The European Union in Prophecy The EU in Prophecy I | Page 263

The European Union in Prophecy
consecration to the prophetic office, so was William Miller called to leave his plow and
open to the people the mysteries of the kingdom of God. With trembling he entered
upon his work, leading his hearers down, step by step, through the prophetic periods
to the second appearing of Christ. With every effort he gained strength and courage
as he saw the widespread interest excited by his words.
It was only at the solicitation of his brethren, in whose words he heard the call
of God, that Miller consented to present his views in public. He was now fifty years of
age, unaccustomed to public speaking, and burdened with a sense of unfitness for the
work before him. But from the first his labors were blessed in a remarkable manner
to the salvation of souls. His first lecture was followed by a religious awakening in
which thirteen entire families, with the exception of two persons, were converted. He
was immediately urged to speak in other places, and in nearly every place his labor
resulted in a revival of the work of God. Sinners were converted, Christians were
roused to greater consecration, and deists and infidels were led to acknowledge the
truth of the Bible and the Christian religion. The testimony of those among whom he
labored was: "A class of minds are reached by him not within the influence of other
men."-- Ibid., page 138. His preaching was calculated to arouse the public mind to the
great things of religion and to check the growing worldliness and sensuality of the age.
In nearly every town there were scores, in some, hundreds, converted as a result
of his preaching. In many places Protestant churches of nearly all denominations were
thrown open to him, and the invitations to labor usually came from the ministers of
the several congregations. It was his invariable rule not to labor in any place to which
he had not been invited, yet he soon found himself unable to comply with half the
requests that poured in upon him. Many who did not accept his views as to the exact
time of the second advent were convinced of the certainty and nearness of Christ's
coming and their need of preparation. In some of the large cities his work produced a
marked impression. Liquor dealers abandoned the traffic and turned their shops into
meeting rooms; gambling dens were broken up; infidels, deists, Universalists, and
even the most abandoned profligates were reformed, some of whom had not entered a
house of worship for years. Prayer meetings were established by the various
denominations, in different quarters, at almost every hour, businessmen assembling
at midday for prayer and praise. There was no extravagant excitement, but an almost
universal solemnity on the minds of the people. His work, like that of the early
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