Saturday, October 22, 2011

Great Disappointment

‘…The torrent of mystical yet animating eloquence of the preacher—an old grey-haired man, whom zeal seemed to supply with the powers of voice and action, of which years had deprived him—was suited to the taste of his audience, but could not be transferred to these pages without scandal and impropriety. He menaced the rulers of England with all the judgments denounced on those of Moab and Assyria—he called upon the saints to be strong, to be up and doing; and promised those miracles which, in the campaigns of Joshua and his successors, the valiant Judges of Israel, supplied all odds against the Amorites, Midianites, and Philistines. He sounded trumpets, opened vials, broke seals, and denounced approaching judgments under all the mystical signs of the Apocalypse. The end of the world was announced, accompanied with all its preliminary terrors…’

Harold Kamping is not the first to proclaim the end of the world.  If you are reading this blog post, the rapture, which Kamping predicted has not occurred.  In fact, it’s already 10/22 in parts of the world, so I’ll assume it’s not coming today.

A 19th century Baptist, William Miller, predicted Christ's return, and the world’s end on October 22nd ; only one day's difference.   The year was 1844.  Just as with Kamping’s case, some of Miller’s followers gave away all their earthly goods.  And as with Miller’s case, the calculation must be off.  October 22, 1844 became known as the day of great disappointment for Millerites.  Wishing all a good tomorrow.

The text above comes from “The Wisdom of Sir Walter Scott…”, which was compiled by Owen Redfern.

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