The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-10-22
AWAITING THE LAST TRUMP.
The Second AdventiSts Predict that the End
of All Things Will Soon Be Here.

New York World.
Forty thousand apparently rational men
and women throughout the United States
and Canada believe that on or before the
coming 25th day of October, A. ID. 1889, the
world will lave come to an end; that the
nations of the earth will nave been blended
into one people, speaking one tongue, and
that over all for a thousand years one
spiritual ruler will hold sway. They believe
that if it does not happen before that day
the sun on the morning of Oct. 26 will re-
main stationary on the horizon and on its
upper and visible arc will appear. reaching
back into an illimitable vista, an angelic
host, and in the midst of this host "a
woman, clothed with the sun and the moon
under her feet, and upon her head a crown
of twelve stars Then the seven trumpets
are to be sounded by the seven angels. and
the third Woe" as predicted in the Book
of Revelations, Wall have begun its fulfill
ment.
Contrary to all p~recedents. the Second
Adventists, both of the United States and
England. have not set a specific day for
the end of time. but they are mutually
agreed, with a few isolated exceptions.
that the most careful calculations prove
beyond the possibility of error that the
hour will not go beyond the date named.
In 1s43 and 1874 William Miller fixed the
day in each year as Oct. 10, and when his
prediction did not come to pass he ex-
planned that the difference between Jewis
and Roman time misied him both as to the
month and the year. Before his death.
which took place in 1919, he left directions
showing how accurate calculations might
be made, and on these were based the
~prOphesies of the worlds end in 1857, 1867,
1878 and the present year. They all rest on
o ors f9g"d ethical VIZ p;rop dns falhi ana the of
assumption that this indicated further
that inasmuch as the birth Of Christ
was foretold isaiah vii, a., and
hem micah V, q, and the several other
prophecies concerning the Messiah Isaiah
lii, 20; Psalms xvi, 10l all came to pass
precisely at the time and in the manner
prescribed, and that the fourth prophecy
the second appearance of the Messiahl de-
manded belief. 1t was not until William
Miller undertook to set the exact period
that there had been any previous effort in
that direction. The beginning of the elev-
enth century had been looked forward to-
with awe and dread, 1T is true-but none of
the religious teachers of those days ventured
positive predictions. 1t was not until nine
centuries had elapsed that a prophet arose
who, in an incredibly short space of time.
gathered about him thousands of followers
who have maintained their faith with a
steady persistency IN the face of failure.
opposition and rldlcule.
Millerism, or, as it is called now, Second
adventism. has its strongest foOthold IN
! New England, where all heterOdOx isms seem
to flourish best. 1t has more believersin tho
State of Massachusetts, than in. any other
of the Eastern States, and in the city of
| Boston there is a weekly publication de-
voted to the PRONUNCIATION of the doctrine.
Vermont furnishes the next largest quota,
| and then comes New Hampshire and Con-
necticut. A few are scattered through
Ao;ra orA PhCHa leland Thara 10 M
| regular place of worship in the city of New
York, and the believers, even in a city. of
two millions of people, are few and far be-
tween. In the city of Philadelphia there
are two small congregations. and in south
| and east New Jersey half a dozen all told.
In the upper part of this State. and on the
| Pennsylvania border line there are several
thousand believers.
sofa, furnish the next largest number of be-
LEVERS. They may be grouped in this wise:
| New. England, 1900; Middle States. 5000;
Western States. 5000. Northwest. 1000;
Canada, 5000. Asa body the Second Adj
v~entists do not differ materially with the
great leading doctrine of the Evangelical
| Church. They are essentially Casuists,
but conform readily to whatever forms of
| law under which they live.
The failure of Mi!lers prophecy in 1S43
first brought the sect into prominence
throughout the civilized world. The found
er was a man of much magnetism, and
while not scholarly. possessed a rude logic
| that attracted attention even among the
learned. His hypothesis was SO ingenious
and so cleverly dOvetailed that the an
nOuhcement that the end of the world was
at band created a noticeable excitement all
over the country. While thousands scoffcd
at the theory, they nevertheless felt slight
ly uneasy as the day approached,
and there are men living now who
remember many who, though loudest in
their ridicule. were the last to go to bed
That u,uhf Anon tho haltovarc fha foifh
was firm. Scores of farmers in Massachu-
sets, in the vicinity of Pittsfield, aban-
doned their property to whoever cared to
take 1T for Il few hours, and patiently
awaited the blowing OF GabrleIs horn.
Marriage engagements were broken, writ
ten business contracts between believers
were destroyed in the belief that they
could never be carried ont. Children were
permitted to 90 uncared Tor, and mothers
who had been thrifty housewives for years
dropped all their household duties. As the
day came nearer the fervOr grew greater,
and converfs fiocked to the Millerite
standard by the thousands. Among the ex-
tremists in the sect active preparations
were made for what they then believed
would be an immediate translation. Spot
less robes OF pure white were made. and in
these dozens of families attired themselves,
and repaired to their honsetops to await
the signal.
just ont of Boston the nine-year-old son
of a devOut Adventist insisted as a proviso
before taking TO the roof. that MS dog
should be permitted TO him.
l~Unaccustomed to such a height, the
wretched beast began to howl. and the sac
religious interruption caused the patiently
waiting father to attempt chastisement.
which eventually resulted in his falling
through the ~scuttle. A stout young woman
near the same village caught the hem of
her garment in q nail as she was going up
stairs with her mother. and a thread be-
coming started, her ascension rober was
ripped open at the principal seam. much to
her modification.
When the night had come and gone, and
the earth looked the same as it did the day
before, there began "A good deal of squab-
bling over the property that had been given
away. Ar old farmer near Pittsfeld COM
PEELED the grantee of his property TO pro-
duce his deed. and it Was found stipulated
thereon that the instrument should be null
and void unless 1.-THE said Gabriel shall
blow a horn or make some equivalent an
n0uncsment that the end of the world was