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Miscellany: Millerism

Miscellany: Millerism image
Parent Issue
Day
30
Month
December
Year
1844
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Wc hafe collected to day a list of a few of the most prominent delusions of thís nature Millerim) in the history of the workï, and present th?m as but pari of the experience of the past, in order lo show the disappotnted ín their expectations that they are hot the first in order of time, nor the only onee, by many thuüsands, who have been carried away by uch faricies. Without referí ing to the deltisions of the Jews, who looked for s temporat reign of Christ ai air earthly pntentate, o the mistaken ntnong the early Chrietians who confidentiy predicted the second advent of ihe Saviour na lo occur at the end of the Roman Pagan empire, giving him aïsfl an earthly ktngdom; or the marnier in wbïch tho end of the ertjsadee: tndf the victory of the Christiant over the Moslem would estabíish that kingdom - we wil 1 look to the Titer manifestations of the consequences of rrristakintr the promises of th gospel, and confomlintr thing spiritual and temporal, lt ia snfBcient to say that the later deloeions are but a perpeluation of t!ie error of thosc wbo, in early times, rosej and eaying, "I arn Christ," deceived many. In the year 1214, it was predicted and promiacd that the Meditornnenn sea phonld be dried up, that beüevers should pats to Jernsaïem on foot, there to build up the new city. After what we have seen in oor own time, it wif I readify lJ cred'Hed thot Italy was filled with pilgrim8 waiting the drying up of the cea, to commnce their journey; and the misery which these persons enfierecí, nd wbich they inflicted uporr their frien'ás nnd dependants by their infatúa '.ion, wil! be easily ircragined. In 15S4, John Sto-fferns, a mnthematician and aBtrologer of Sumbin, predicted a grea deluge, and he was so far bclieved that those who owned landu near the een eold out at a great lose. Books were pnbüshed giving directions how to escape the inundo.tion; ant sorveyore actually consnlted the stars, and pointed out what places wou ld be least expos ed tctbe waters. Boats were built and placee on the top of high pillare, in whieh the bc lievers satr witlt tbeb families, waiting for th water to como upr and ffoat them ofT. Man; xrehes were contrivedr with. breathing hole in the top. men nvighit live with' th waters around them until the danger had pass ed away. Vhc time fix-ed for the innuuda tion proved a very dry scasanr and the wale 'proof contrivances were ruined by a contined drought. And nötwithstnnding the failur of this prediction, we find that StoilerusOi not loso his fa i tli , for le then set the fínal des truclion of the world for the year 153.6, an died prophesying it. Meanwhile, Martin Stifelius predicted th nd of 'ihe world to lake plae in 1534, givingLhe íluy and the hour. He was in hip pulpit, preaching on the subject, when the time nrrived, and his audience was waiting the consummttion of all things, when a violent storm arose, nnd for a short time he and his people were full in belief that nll wns over.- I The storm passed nway - the sky was serene I - the day was delightfnl - and the prencher i was drngged frons his desk, and almost beaten ' to death. l William Hacket, in 1590, predicted the truction of Ergland, and had not a few followers. He claimsd himself to be monarch f of all Europe, and his followers proclaimed ♦ liim. He was hanged for sedition - an ' gument which is not now used against error. f Walter Gostello, In 1658, foretold the I toration of Charle II, and the destruction of ' London. The first part of his prophecy being fulfillcd, gave him ome credit as a ' et. The second part, it is hardly jiecessary to ( say, is ta yet unaccomplished. Thomas ' ner , who flouriehed about the same time, 1 clared that earthly kings wei 9 imposters; and ( attempting with a crovrd of his followers to I tokc actual possession of the earth, in the name ' of the Lord, they were oppoBed by the ' ïery. They fonght like ' selves invulnerable, but were overpowered by numbers, and Venner, with twelve others, ' were lianged. There were several such prophets in France ' in the eeventeenth century; but ono of the most remarkable of the seers of that era was John M son, a minister of Water Startford, ncar Buckingham, England. Mason believed himself Elios, and announccd that Christ was shorlly to appear on earth, and fix his throne at Startford. Au immense concourse of peopie met at the time appointed, and with fiddles nnd othér musical instrumenta, with dancing and otlïer tumultnous signa of rejuicing, awaited ths coronation. Poor Miiüon died in 1697, a full believer in the delusion that he had frequent conversntion with the Saviour, and that his divino mission was conflrmed. Whist. un, the mathematician, was a believer ii) the immediate approach of the milleniurn, nnd lived to see the failureoftwo predictions. Lord Napier, the inventor of the lognrithms, also prophc&ied the end of the world, and outlived its term, as he had ret it. )r. Lloyd, Bishop of VVorcester, ac ninety ears of age went to Queen Annn, and proph - esied that at the end of four years the King of France would turn Protestant, there would be a war of religión, and the pnuacy would be de6troyed. To come down to a later time - 176 1 - two learned men arrived at Cologne, who conYcraod with the Jesuíta of that city in Latín, Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldnic. They gave out that they came from Damascus, and were seven hundred yeors old; and propheeied that Consta ntinople would be destroyed in 1767, that the whule world would be shaken by &n earlhquake in 1770, that the eun, moon and Htar would fail in 1771, that the world vould be burnt in 1772, and the geueral judgment tnke place in 1773.In the year 1772, a hermit frightened the f nhabitanta of Trieite into the belief that the e Ie8truction of that city was itnmediately to i ake place: nnd eo general was the faith in t which hts prediction was received.thal the cily i was absolutely deserted to escape the i ruction. But the day poseed over without i any calamity to any one cxcept the unlucky rophet; for u-hen' his disciples retuined to sumo theïr business, tliey found the predictor I of destruction had realized it in hifi own ' jerao. He was hanged by the proper lioritios. i Towardsthe close of the seventeenth i ry, the wholecourt of Prance was tlirown into i error, and people who had never prayed before (tigiin thetï, in the belief that the immediatc destraction of the world was at hand. As tlie event did not verily their fears, and the world eontimied to stand, they made up for tempornry self-denia! by plunging anewr into the woist excesses. The reaction made them infinitely greoter winners than they were aefore. We hatre quoted these facis - Cew, Indeed, atnong very many which might be adduced - to remind the reader that this ia "no new thing under the sun." We are inclined to think that, whh the failura of this last - as fnil it must, for people's expectations cannol be kept up forever - delusions of this particular description will cea&e, and men will no longer strive to be wiee above what ia written. Whelher the end of the world occurs sooner or later, is of little individual consequence 10 any one of us; for death must happen at some Um3, and it is as likely to occur soon as late; and death is an end of the world so fur as he or sho is concerned . We do not think of preparing for thnt by waiting in idlenes6 - nor should any think to prepare for the end of uil thing8 in nny other way than by a continuance cf the performance of our duties to our Maker, to our fellows, and to ourseives.

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Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News