rise of the Turkish empire at 1298. He is now satisfied, by the examination of other authorities on the subject, that the foundation of that empire was laid in 1299. Hence the things mentioned in Lecture VII. (p. 109,) relative to persecutions, &c., and to the coming of the third woe, as mentioned in Lecture XIII. (p. 202,) which he supposed would take place in 1839, according to the first computation, will not be realized until the year 1840." Thus does Mr. Miller acknowledge himself wrong, and wrong, too, in the very first prediction that was to be fulfilled after the publication of his Lectures. They were issued in 1838, and in 1839 the seventh trumpet was to begin to sound. In the year 1839 we were to have a fulfilment of the following: "And there shall be a time of trouble, such as there never was since there was a nation, even to that same time.' This time of trouble is yet in futurity; but is hanging, as it were, over our heads, ready to break upon us in tenfold vengeance, when the angel of the Gospel who is now flying through the midst of heaven, shall seal the last child of God in their foreheads. And when the four angels, who are now holding the four winds, that it blow not on the sea nor on the land, shall cease their holding; when the angel, standing on the sea and land, shall lift his hand to heaven and swear by him that liveth forever and ever, that time shall be no longer, or, as it might, and, perhaps, ought to have been translated, that there should be no longer delay'; that is, God would wait no longer for repentance, no longer to be gracious; but his Spirit would take its flight from the world, and the grace of God would cease to restrain men. He that is filthy will be filthy still. Mankind will, for a short season, give loose to all the corrupt passions of the human heart. No laws, human or divine, will be regarded; all authority will be trampled under foot; anarchy will be the order of governments, and confusion fill the world with horror and despair. Murder, treason, and crime, will be common law, and division and disunion the only bond of fellowship. Christians will be persecuted unto death, and dens and caves in the earth will be their retreat. All things which are not eternal will be shaken to pieces, that that which cannot be shaken may remain. And this, if I am right in my calculations, will begin on or before A. D. 1839." Here our expounder found himself in a sad dilemma. The year 1839 passed away, and not one of the wonders he foretold occurred!! Besides the day of grace is still continued; men continue to be born into the kingdom of God! What, then, shall be done! O, an error must be discovered in the time from which he reckoned! He looks, and behold he was misled by the authorities he consulted; his date was a year too early! And, therefore, he fixes on 1840 for the fulfilment of these things! Was there ever presumption like this? Is Mr. Miller the personification of stupidity, or does he suppose, that his hearers and readers are? His date was wrong!! And this is the man who is positive the world will end in 1843! He is the one, too, who rails with such bitterness against all who question the correctness of his dates and calculations!! NOTE II. In this new edition Mr. Miller has inserted a new Lecture, founded on Lev. xxvi. 23, 24, where God says, he will punish his people yet seven times for their sins. Seven times, we are told, is seven prophetic years, which make 2520 years. But how, you ask, does he know this? That is best known to himself; he gives us no proof in the case. Indeed, he is obliged to contradict the Bible to make it. Daniel foretold, that Nebuchadnezzar should be driven from men, that his dwelling should be with the beasts of the field, and that seven times should pass over him. See Dan, iv. 25. Now, although this was declared to the king while upon his throne, and twelve months before the evil came upon him (Dan. iv. 29, 31), yet Mr. Miller says, it was not a prediction, but a history; and, therefore, while seven times should here be reckoned as seven years, in other places it should be reckoned as 2520 years. (If the reader has any doubt, that this is a prophecy, let him also read Dan. iv. 31, 32.) Thus does he contradict, pervert, and twist the Scriptures. And this is a fair specimen of his whole book. NOTE III. In my third and fifth Lectures, I have examined the calculations of Mr. Miller, and shown, that no reliance can be placed upon them; that he has 150 MILLER'S THEORY UTTERLY EXPLODED. reckoned days as years, without any authority for so doing. Let us, however, suppose him correct, and that a day, in prophetic language, should always be reckoned as a year. Let us suppose also, that he is correct in regard to his dates, and that he has reckoned from the right time; and yet, there is one fact, which utterly explodes his whole theory. It is this, the Jews reckoned 360 days as a year. Hence, in 2300 years, there would be, reckoning 360 days as a year, 828,000 days; but in 2300 years, reckoning 365 days as a year, there would be 839,500 days, which makes a difference of 11,500 days, or 32 years!! Now, Mr. Miller makes no allowance for this! All his calculations go upon the supposition, that we reckon time as the Jews did, whereas there is a difference of five days in a year. Therefore a deduction of 32 years must be made, so that the world should have been destroyed A. D. 1811!! Perhaps we should reckon, as the Jews did, down to the Christian era. This, however, is equally fatal to Mr. Miller's theory, for since the birth of Christ, there have been 671,200 days, which, reckoned at 360 days a year, make 1864, so that we are living, A. D. 1864, or, according to his calculations, 21 years after the destruction of the world!! It will avail nothing to say, there is a difference of opinion with regard to the Jewish method of reckoning time; for Mr. Miller takes it for granted, that 360 days is a Jewish year. He says 31 years is 1260 years, and that 42 months is 1260 years, so that he reckons 360 days as a year. Hence, it is certain that he is wrong; it is certain that his theory is false. |