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This Week in Christian History: A Major Battle, Influential Treaty, and 'Great Disappointment'

By Michael Gryboski, Editor

'The Great Disappointment' End Times Prophecy Fails — October 22, 1844

Nineteenth century preacher William Miller, (1782-1849).
Nineteenth century preacher William Miller, (1782-1849). | (Photo: Public Domain)

This week marks the anniversary of the failure of a widely-publicized end times prophecy made in the United States in the nineteenth century.

Amateur preacher William Miller had gained a strong following in the Antebellum United States, forming a movement that later spawned modern churches like the Seventh-Day Adventists.

Miller's preaching stressed the imminent return of Jesus and at one point the Millerist Movement claimed that Oct. 22, 1844 was going to be the date of the Rapture.

"By the time October 23, 1844, dawned, Miller's followers were disillusioned and soon scattered," noted a 2011 Religion Dispatches article.

"Miller himself died lonely and forgotten in 1849, five years after the 'end of the world.' October 22, 1844 is still known in Adventist circles as the 'Great Disappointment' — capital G, capital D."

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