Upcoming Autumn Banquet

Heritage Baptist College will host the Annual Fall Banquet at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, November 3rd. This year, we will again have the Fall Banquet on the Hopewell Campus, and the food will be catered by Gray Brother’s Cafeteria.

We look forward to hearing Dr Tom Wallace of Murfreesboro, TN speak that evening. Dr. Wallace has pastored three great churches during his ministry, and he has been in evangelism for over a decade. He is one of our favorite speakers.

Come and enjoy his message, along with a night of good food, Christian music, and great fellowship. Please call Heritage Baptist College to make a reservation. (317) 738-3791 or (317) 246-8915.

Heritage Baptist Bible Fellowship – Fall Meeting

Pastors, missionaries, and evangelists gathered at Calvary Baptist Church in Ashland, OH on October 2 & 3 for the fall meeting of the Heritage Baptist Bible Fellowship. We were introduced to some wonderful preachers.

Evangelist Mark Rogers, Pastor Greg Davis, Pastor Bryon Samms, and Pastor Jeremy Griffith each brought forth an excellent message from the Word.

Thank you so much to our host pastor, Dr. Harry Strachan, and to all those who had a part in planning and presenting this fine meeting.

Now in Heaven

At 89 years old, Mrs. Patricia Stokes recently went home to be with the Lord.

Mrs. Stokes, the wife of Dr. Gerald Stokes, was a devoted friend of Heritage Baptist College. She loved students, and was interested in the training of the next generation.

With an American ancestry that dated back to their arrival on the 2nd voyage to Jamestown, Virginia, Pat Stokes loved history. On many a trip to Indiana, she and Dr. Stokes would take time exploring their family tree.

Now our dear friend gets to personally meet all those that laid a spiritual foundation for her.

Christ’s Return is Still on Schedule

Another predicted date for the coming of Christ has come and gone. In the past 35 years there have been many sincere folks who have focused on a date for the return of the Savior. They laid out events, years, prophecies, and timetables showing beyond a doubt their prediction. My Dad taught me years ago that “figures don’t lie, but liars figure.” Not all are liars, but all have been misguided as they have tried to set dates. Concluding the parable of the ten virgins, Christ said: Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25:13). One of the most memorable date setters was a Baptist who was born over 200 years ago.

William Miller was a farmer living in western New York, and he was enthusiastic in the study of prophecy. Miller’s self-taught Bible study had led him to conclude that Christ would soon appear around 1843. For years, he held these ideas within himself, sharing only with family and friends. Then in 1831, he was invited to preach on this subject at the Baptist Church in Dresden, NY. In contrast to the prevalent view of Postmillennialism (the world gets better and better until Christ returns), Miller took the Bible and showed that Christ’s return would be soon. Through calculations and historical events Miller would spend several lectures, showing by a dozen different formulas, that Christ Second Coming would be around 1843.

Invitations from other churches began to appear, and soon William Miller was licensed to preach. A lengthy pamphlet, and later a book was written detailing Miller’s calculations.

Originally those followers were dubbed “Millerites”, but later as the movement grew, they became known as Adventists. With the help of others, conferences and campmeetings sprang up across the country. The largest tent then in America, seating 6000, was secured and moved from city to city. Newspapers devoted to these teachings began, with titles like Signs of the Times, The Midnight Cry, and Glad Tidings of the Kingdom.

By November 1842, William Miller had fine-tuned his calculations. He stated that the Lord would come back somewhere between March 21, 1843 – March 21, 1844.

Expectations rose further, when the Great Comet of 1843 appeared in the Spring. The comet was so bright, that it could be observed during the day. Many believed this was a sign.

During that next year, anticipation was great, as the movement continued to grow. When March 22, 1844 came with no return of Christ, Miller stated from the Bible that the Lord had briefly delayed His Coming. Christ had allowed a few days or even months for more to find salvation. Still thousands anxiously followed.

Then in the summer of 1844, a new leader arose in the movement. Samuel S. Snow, a 38 year-old, self-taught Bible scholar, informed those at a campmeeting in Exeter, NH that he knew the real date of Christ’s coming. He insisted that God was an exact timekeeper. The Lord would return on the Hebrew Day of Atonement – October 22, 1844.

The prediction spread like lightning, and it flamed as a lighted match on dry grass. As the movement surged toward that date, Miller and the other leaders agreed with the prediction, believing that it must be of God. Evangelism and preparedness were the lifestyles of the Adventists for the remaining few weeks.

Although there were extremes, most of these believers met prayerfully on October 22, 1844 for the return of Christ. That date would later be known as the “Great Disappointment.” Soon, the whole movement would dissolve.

William Miller lived five more years. In his last days, he still believed that Christ was coming back, but he had changed his date. Miller came to see the real time of Christ’s return as: “Today, TODAY, and TODAY.” (Kelly, Jack. Heaven’s Ditch. New York: St. Martin’s Press. 2016 p. 257)

With that statement we can agree. If one must set a date, set it for Today. Christ’s Coming is imminent!