Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2002. Vol. 8. Eger Journal of American Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 28)

Studies - Donald E. Morse: The End of the World in American History and Fantasy: The Trumpet of the Last Judgement

and the end of the world would occur exactly six thousand years later on a Thursday in October 1997. Although his was only one among many such calculations, it became one of the most famous, one of the most notorious because, like Miller's, it was one of the most exact. In giving a definite date

—though one far in the future

—Ussher, like Miller two centuries later, left himself open to ridicule by those who did not sympathize with his warnings. Since Ussher's date lay almost three and a half centuries in the future, it had, however, all of the advantages but none of the disadvantages of being precise. It was obviously neither demonstrable nor provable. In contrast. Miller's date for the end of the world lay well within his life expectancy and that of most of his followers. Sometime before 1831 when he began to preach on the end of the world, he "added up the prophetic numbers and found that the sums converged on 1843" (Doan 123). "I found," he wrote later in his three volume Works

, "in going through the Bible, the end of all things was clearly and emphatically predicted, both as to time and manner. I believed; and immediately the duty to publish this doctrine, that the world might believe and get ready to meet the Judge and Bridegroom at his coming, was impressed upon my mind" (1.12 qtd. in Rowe 21). Based on his belief, he began to preach that the world would end "on or before" 1843. But even that prediction was not specific enough for his followers. Only when an exact date was agreed upon did Miller gain an extensive following and only then did his movement acquire real authority. As several historians of Millerism have noted "the power of the Millerite message increased in tandem with its immediacy. The promise and threat of meeting the Lord at any moment brought audiences to a pitch of excitement. [...] The result was the astounding impact that has led historians to consider the great revival of 1843-1844 as essentially inspired by Millerism" (Doan 122). Cries of "1843! 1843!" echoed from Miller's great revival tent. "For most Millerites, mention of 1843 served as a reminder of a supernatural order so real as to be almost palpably, physically present" (Doan 123). Some well to do farmers sold or gave away their farms, their clothes, and other possessions, others did not plant crops because the end was indeed at hand. "In the words of John Chrysostom, virginity made plain that 'the things of the resurrection stand at the door'" 227