August 10, 2023 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Greetings, friends. Today as we continue through The Great Controversy we will meet an honest-hearted farmer who had been led to doubt the divine authority of the Scriptures, yet sincerely desired to know the truth. His name was William Miller, and he was specially chosen by God to lead out in the proclamation of Christ’s Second Coming.
William Miller was born on February 15, 1782, in the U.S. State of Massachusetts. When he was four years old, his family moved to rural Low Hampton in the state of New York. Even as a young child, Miller showed signs of being bright.
We read in The Great Controversy, “Though he did not enjoy the advantages of a collegiate education, his love of study and a habit of careful thought and close criticism rendered him a man of sound judgment and comprehensive views. He possessed an irreproachable moral character and an enviable reputation, being generally esteemed for integrity, thrift, and benevolence” (p. 317).
While growing up in a home with Christian influences, William Miller decided as a young man that the Scriptures were just too difficult to understand, so he determined to follow the influence of his friends and became a “deist.” Deism was a popular philosophical movement at the time, based solely on rational thought without any reliance on God’s revelation as contained in the Bible. While Deists claimed to believe in the existence of God, they rejected the idea that He had any involvement in the universe after creating it.
William Miller remained a deist for about twelve years, but at the age of 34 the Holy Spirit touched his heart. Realizing he had no assurance of happiness beyond the grave, Miller wrestled with his own thoughts for several months. He later wrote:
“The more I thought, the more scattered were my conclusions. I tried to stop thinking, but my thoughts would not be controlled. I was truly wretched, but did not understand the cause. . . I knew that there was a wrong, but knew not how or where to find the right. I mourned, but without hope” (The Great Controversy, p. 318).
Poor William Miller continued in this terrible state until, “Suddenly,” he wrote, “The character of a Saviour was vividly impressed upon my mind. It seemed that there might be a being so good and compassionate as to himself atone for our transgressions . . . I immediately felt how lovely such a being must be, and imagined that I could cast myself into the arms of, and rest in the mercy of, such a one” (The Great Controversy, p. 319).
Miller longed to find such a Being, and decided to turn to the Bible, although he had previously viewed it as an uninspired book.
“I saw that the Bible did bring to view just such a Saviour as I needed,” he wrote, “and I was perplexed to find how an uninspired book should develop principles so perfectly adapted to the wants of a fallen world. I was constrained to admit that the Scriptures must be a revelation from God. They became my delight; and in Jesus I found a friend” (The Great Controversy, p. 319).
“The Scriptures,” wrote Miller, “which before were dark and contradictory, now became the lamp to my feet and light to my path. My mind became settled and satisfied. I found the Lord God to be a Rock in the midst of the ocean of life” (The Great Controversy, p. 319).
As Miller publicly professed his faith in the religion he had once despised, his former friends quickly turned on him, using the very arguments he had stated to refute the divine authority of the Scriptures.
Although Miller was not prepared to immediately answer them, “he reasoned that if the Bible is a revelation from God, it must be consistent with itself; and that as it was given for man’s instruction, it must be adapted to his understanding. He determined to study the Scriptures for himself, and ascertain if every apparent contradiction could not be harmonized” (The Great Controversy, pp. 319, 320).
William Miller decided to study the Bible in earnest. Allowing the Scriptures to speak for themselves, he put aside all of his preconceived opinions, and did not use any commentaries. Instead, he decided to study God’s Word by comparing Scripture with Scripture with the aid of marginal references in his Bible, and a concordance.
He moved forward in a regular and methodical manner, beginning with Genesis, reading verse by verse. He went no faster than what he was able to understand. When he came across a text that did not seem clear, using his concordance, he compared it with every other passage in Scripture that dealt with the topic until the message came into full harmony. He then moved on to the next verse.
God blessed William Miller. We read that “As he studied with earnest prayer for divine enlightenment, that which had before appeared dark to his understanding was made clear. He experienced the truth of the Psalmist’s words: ‘The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.’ Psalm 119:130” (The Great Controversy, p. 320).
In our next video, we will continue to follow William Miller in his study and see what amazing things God revealed to this humble man through Scripture, and how He used Miller to proclaim to the world that His coming was near.
I invite you to pray with me just now.
Father in Heaven. Thank You for the Scriptures. Thank You. That You will lead us each one as we study the Scriptures. Just as You did William Miller and so many others. People who were earnest about learning truth and understanding what Your Word was all about. In a practical manner. So bless each of us as we study God’s Word, as we read it, as we take into our lives that which we can then share with others, proclaiming Jesus loves us with an everlasting love and that Jesus is coming soon. In Christ’s name we ask it. Amen.