What happened in 1844?
1844 is not only an important date in the Seventh-day Adventist church, but also important to the world. Beginning with looking forward to 1843, then to the spring of 1844, and finally adjusting the date to October 22, 1844, the Millerites (followers of William Miller) expected a great cleansing to happen on the Earth. (Their adjustment of the dates were not the result of error, but of continued study and deeper understanding of the Bible calendar of feasts and how to calculate time from B.C. to A.D.) Finally, they settled on 1844 as the year of Jesus’ Second Coming, but because He didn’t return on that date, their experience began to be called The Great Disappointment.
A study of what happened in 1844 could include an in-depth look at history and Bible doctrine, but the basic answer is simple: something essential to salvation began in Heaven at that time with important results on Earth. Not everything that affects our salvation can be seen with physical eyes. Some things must be understood by trusting in God’s Word.
So what happened in 1844?The prophetic 2,300 evening and morning time period of Daniel 8:14 came to a conclusion. This was the longest and final time prophecy of the Bible. While there are still prophetic events to be fulfilled, we are not waiting for the completion of another specified time period. Revelation 10:6 says, “that there should be delay no longer”(in the King James Version it reads, “time no longer”). When this time prophecy concluded, Earth entered upon its last days before Jesus’ return, when the conditions of this world would grow steadily worse as the message of the gospel was proclaimed around the world.
In the Heavenly Sanctuary, Jesus moved into the second phase of salvation by entering the Most Holy Place (Hebrews 9:12). There is not necessarily a separate physical room in Heaven, but there is a new work. This work is symbolized by the Day of Atonement. All through the year, confessed sins were brought into the Sanctuary, symbolically, through the blood of a sacrifice. This represented Jesus’ death to forgive sins. On the Day of Atonement, the sins were removed completely from the Sanctuary and from the record. The Jews could not see what the High Priest was doing in the Sanctuary, so they had to trust, by faith—as we must do today. Their faith was not in what was seen, but in what was unseen (2 Corinthians 5:7).
When Jesus entered the Most Holy Place in Heaven in 1844, the time of judgment started as Jesus begam examining the lives of God’s professed followers, starting with those who have died, then proceeding to the living. This is the investigative judgment. The first of the angels declaring the final invitation to salvation announces the start of this time of judgment by saying, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come” (Revelation 14:7).
On Earth, the Great Disappointment of 1844 set apart a group of people who were 100 percent committed to studying and obeying God’s Word. Many people believed the Bible had failed them, and abandoned their faith. But a small group refused to give up their faith in Scripture. They returned to God’s Word and prayer, seeking further clarification and understanding. They were willing to trust God’s prophets and search deeply for greater light, no matter how long it took, and no matter how others mocked them. These are the people mentioned in Revelation 10:9 who digested the little book (Daniel’s prophecies); those prophecies were “sweet as honey” in as they anticipated Jesus’ return, but “bitter” when they experienced disappointment.
As they returned to study the Scriptures, God opened to this group an understanding of the Heavenly Sanctuary which provided the key for understanding what Jesus was doing in Heaven, why there had been an apparent delay in His return, and what God’s people were to do to be prepared for the Second Coming. Further bitterness was their lot as they continued to fulfill the prophecy of Revelation 10:11, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.” Their mission was to declare Present Truth—not a new teaching, but a full understanding of God through His Sanctuary. This message is to be God’s final warning to the world before Jesus comes—the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6–12. The new proclamation brought on the mockery of neighbors and strangers, but this group had a deep commitment to obedience, born of complete trust in God’s Word.
What Jesus is doing in the Heavenly Sanctuary reveals what God’s people are to be doing on Earth. While Jesus is cleansing the record of confessed sins from God’s dwelling place in Heaven, our task in the time of the judgment is to join His work of putting away sin from our lives. We see this when we study what people were to do on the earthly Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29). This is completely through the grace of God who searches hearts, forgives past sins, and gives strength to overcome sin in our lives today. The understanding of what Jesus is doing in the Heavenly Sanctuary emphasizes to the world the importance of God’s Law. God’s loyal people are revealed: they are the ones“who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12).
Summary of what happened in 1844
- The 2,300-day prophecy came to an end
- The Last Days began
- No more time prophecy to be fulfilled
- Jesus moved from the Holy Place in the Heavenly Sanctuary to the Most Holy Place
- The antitypical Day of Atonement began
- The investigative judgment began
- The prophecy of Revelation 10 began to be fulfilled
- God began to give full light from Scripture to a small group of people who had demonstrated a willingness to receive and proclaim it. Out of this group grew the Seventh-day Adventist Church
- The final proclamation of the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14 began for the world
- God’s people, who are anticipating Jesus’ return, are to put away sin from their lives, search their hearts, and live as if Jesus is returning soon