God's strange work : William Miller and the end of the world / David L. Rowe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rowe, David L.

Contributor:

Beverly Bennett Rutstein CW'50 Fund.

Series:

Library of religious biography

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Miller, William, 1782-1849.

Miller, William.

Bible. Old Testament.

Millerite movement--History.

Millerite movement.

End of the world--History of doctrines--19th century.

End of the world.

Bible. Old Testament--Prophecies--History--19th century.

Bible.

Adventists--History.

Adventists.

History.

Prophecies.

End of the world--History of doctrines.

Physical Description:

xxii, 249 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Grand Rapids, Mich. : William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2008.

Summary:

Calvinist Baptist preacher William Miller (1782-1849) was the first prominent American to popularize the use of biblical prophecy to determine a specific and imminent time for Christ's return to earth. On October 22, 1844 - a day later known as the Great Disappointment - he and his followers gave away their possessions, abandoned their work, donned white robes, and ascended to rooftops and hilltops to await a Second Coming that never actually came. Or so the story goes.

The truth - revealed here - is far less titillating but just as captivating. In fact, David Rowe argues, Miller was in many ways a mainstream, even typical figure of his time. Reflecting Rowe's meticulous research throughout, God's Strange Work does more than tell one man's remarkable story. It encapsulates the broader history of American Christianity in the time period and sets the stage for many significant later developments: the founding of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the rise of various well-known religious movements, and even the enduring American fascination with end-times prophecy. Rowe rescues Miller from the fringes and places him where he rightly belongs - in the center of American religious history.

Contents:

Whereby I might please God

The society of a superior class of men

How has he visited me in my nightly dreams

A feast of reason

Go and tell it to the world

My heart inclines more towards them

I am coming on

Our hearts are growing weary of thy so long delay.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 236-244) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Beverly Bennett Rutstein CW'50 Fund.

ISBN:

9780802803801

0802803806

OCLC:

191865364