This issue features Samuel S. Snow, the man whose calculations brought to light October 22, 1844 as the date for Christ's coming.
Behold! The Bridegroom Cometh!
The camp meeting at Exeter, New Hampshire, lacked inspiration, depth, spirit! Elder Joseph Bates was preaching on the third day, August 15, 1844, reviewing the great lines of prophecy which proved Christ's second coming was at the door.
An Interrupted Sermon
Suddenly, a strong, clear, pleasant voice rang out across the crowd of believers, "Brother Bates! It's too late to spend our time upon these truths! We know them well and they have blessed us and guided us in their time."
A middle-aged, modest-appearing woman had interrupted Elder Bates. She continued, "It is too late! Too late to spend our precious camp meeting time as we have till now. Time is too short!"
The crowd leaned forward, eager to catch her words. "Let the Lord's servants speak who have meat in season for his household. Here is a man with a message from God. 'Behold, the Bridegroom cometh, go out to meet Him!'"
"Amen!" responded the vast throng with emotion. Elder Bates invited the man to come forward and speak; then he sat down to listen.
Samuel Sheffield Snow had arrived on horseback while Bates was speaking. He had joined a sister and her husband, Elder & Mrs. John Couch. With open Bible, he whispered into her ear the words that had inspired her to interrupt Elder Bates.
The result was electrifying! Snow had a message regarding the calculation of the time prophecy that brought new inspiration, purpose and consecration to the believers. Christ would come in the autumn that year, 1844! How did he arrive at his time calculations and startling conclusion?
Error in the Calculations
In the May 17, 1844, issue of The Midnight Cry, William Miller had pointed out several Jewish events that suggested the seventh month as a possible time for the advent. Among these events were the atonement and cleansing of the sanctuary. He said that on the Day of Atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month, the High Priest entered the inner sanctuary for the work of atonement. Miller recommended it as worthy of prayerful consideration.
Perhaps Snow considered this possibility, for he wrote a challenging article printed in The Midnight Cry, February 16, 1844, p. 243, in which he declared, "The Lord has shown me ... that we must wait and suffer a little longer." Giving several arguments regarding the "dispensation of the fullness of times" (Eph. 1:10), he proposed that the termination of the prophetic periods would be in the autumn of A.D. 1844 rather than in the spring.
His first argument was based on the idea of a week of 7000 years, wherein for each day of the creation week, 1000 years would correspond to the age of the earth. The last 1000 years or Sabbath rest, would be during the Millenium. Entire years must be taken into account, and events such as the Hebrew captivity (B.C. 742) and the breaking of the power of Manasseh (B.C. 677) occurred in the autumn, rather than the spring or beginning of the year. This would bring the end of the age and the beginning of the millenial Sabbath to the fall of 1844. His second argument was based on the 2300 day prophecy of Daniel 8. He proposed that the 70 year period did not begin on the first day of the year; that Artaxerxes began to reign in the autumn of B.C. 457; and that the other dates on the time line like A.D. 27, the end of the 69 weeks, with the imprisonment of John the Baptist, which occurred after the passover, should be adjusted accordingly. This left 1817 full years to be fulfilled, which would bring the end of the prophetic period down to the autumn of A.D. 1844.
Not until the Exeter camp meeting did this prophetic chronology become prominent. James White, an eye witness at the camp meeting, narrated how the solemn, dignified preacher, S. S. Snow, "... showed to the entire satisfaction of that vast body of intelligent believers ... the prophetic period [would] ... terminate in the fall." He told how, on "The next day ... the same speaker repeated, with still greater clearness and force, ... that the types pointed to the tenth day of the seventh month as the time for our great High Priest to come out of Heaven and bless his waiting people."--Life Incidents in Connection with the Great Advent Movement, J. S. White, S.D.A. Publishing Association, Battle Creek, MI, 1868, pp. 161, 162, 164.
