WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:03.601 --> 00:00:05.071 / Megan Skane: Every movement begins somewhere. 00:00:05.431 --> 00:00:08.401 Often it's not with a grand event, but with a quiet question. 00:00:08.851 --> 00:00:11.251 One man, one moment, and one spark. 00:00:13.228 --> 00:00:16.948 Today we begin our journey with a farmer from New York, an unlikely 00:00:16.948 --> 00:00:20.398 preacher whose personal search for truth ignited one of the largest religious 00:00:20.398 --> 00:00:22.498 awakenings in 19th century America. 00:00:22.978 --> 00:00:24.298 His name was William Miller. 00:00:25.138 --> 00:00:28.078 Born in 1782 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. 00:00:28.528 --> 00:00:31.408 Miller was raised in a Baptist home, though his faith wouldn't 00:00:31.408 --> 00:00:32.518 stay in one place for long. 00:00:33.148 --> 00:00:37.918 By the early 18 hundreds, he had embraced deism, a belief that accepted the idea 00:00:37.918 --> 00:00:42.718 of a divine creator, but one who stood at a distance uninvolved in human affairs. 00:00:43.188 --> 00:00:45.928 To Miller, God had made the world and then stepped back, 00:00:46.318 --> 00:00:47.668 leaving it to run its course. 00:00:48.298 --> 00:00:52.558 That belief was soon shaken, not in a church or a book, but on a battlefield. 00:00:53.158 --> 00:00:58.288 In 1814, during the war of 1812, Miller served as a captain in the American Army. 00:00:59.128 --> 00:01:01.708 At the Battle of Plattsburgh, he witnessed what he could only 00:01:01.708 --> 00:01:03.688 describe as a miraculous victory. 00:01:04.348 --> 00:01:05.608 The odds had been against him. 00:01:05.758 --> 00:01:08.818 The outcome seemed impossible, and yet they survived. 00:01:09.208 --> 00:01:11.608 For Miller, this was more than military success. 00:01:11.818 --> 00:01:13.348 It was a spiritual crisis. 00:01:13.768 --> 00:01:18.748 If Chance couldn't explain what he'd seen, maybe God could back home. 00:01:18.808 --> 00:01:20.278 The questions wouldn't go away. 00:01:20.758 --> 00:01:22.708 So Miller did something radical. 00:01:23.008 --> 00:01:23.968 He opened a Bible. 00:01:24.718 --> 00:01:28.798 Armed with nothing more than scripture, a concordance, and a determination 00:01:28.888 --> 00:01:30.418 to let the Bible explain itself. 00:01:30.958 --> 00:01:34.738 He began to study slowly, methodically, and prayerfully. 00:01:35.653 --> 00:01:39.103 For two years, he combed through the pages verse by verse, until 00:01:39.103 --> 00:01:40.813 one passage seized his attention. 00:01:41.113 --> 00:01:45.253 Daniel, eight 14 until 2,300 days. 00:01:45.493 --> 00:01:47.473 Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. 00:01:47.863 --> 00:01:49.903 It wasn't just a verse, it was a puzzle. 00:01:50.803 --> 00:01:54.403 Using the day year principle, common in prophetic study and beginning from the 00:01:54.403 --> 00:01:58.063 decree to rebuild Jerusalem in 457 BC. 00:01:58.843 --> 00:02:01.273 Miller calculated that the prophecy would reach its 00:02:01.273 --> 00:02:03.613 fulfillment around the year 1843. 00:02:04.123 --> 00:02:09.493 That date later clarified by others as October 22nd, 1844 would become 00:02:09.493 --> 00:02:11.203 the focus of an entire movement. 00:02:11.893 --> 00:02:13.033 But Miller wasn't a prophet. 00:02:13.423 --> 00:02:15.223 He never claimed visions or dreams. 00:02:15.643 --> 00:02:18.403 In fact, for years, he resisted the idea of preaching. 00:02:18.973 --> 00:02:24.463 It wasn't until 1831, at the age of 49 that he finally agreed to speak publicly. 00:02:24.853 --> 00:02:27.643 Driven by inner conviction and the encouragement of friends. 00:02:28.033 --> 00:02:30.193 When he did, the response was overwhelming. 00:02:30.943 --> 00:02:34.333 His message wasn't polished or theological, but it was rooted in 00:02:34.333 --> 00:02:36.373 scripture and that made it powerful. 00:02:36.913 --> 00:02:40.453 By the early 1840s, the millwright movement had spread across the 00:02:40.453 --> 00:02:42.133 northeastern United States. 00:02:42.553 --> 00:02:45.613 Tens of thousands across many different denominations were 00:02:45.613 --> 00:02:47.413 reading, praying, and preparing. 00:02:47.818 --> 00:02:51.688 Not for war or protest or fame, but for the return of Jesus. 00:02:52.138 --> 00:02:57.478 Of course, October 22nd, 1844 came and went and Jesus did not return. 00:02:57.988 --> 00:02:59.368 The disappointment was crushing. 00:02:59.728 --> 00:03:03.448 People wept in fields, in churches, public, and in silence. 00:03:03.748 --> 00:03:07.048 Some walked away from faith entirely, but not all. 00:03:07.168 --> 00:03:10.888 A small group unwilling to let go of their hope or abandon their study. 00:03:11.158 --> 00:03:12.448 Went back to the scriptures. 00:03:12.913 --> 00:03:16.453 They asked new questions, read more deeply, and began to see the 00:03:16.453 --> 00:03:20.383 cleansing of the sanctuary, not as an earthly event, but as a heavenly one. 00:03:21.103 --> 00:03:24.223 This study laid the foundation for what would become the seventh, a Adventist 00:03:24.223 --> 00:03:27.073 church formerly established in 1863. 00:03:27.943 --> 00:03:29.833 William Miller never joined that church. 00:03:30.073 --> 00:03:34.393 He died in 1849, never knowing the full extent of what his spark would become. 00:03:35.008 --> 00:03:37.948 But what he began changed the course of history, and that's 00:03:37.948 --> 00:03:38.998 the heart of this story. 00:03:39.328 --> 00:03:41.848 It wasn't about perfect theology or perfect timing. 00:03:42.148 --> 00:03:45.118 It was about a man with a Bible, a question, and the willingness 00:03:45.118 --> 00:03:46.738 to follow truth wherever it led. 00:03:46.959 --> 00:03:48.129 And that's how movements start. 00:03:48.434 --> 00:03:50.384 Not with certainty, but with sincerity. 00:03:50.587 --> 00:03:54.757 So today, as we open this first chapter, we remember William Miller, not just 00:03:54.757 --> 00:03:56.407 for his message, but for his method. 00:03:56.407 --> 00:03:59.677 Because sometimes the greatest revival begins not with an answer, 00:03:59.737 --> 00:04:01.147 but with the courage to ask. 00:04:02.102 --> 00:04:04.772 Episode one, the Spark read by Megan Scheme.