Today, most theologians specializing in eschatology will readily agree
that America is likely not directly referenced in the portions of
Scripture dealing with the End Times. Interestingly, that belief was
not necessarily the case in regards to the eschatologically inclined
during the era of early European settlement and formation of America as a
nation. Nor has fascination with the consummation of all things
gripped as pervasively the imagination of a people as those of the
United States of America.
Without a doubt, the Puritans in particular left an indelible mark upon
the American psyche and character. And that particular brand of
Christianity certainly possessed a number of millenarian proclivities.
However, it is interesting to observe that this spiritual way of life
was not as unified in its approach to the End Times as one might expect
for a system that emphasized conformity to accepted norms in much of its
thought. Most Puritans tended towards some form of postmillennialism.
For example, Jonathan Edwards taught that the Millennium would
transpire before the Second Coming as the Holy Spirit worked through the
redeemed to defeat the Antichrist in the form of the papacy as this
remnant subdued all of the Earth in the name of Christ. The Mathers ---
Cotton and Increase --- on the other hand were more dispensationalist
in their thinking, teaching that believers would be snatched up with
that event followed by the disasters foretold in prophetic passages such
as the Book of Revelation to be completed when Christ returned to
establish the millennial kingdom.
Regardless of where individual Puritans stood along the pre or post
millennial divide, those endeavoring to view all of life through a
particular interpretative lens without a doubt perceived the events of
the day in terms of prophetic fulfillment. For example, at the time of
the French and Indian Wars, Catholic France was often cast in the role
of the Antichrist. When that scenario did not quite unfold as expected,
postmillennialists came to believe that the Revolutionary War would be
the conflict through which the faithful would usher in the Millennium,
with this time around King George III depicted as the Antichrist (Kyle,
81).
Even if the American Revolution and the founding of the Republic did not
result in an anticipated utopia, these events in one sense did result
in a degree of religious liberty hitherto until then unheard of in
history. As such, a number of sects flourishing in such an environment
professed eschatologies that could only be described as unconventional.
One such group was called the Society for the Public Universal Friend.
In 1770, Quaker Jemina Wilkinson was believed to have died from the
plague, with her body even having grown cold. However, she seemed to
have miraculously revived. Eerily, the voice that emanated from her
claimed that the body was no longer inhabited by Jemina but rather by
the Spirit of Life also referred to as the Public Universal Friend
(Kyle, 82). This individual professed to be the Second Coming of Christ
who would rule for a thousand years. For the record, the body known as
Jemina Wilkinson expired in 1819, far short of the end of that being's
prophesied reign.
The Shakers were yet another unusual millennial sect to dot the
religious landscape of the early American republic. Formally known as
the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming, the Shakers
traced their origins to the Shaking Quakers. Ann Lee Stanley led the
group to America in 1774 where they established a communalist
settlement. The group came to regard Mother Ann as the incarnation of
the feminine attributes of God in the form of the Holy Spirit. In terms
of the sect's eschatology, the Second Coming took place in the form of
God manifesting the feminine through Ann Stanley. As such, since
salvation could only be obtained by abstaining from sex, Shakers were to
await the commencement of the Millenniuum in a state of celibacy.
Given that Shakers did not reproduce and that it is difficult to
hoodwink considerable numbers into embracing perpetual celibacy, the
movement eventually petered out.
The millenarian figure that probably had the most profound influence
upon American apocalyptic thought was William Miller. Miller was a
farmer and Baptist layman from New York with a penchant for what might
be categorized as Biblical numerology. Working from Daniel 8:14 that
the sanctuary would be cleansed in two-thousand, three hundred days and
assuming that this cleansing was a reference to Christ's return to Earth
and that one prophetic day equaled a year, Miller calculated using
Bishop Usher's chronology that Christ would return in 1843.
Interestingly, initially Miller did little to promote public interest in
his speculations. It was not until urging by his friends that Miller
took to the preaching circuit. Miller's message made the leap from
being a rural movement to a national phenomena when his teachings were
publicized through newspapers, pamphlets, and extensive evangelistic
outreach which at the time included tents capable of seating up to 4000
souls (Kyle, 89). As the time grew closer, under pressure Miller
relaxed his natural hesitancy and advocated a more specific date between
March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844. When that time frame passed and the
world continued on as it always had, the movement attempted to save
face by setting the date of the Lord's return as October 22, 1844.