Elder Bates declared that Snow's message "worked like leaven throughout the whole camp." When that meeting ended, "the granite hills of New Hampshire were ringing with the mighty cry, 'Behold the Bridegroom cometh! Go ye out to meet him!'"--Joseph Bates, Life of Joseph Bates, Review & Herald Pub., 1927, p. 218.
Though the leaders were slow to accept the message, it spread like wildfire through the ranks of the believers. The tenth day of the seventh month, the Jewish Day of Atonement, October 22, 1844, was considered to be the target date. The countdown to the Advent was on!
Snow intensified efforts to get the news to the public. He published the True Midnight Cry, a four page article, at Haverhill, Massachusetts, on August 22. It was filled with brief but convincing arguments. His preaching of the "definite time" was soon taken up by hundreds of Millerite preachers, while Snow himself lectured continuously throughout the East. Great power attended the cry and eventually, the ranks of the believers and leaders closed together in support of the new date, and the message spread with surprising swiftness, working a deeper consecration in the believers.
Perhaps due to their profound certainty regarding the corrected date, the believers were destined to suffer an even more bitter disappointment when Jesus failed to return to the earth on October 22, 1844, in the Fall as expected, than the disappointment of March- April of that year.
Behold, the Bridegroom Cometh!
Snow's prophetic chronology had been correct. God had given him insight and understanding, and sent through this talented, though imperfect, man the message which electrified the Adventists of 1844. Today, we understand that time setting is not wise. Nevertheless, Jesus said, "When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." (Luke 21:31). The signs of the times are shouting out the same electrifying message of the midnight cry, but with even greater force and urgency, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!" (Matt. 25:6).
Ellen G. White envisioned the last days, declaring, "As the third angel's message swells into a loud cry, great power and glory will attend its proclamation."--Testimonies, Vol. 7, p. 17.
May God grant His people in 1993 even greater consecration, urgency, and power than was manifested in the advent movement of 1844. Let us wake up! Let us lay aside quarrelsome divisions and theological questionings. Let us consecrate our lives anew to the Saviour, and unite in the power of the Holy Spirit to preach the warning to a suffering and dying world. The Bridegroom, Jesus, is coming! Get ready!! "Even so, Come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20)
Wake Up The Mighty Men!
1844 is a date rooted in Bible prophecy. Out of this cradle in time our denominated church was born. The Lord then raised up godly men and women to understand, at least in part, the awesome work He was to take up at that time--the closing work of salvation. Though the "coming" prophesied was not that which they expected (the coming of Christ to this earth would take place later in the antitypical Day of Atonement). He did "come" to the Ancient of Days to receive a kingdom. (Dan. 7:13, 14). This coming of the bridegroom was at midnight, as mentioned in Christ's parable of Matthew 25, and was heralded by the midnight cry. This midnight cry is still light for us, if we will but take it to Scripture and build upon it.
What is the marriage into which Christ has gone? If He has already gone into it, He is clearly ready. Who is left to be ready for it? What does it mean for Him to receive a kingdom? How does He obtain subjects? What type of King is He? How does He exercise dominion? Could answers to these questions explain why He has not yet come to claim His bride, His kingdom?
We are told that 1844 was the last of the time prophecies, that after that time, as the angel declared, "there should be time no longer." (Rev. 10:6). The reason for this was that "in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." (Rev. 10:7). Since God has no more time prophecies on His agenda, for what is He waiting? What is this "mystery of God" that is to be finished? Has it happened?
What events were to take place between the coming of Christ to the Ancient of Days in the Holy of Holies, and the coming of Christ to this earth? The answer to these questions should engage our deepest study and strongest commitment.
