapid circulation over the whole globe. … {1842 WiM, MWV2 227.2} ...” - Miller's Works, Volume 2, (1842) Evidence From Scripture And History Of The Second Coming Of Christ About The Year 1843, Lecture 15: The Seven Last Plagues, Or Seven Vials. Pages 225.1, 227.2 -
Miller’s Works, vol. 2. Evidence from Scripture and History of the Second Coming of Christ about the Year
