The Great Disappointment

October 22, 1844 - It was supposed to be the big day. A Christian sect called the Millerites had been taught by their leader, William Miller, that this was the day that Jesus would return. He had done the math based on a passage in the book of Daniel that reads:

Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

Using various calendars and numeric interpretations, Miller had falsely predicted the second coming - twice! But as they say, three's the charm, and Miller went for a third bold prediction. With gusto he asserted that Jesus would come back to earth on October 22, 1844. He would cleanse and purify the world, and by some accounts it would be a rapturous homecoming.

Some of the most fervent Millerites were so confident, they sold all their possessions and donned special robes in eager anticpation. Unfortunately, the day came and went without any sign that Jesus had returned.

One Millerite described his feelings:

I waited all Tuesday [October 22] and dear Jesus did not come - I waited all the forenoon of Wednesday, and was well in body as I ever was, but after 12 o'clock I began to feel faint, and before dark I needed someone to help me up to my chamber, as my natural strength was leaving me very fast, and I lay prostrate for 2 days without any pain - sick with disappointment.

In addition to being disappointed, the Millerites were widely derided for their unfulfilled prophecies.