If we review the sequence of events in broad strokes as revealed in Scripture, we find that before the coming of the day of the Lord, He in His great mercy does a special work to prepare a people to meet Him (cf. Mal. 4:5, 6; Luke 1:17). Times of judgment have ever been revelations of God's character and man's need. This work we believe the Lord undertook in 1844. There has been no time prophecy since to delay His second coming. But since this work of preparation is noncoercive, those being prepared can delay it. And they have. The Lord attempted to complete this work numerous times since 1844. Many times He tells us He could have come "ere this". Especially in 1888, He confronted this church with the message that was to prepare them, and through them, the world. Notice some inspired comments on that history:
"Satan has been having things his own way; but the Lord has raised up men and given them a solemn message to bear to His people, to wake up the mighty men to prepare for battle, for the day of God's preparation. This message Satan sought to make of none effect, and when every voice and every pen should have been intensely at work to stay the workings and powers of Satan there was a drawing apart; there were differences of opinion."--EGW, 1888 Materials, p. 210, 211.
"Questions were asked at that time. 'Sister White, do you think that the Lord has any new and increased light for us as a people?' I answered, 'Most assuredly, I do not only think so, but I can speak understandingly. I know that there is precious truth to be unfolded to us if we are the people that are to stand in the day of God's preparation.'"--EGW, 1888 Materials, p. 219.
"Do not allow your minds to be diverted from the all-important theme of the righteousness of Christ by the study of theories. Do not imagine that the performance of ceremonies, the observance of outward forms, will make you an heir of heaven. We want to keep the mind steadfastly to the point for which we are working; for it is now the day of the Lord's preparation, and we should yield our hearts to God, that they may be softened and subdued by the Holy Spirit."--EGW, 1888 Materials, p. 962).
"The natural heart is not to bring its own tainted, corrupting principles into the work of God. There must be no concealing of the principles of our faith. The third angel's message is to be sounded by God's people. It is to swell to the loud cry. The Lord has a time appointed when he will bind off the work; but when is that time? When the truth to be proclaimed for these last days shall go forth as a witness to all nations, then shall the end come. If the power of Satan can come into the very temple of God, and manipulate things as he pleases, the time of preparation will be prolonged."--EGW, 1888 Materials, p. 1525.
Let us unite the light of the midnight cry with the loud cry of Christ's righteousness given to this church. Let us allow the Lord the freedom to do the work in and through us. Thus we will hasten the day when the desire of His heart (John 17:24) is met, and His disappointment at the delay is removed.--RH, 12/15/04.
The 7Th Month
A Prophetic Chronology
by Samuel S. Snow
Dear Bro. Southard:--I have shown in a previous No. [Aug. 22, 1844], the confirming of the covenant signifies the establishing of the gospel on its firm foundation, i. e. "Jesus and the resurrection," by the testimony of Christ and of his apostles, accompanied by those miracles which were indispensably necessary. Now if we can ascertain when that work began, we shall have the exact chronology of the last week of the 70, and consequently of the 2300 days. This is my present purpose.
John began his ministry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Cesar. (Luke 3:1-3) According to the harmonious testimony of chronologists, the administration of Tiberius began in Aug., A. D. 12. From that point fourteen full years reach to Aug., A. D. 26, when the fifteenth year began. John's ministry, therefore, commenced in the latter part of A. D. 26. After he had baptized the mass of the people, Jesus was baptized. (Luke 3:21) We are told in verse 23, that he "began to be about thirty years of age."
The Christian era is reckoned from the end of the year of the Julian period, 1473--the year 1, of our era coinciding with 4717. But it is evident that Jesus was born four years before this date. Josephus, in his Antiquities, B. 17, ch. 6, mentions particularly, an eclipse of the moon, which occurred just before the death of Herod. By examining the astronomical tables, Ferguson has shown that this very eclipse was March 13, in the Julian year, 4710. Christ was born before this; for this same monster, Herod, sought to destroy him, and he was carried into Egypt till Herod was dead. The true time, therefore, of the birth of our Lord, is near the end of the Julian year, 4709, just four years before the common era. He was consequently, thirty years old, near the end of A. D. 26. The first passover after this is given in John 2:13. This was in the spring of A. D. 27. Jesus was in Jerusalem, the capital of Judea, at this time, but after this he was absent from that land for a while; for in chap. 3:22, we are told that he "returned into Judea." We are also informed, in verse 24, that "John was not yet cast into prison." It is certain, therefore, that the imprisonment of John was as late as the summer or autumn of A. D. 27. From Matt. 4:12, 17; Mark 1:14, 15; and Acts 10:37, we learn that "after John was put in prison," Jesus began his public preaching in Galilee, saying, "the time is fulfilled." Here ended the 69 weeks, and here began the confirming of the covenant for one week. As the beginning of the week was in the autumn of A. D. 27, the "midst of the week," was the spring of A. D. 31, at the crucifixion; and the week ended in autumn, A. D. 34, when Paul, the special and last witness, gave his testimony to "Jesus and the resurrection." The remaining 1810 years extend to autumn, A. D., 1844. And as the middle of the week was in the first month, so the week ended in the seventh month. The 2300 days must, therefore, end in the seventh month of this year.--The Midnight Cry, Sept. 19, 1844, p. 87.
