The Great Disappointment

Hiram Edson was an Adventist who had waited fervently for the Messiah’s appearing on that fateful October day, now known as the Great Disappointment of 1844. The next morning, Hiram led a small, demoralized group in prayer, humbly seeking the Lord’s guidance. Directly after, as he made his way across his cornfield, he reports having suddenly felt a hand heavy upon his shoulder. Looking up, he saw the heavens open to him; he then saw Jesus pass from the Holy Place into the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary. And he realized that God had just given him, in vision, the answer to their prayer.

After Edson’s miraculous vision, the remaining Adventists returned to the prophecies in Daniel, comparing Scripture with Scripture more extensively. The central passage was found in Daniel 8: “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed” (v. 14). This was a time prophecy.

Utilizing the biblical principle for how time is to be calculated in Bible prophecy (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6), the Adventists had correctly figured that 2,300 prophetic days actually meant 2,300 literal years, which brought them to the year 1844. However, they had assumed “the sanctuary” stood for the Earth, which would “be cleansed” by fire at the Second Coming.

But now they saw that “the sanctuary” was the sanctuary in heaven; it was not the Earth but the heavenly sanctuary that would begin to be cleansed at the end of the 2,300 years in the antitypical Day of Atonement. Their date had been right; their event had been wrong. Christ’s disciples also went through a period of disappointment after His death—and then rejoicing at His resurrection and ascension.

These faithful Adventists were actually following Christ’s admonition to them: “Hold fast what you have.” They did not give up hope of their Lord’s coming; they did not overturn prophecy and Scripture. They held on to what they had and realized that it was not the Bible that had erred—but they.

“I am coming quickly!” Jesus affirmed. Was this not just the assurance these disappointed believers needed? And if Jesus was coming quickly then, how much nearer is His coming for us today? How much more vital is it for us now to “hold fast” until the end?

Faithful Savior, when my hopes are disappointed, may I not blame You but instead return to the promises in Your Word to guide me out of despair.

For Further Study: Psalm 119:116, 117; Luke 24:21; James 1:2–4

Key Bible Texts

Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. (Revelation 3:11 KJV)