Religious frenzy (one might even categorize it as a panic) gripped the
nation. As a result of the ensuing media blitz, many of the fervent
sold their homes and quit their jobs for a predicted apocalypse that
never materialized. This profound letdown known as the Great
Disappointment reverberated across the American religious landscape.
Foremost, the Great Disappointment would serve as a lasting reminder as
to the dangers of setting firm dates regarding the Second Coming in the
minds of the most discerning Christians. It would also serve as the
origin of two distinct theological traditions that would grapple with
the ramifications of the Great Disappointment each in its own way.
The first group that came to grips with the Great Disappointment over
time became what would be known as the Seventh Day Adventists. The
Adventists, for the most part, spiritualized their eschatology in order
to avoid additional theological upheaval and existential hardship. On
October 22, 1844, Christ did not physically return to Earth to clean it
as the sanctuary. Instead, Adventists believed, the Lord entered the
holiest parts of Heaven to begin investigating the sins of His people in
preparation for His imminent return (Abanes, 227). Seventh Day
Sabbitarianism became attached to the Adventist movement when Ellen G.
White speculated that Christ did not return in 1844 because believers
had neglected a literalist application of that particular Old Testament
law and He would not do so until God's people once again observed
Saturday as the day of rest.
The second prominent sect to come out of the Millerite Great
Disappointment was the Jehovah Witnesses. Whereas the majority of
Adventists learned from past mistakes and grew more tentative in
regards to setting nailed down dates, the Jehovah's Witnesses continued
on in this practice with gusto along with the other assorted doctrinal
errors for which this sect would become infamous. Charles Taze Russell
hoped to preserve Millerite eschatology by postulating that the error
was actually to be found in the chronology formulated by Archbishop
Usher. As such, it was predicted that Christ would instead return in
1874. When this prophecy did not transpire, it was insisted that Christ
had indeed returned to Earth, but that He would remain invisible until
the Battle of Armageddon.
Russell continued to tinker with the dates. He then came to the
conclusion that all would be revealed by 1881; and, when that did not
pan out, it was claimed that 1914 would be the year to end all years.
That did turn a few heads as at that time the world was indeed gripped
in the overwhelming conflagration then known as the Great War. Yet
Russell proved wrong once again and tried to save face by insisting that
1918 would be the year of cosmic significance. However, Russell died
in 1916 before getting to realize he would once again be profoundly
mistaken.
His successor Joseph Franklin Rutherford, though admitting the mistakes
made, did not learn from these by changing course. Instead Rutherford
continued on with the pattern, insisting that 1925 would assuredly be
the year in which all things would be consummated. The results were
once again no different after many Witnesses quit their jobs and sold
their homes. It would take for additional embarrassments in 1975 and
1984 for acolytes of the Watchtower to to realize that it might be
best simply to hold that Jesus was coming soon without exactly
advertising a highly specific estimated time of arrival.
Given that America was in part founded by a people of profound religious
motivations, it is expected that fascination with the End Times would
play an important role in the psyche of those believing that they were a
part of a special destiny or divinely-appointed plan. By studying
those motivated in such a manner, discerning Americans can be on guard
to protect against such an impulse from getting out of hand.
By Frederick Meekins
Bibibliography
Abanes, Richard. End-Times Visions: The Doomsday Obsession. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1988.
Kirsch, Jonathan. A History Of The End Of The World: How The Most
Controversial Book In The Bible Changed The Course Of Western
Civilization. San Francisco, California: Harper Collins Publishers,
2006.
Kagan, Donald, Ozment, Steven and Turner, Frank. The Western Heritage
Since 1789 (Fourth Edition). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company,
1991.
Kyle, Richard. The Last Days Are Here Again: A History Of The End
Times. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1988. Hanover, New
Hampshire: University Press of New England, 1996.
Ladd, George. The Blessed Hope: A Biblical Study of The Second Advent
and The Rapture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing,
1956.
Thompson, Damian. The End Of Time: Faith and Fear in the Shadow of the Millennium.