Samuel S. Snow -- 1806-1870
Modern Elijah?
"I stand before you as a monument of the grace of God, a living proof of his truths. ... A few years ago I was a callous and hardened Infidel, and was so for years. ... Falling in with unbelievers in the Bible, and various skeptics, I became impregnated with their false doctrines, and, up to my 35th year, I was a settled unbeliever in the Bible. ... From 1833 to 1839, I was a constant patron of the Boston Investigator, the organ of the Infidels. ... I took an active part in this cause, and was for several years an agent for the Investigator ... and a contributor to its columns."[1]
"I remained a skeptic till 1839, and then, through the power of God, who ordered my steps to be turned into the right way, a book written by Mr. Miller fell into my hands, which advocated the coming of Christ. ... I had often heard of Mr. Miller and his views, and supposed them to be all moonshine. ... I took the book home and read it, and the more I read it the more was I impressed with its truth.... I saw the perfect harmony between Daniel and the Revelation... , that the Bible, which I had so long rejected, was the word of God... , [and] that I had been rebelling against [God].... I prayed to God in secret, I prayed in my family, and I went forward in the discharge of that duty that belongs to Christians."[2]
Snow's "family" always remains in the background. Evidently, they were in agreement with his change of heart. His wife, son and three daughters supported him and often followed him wherever he would be staying any length of time.
In 1840, Snow united with a congregationalist church, even though it was against the advent faith, but within three years, felt it necessary to withdraw from the church.
In 1842, Snow felt it was his duty to begin preaching the Millerite doctrine, though without good results. At the East Kingston camp meeting in 1843, he consecrated himself for the first time; and, laying all on the altar before God, he left his family and began laboring full time, without wages in the vineyard of his heavenly Father. His witness was, "I believe that as certain as the Bible is God's truth, that just so certain the next event will be the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ."[3] This conviction possessed Snow's life from this time on.
After closely studying the prophetic calculations, Snow became convinced that they were in error. That the true end of time date should fall in the autumn of 1844. This he wrote of at least twice to the editor of The Midnight Cry. The issues of February 22, and March 7, 1844 carried his arguments.
In April of 1844, Snow moved his family to Worcester, Massachusetts., where they were located through to the end of that year.
Snow's conviction that Miller's proposed date was incorrect was greatly augmented when the Spring date passed uneventfully. He continued agitating the idea in his correspondence with The Midnight Cry on May 2, June 27, August 22, and September 19.
His great breakthrough came with the camp meeting at Exeter, New Hampshire, August 15. Snow next published his chronological conclusions in a paper called The True Midnight Cry. He was welcomed at other camp meetings. His message, that Jesus would come October 22, 1844, with its application to the ten foolish virgins, and its cry, "Behold the Bridegroom Cometh! Go ye out to meet Him!" stirred the advent believers to action.--See article entitled, "Behold, The Bridegroom Cometh!," p. 1.
