The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 4

X. Widespread Expectancy of Crisis About 1844

There was clearly a widespread expectancy of some event of great importance to take place about the year 1844. And it was commonly thought that this development would lead into, or be followed soon after by, the millennial period. This anticipation, based upon varying calculations and premises, was advanced by men of widely different persuasions. Some followed the now familiar pattern of the usual prophetic calculation of these great time periods. Others had rather odd or unusual ways of calculation-but nevertheless emphasized 1844 as an impending turning point in human affairs. An example in this latter category is JOHN GEORGE SCHMUCKER (1771-1854), ⁵⁹ pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Yorktown, Pennsylvania, in The Prophetic History of The Christian Religion (1817). To him a crisis was coming in 1844, with the millennium due to begin about 1850. ⁶⁰ There are doubtless others, whose writings have not yet come to light, who would augment the growing chorus. The year 1843, or 1844, was increasingly the focal point of interest and expectation. PFF4 224.3