Was William Miller a false prophet after saying the world will end in 1844?

Matthew 24:5
For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.

Matthew 24:24
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

There is no shortage of people claiming to be prophets in our time and any other time. Many are attracted to these prophets because of their miracle performing and making predictions that are claimed to be accurate. Of course many of the miracles are and predictions are highly questionable in their authenticity. The biggest prediction that has kept failing is the prediction of the end of the world. Whenever the prediction of the end of the world fails, references are made to many other past predictions that have failed including the prediction by William Miller and his followers that the world will end on October 22, 1844 and it didn’t. Was William Miller a false prophet after saying the world will end in 1844 and it didn’t?

William Miller’s prediction and that of the other prophets are completely different and should be assessed differently. Other prophets claim to have been called by God to be prophets, to perform miracles and make predictions. It is on that basis that they have followers and gain credibility. Their word is final to their followers and even when their teachings and way of life contradict scripture, they are held high above scripture which is a serious spiritual mistake.

False prophets defy scripture even though they claim authority from God and scripture. False prophets have caused people to build their faith around them and not around God and His word. The sudden death of a false prophet may lead to the end of his movement since it was built around him.

Performing miracles and making predictions doesn’t make a prophet genuine. The Bible tells us that, it is exactly what false prophets will do. The Bible says, the false prophets will perform great signs and wonders. Great is the word. They will mesmerise the world and its leaders. They will attract people by these powers.

Revelation 16:14
For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.

If false prophets perform great miracles and wonders, the source of their power according to Revelation 16:14 is demonic spirits. Miraculous powers in themselves are not evidence of having a relationship with God. Witches and other people who practice dark crafts and worship the devil use powers from demonic spirits. Therefore ability to remote control events and make things happen should not allure us to the witches and prophets, because we could be getting allured to attachment to demonic spirits.

The true test of any religion, church, denomination, ministry, or movement is their allegiance to the word of God. Without total allegiance to the word of God, whatever miracle is performed is the work of demons. Whatever powerful preaching is done, is the work of demons. Whatever life changing ministry it is, it is the work of demons. If there is no faithfulness to all teachings of the Bible and all we have is focus on the prophet and the miracles, we are dealing with activities of demons. That is why Jesus warned that they will come in my name as Christs or as prophets and they will deceive the majority. So the number of followers doesn’t make the religion, church, denomination, ministry, movement or prophet to be a true servant of God. Jesus said majority will follow falsehood.

Matthew 7:21
I Never Knew You
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 7:22
On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’

Matthew 7:23
And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

William Miller did not claim to be a prophet. He was never a prophet. He studied Bible prophecies and discovered that the Daniel 8:14 prophecy of 2300 days was about to be fulfilled. From his study, William Miller concluded that the world may be ending soon. He shared his findings with others and people got excited and kept inviting him to share his conclusion from studies. A large following developed who agreed with his conclusions from studies.

False prophets predict the end of the world based on a claim that they had a direct communication with God who told them when the world will end. William Miller never ever claimed any communication with God on the date of the end of the world. There is evidence that Miller’s previous predictions from study failed and he was reluctant to give further dates, but his followers kept pressurising him for one more date from studies and not from God communicating with him. The world did not end on October 22, 1844 as William Miller had predicted from his study.

William Miller failed as a Bible student and not as a prophet, because he wasn’t a prophet he was a Bible student. William Miller failed in his study conclusions, he did not become a false prophet because he was not a prophet from the beginning. His Bible study conclusions proved wrong and not his God or the Bible. William Miller was therefore not a false prophet even though the world did not end on October 22, 1844 as he had concluded from scripture. His assumptions, methods and conclusions while doing Bible study are what failed.

The greatest mistake William Miller made was to set a date when the world will end. This was in direct contradiction of the words of Jesus. At this point, Miller and his followers failed in the worst possible way. What they did was in outright contradiction of scripture.

Matthew 24:36
No One Knows That Day and Hour
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Unfortunately today there are people who are repeating the Miller mistake. After intense Bible study and making certain assumptions, they conclude and give dates or even make approximations. This is in direct contradiction to the scriptures. At this point anyone of sound mind should stop listening to their gospel. Unfortunately there are people today whose faith is not built on God’s word but on predictions, miracles and great wonders. This is a great mistake that Jesus warned about, for they are the very things demons will enable false prophets to do as they preach.

It is also important to note that after the great disappointment of 1844 when the world didn’t end, the millerite movement collapsed. Out of the Millerite movement came three denominations of complete contrasting characteristics. One of them later on became the Seventh-day Adventist church.

The Seventh-day Adventist church is not the millerite movement and the millerite movement is not the Seventh-day Adventist Church. William Miller never became a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church. What they have in common is that they were together in the belief that Jesus is coming soon. After the 1844 great disappointment, Seventh-day Adventists out of Bible study developed doctrines that made them completely different from the millerite movement. For example the millerite movement went to church on Sunday, but Seventh-day Adventists adopted the Biblical Sabbath of Saturday. The Seventh-day Church was organised formally on May 1863, many years after the millerite disappointment of 1844.

William Miller was wrong in his study of prophecy. William Miller was wrong to contradict the Bible and give a date of the end of the world. But it is important to know, he was never a prophet, therefore he was not a false prophet per se, he was may be a failed Bible student.

We need to avoid false prophets who attract us to themselves and not to God. We need to avoid false prophets who attract us by miracles, signs and wonders yet they don’t have teachings and lifestyle consistent with Holy Scriptures. We need to be wary that predictions, signs, wonders and miracles while they can be done by God, the devil will use them to deceive even the elect. We also need to avoid Miller’s mistakes in interpreting the Bible on one hand and contradicting it on the other. God bless you, Amen!