Nevertheless, this date also passed. The Event the Millerites so fervently awaited once again failed to occur. For a brief time after the disappointment, Snow questioned as to whether a mistake had been made in the prophetic reckoning of the year, and searched for another time or event. He rejected the message Hiram Edson had received, that the date had indeed been correct, and that Jesus had then entered the most holy place and had a work to do before He would return to the earth. He continued searching for a definite time for Christ's return. He preached it would be October 22, of 1845, 1846, or 1847, and this caused sharp conflicts to develop between him and the Millerites who had decided against further date setting. Finally, he moved to New York in January of 1845, where he had been invited to pastor the Franklin Hall congregation.
The story is told that "The people in Worcester wanted Snow to be their Pastor, but would not let him unless he confessed... that their time setting was wrong." He would not relinquish this belief, and decided to go to New York. "So without enough money to get to New York, he left his wife and four children and headed south. He stopped in Hartford and gave only three lectures because he caught cold. They gave him six dollars with which he proceeded to New York." Once there, he was invited to pastor the Franklin Hall congregation and only "accepted on the condition that they move his family to New York. They arrived January 10, 1845."[4]
Snow next adopted the "shut door" theory from Joseph Turner, which in essence taught that the date was correct, but the event in error, that the Bridegroom came spiritually and shut the door to His house, and therefore, "only those who entered on the twenty-second of October were saved, all other sinners were condemned."[5] Because of adopting this idea, he was dismissed from the Franklin Hall church in February, 1845, after his last sermon on the 27th. With a group of members who agreed with him, he established a new group in March, 1845, called the Mount Zion Church.
He began publishing a paper entitled The Jubilee Standard to disseminate the "shut door" theory, but it continued only sporadically for 21 issues, from March to August, 1845. Regarding the "shut door" theory, He declared, "... every one that has eyes to see will at once perceive that the testimony must be closed. ... God has been judging his people, dead and living, since the 1st day of the 7th month. ... the messengers of the luke-warm 'Advent churches' are, by our Lord, addressed thus: 'I know thy works..., because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.' This signifies utter rejection."[6]
He went so far as to say, "With those who do not believe this great and glorious truth, we have nothing to do.... Their doom is sealed, and it is just.... They have likewise rejected the world's last warning—the true Midnight Cry, and God has rejected them."[7]
This reasoning regarding the shut door was not accepted by the group of adventists who later was developed into the Seventh-day Adventist church. Ellen G. White explained their belief regarding the shut door, "I saw that Jesus had shut the door of the holy place, and no man can open it; and that He had opened the door into the most holy, and no man can shut it. ... (Rev. 3:7, 8) The enemies of the present truth have been trying to open the door of the holy place, that Jesus has shut, and to close the door of the most holy place, which He opened in 1844. ..."[8]
In May, 1845, Snow fancied himself to be Elijah, the prophet. In a chapter entitled "A Proclamation", from a book he wrote, he declared about himself,
"By the special favor of God, through Jesus Christ, ... I have been called and commissioned to go before the face of the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to prepare the way for His descent from heaven.... as His Prime Minister, I demand of all Kings, Presidents, Magistrates, and Rulers, civil or ecclesiastical, a full surrender of all power and authority, into my hands, on behalf of King Jesus the Coming One. ... War, Famine, Pestilence, And Destruction ... shall go forth among the nations more and more, till the earth be utterly desolate. Then shall ye know that a prophet hath been among you."[9] His followers began publishing The True Day Star, Dec. 29, 1845, proclaiming that Jesus was King and Snow, his messenger, Elijah.
Snow also refused to endorse the movement which was growing under the leadership of James and Ellen White. Denouncing a woman in the pulpit, he said, "Let your woman [sic] keep silent in the congregation. ... I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over man, but to be in silence."[10] Neither did he accept the additional light, such as the seventhday Sabbath and the sleeping state of the dead.
He preached his last sermon, Sunday, July 13, 1870, at the Mount Zion Church. He died at the age of 84, according to his funeral service. 11 Snow's thinking had become twisted, and he continued believing himself to be Elijah until the day he died. From Samuel Snow's life we can understand that God may use a man to present actual truth, but that fact will in no wise preserve him from undue exaltation nor from erring from the path of truth.
Leaders' Reactions to the Seventh Month
Josiah Litch: "I ... am looking for the coming of the King of kings on the tenth day of the seventh month. ... I now rejoice in the glorious light which shines forth in the word of God from the types of the Old Testament."--The Midnight Cry, October 12, 1844, p. 125.
Charles Fitch: (Ill at the time, died before October 22, 1844,—See Lest We Forget, Vol. 2, No. 3.) "... on hearing Brother Storr's article on the Seventh Month read, he shouted 'Glory!!' several times, said it was true, and he should be raised to proclaim it."--Ibid., October 12, p. 124.
William Miller: "I see a glory in the seventh month which I never saw before.... Let Brother Snow, Brother Storrs and others be blessed for their instrumentality in opening my eyes. I am almost home, Glory! Glory!! Glory!!!"--Ibid., October 12, p. 121.
J. V. Himes: "Our present position—the expectation that the Second Coming of the Lord is to take place on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month, which coincides nearly with October 22d, has produced an unexpected sensation."--Ibid., October 19, 1844, p. 136.
George Storrs: "On this present truth, I, through grace, dare venture all, and feel that to indulge in doubt about it, would be to offend God and bring upon myself swift destruction."--Ibid., October 3, 1844, p. 99.
Ellen G. White: It was "a great light from heaven shining upon the people of God... to give power to the second angel's message. ... Angels were watching with the deepest interest the effect of the message, and were elevating those who received it, and drawing them from earthly things to obtain large supplies of salvation's fountain."--Early Writings, p. 239.
Like A Tidal Wave
by Ellen G. White
In the summer of 1844, midway between the time when it had been first thought that the 2300 days would end, and the autumn of the same year, ... the message was proclaimed, ... "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!"
That which led to this ... was the discovery that the decree of Artaxerxes for the restoration of Jerusalem, which formed the starting point for the period of the 2300 days, went into effect in the autumn of the year 457 B.C., and not at the beginning of the year, as had been formerly believed. Reckoning from the autumn of 457, the 2300 years terminate in the autumn of 1844.
Arguments drawn from the Old Testament types also pointed to the autumn as the time when the event represented by the "cleansing of the sanctuary" must take place.
Under the Mosaic system the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the great Day of Atonement, occurred on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month (Leviticus 16:29-34), when the high priest, having made an atonement for all Israel, and thus removed their sins from the sanctuary, came forth and blessed the people. So it was believed that Christ, our great High Priest, would appear to purify the earth by the destruction of sin and sinners, and to bless His waiting people with immortality. The tenth day of the seventh month, the great Day of Atonement, the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, which in the year 1844 fell upon the twenty-second of October, was regarded as the time of the Lord's coming. This was in harmony with the proofs already presented that the 2300 days would terminate in the autumn, and the conclusion seemed irresistible.
In the parable of Matthew 25 the time of waiting and slumber is followed by the coming of the bridegroom. This was in accordance with the arguments just presented, both from prophecy and from the types. They carried strong conviction of their truthfulness; and the "midnight cry" was heralded by thousands of believers.
Like a tidal wave the movement swept over the land. From city to city, from village to village, and into remote country places it went, until the waiting people of God were fully aroused. Fanaticism disappeared before this proclamation like early frost before the rising sun. Believers saw their doubt and perplexity removed, and hope and courage animated their hearts. The work was free from those extremes which are ever manifested when there is human excitement without the controlling influence of the word and Spirit of God. It was similar in character to those seasons of humiliation and returning unto the Lord which among ancient Israel followed messages of reproof from His servants. It bore the characteristics that mark the work of God in every age. There was little ecstatic joy, but rather deep searching of heart, confession of sin, and forsaking of the world. A preparation to meet the Lord was the burden of agonizing spirits. There was persevering prayer and unreserved consecration. ...
Of all the great religious movements since the days of the apostles, none have been more free from human imperfection and the wiles of Satan than was that of the autumn of 1844.--The Great Controversy, pp. 398-401.
Notes: