“‘Dear Reader:—Permit me to address you once more by calling your attention to the great events which the word of God declares are soon to come to pass, that I may faithfully perform my duty; and that you may be able to answer, in that way which will be satisfactory to your own soul, in the day when God shall judge the secret thoughts of men by Jesus Christ.
“‘In my former communications to you on this subject—which is near my heart, fills my soul at times with indescribable joy and consolation, and is big with the hope of soon, very soon, coming into possession of immortality and eternal life—I readily confess I was misled in my calculations; not by the word of God, nor by the established principles of interpretation I adopted, but by the authorities which I followed in history and chronology, and which have been generally considered worthy of the fullest confidence. And I fear many of you have been blinded to your own interest, which may be of eternal consequences to you, by hasty expressions of full confidence in these authors, before I had carefully and more extensively examined the subject to which I had, in the simplicity of my heart, called your candid and serious attention.
“‘The testimony of historians, as to the dates of events, cannot affect the testimony of the word of God, that, at certain periods from these events, his promises shall be fulfilled. They may fail, but his word cannot fail. I confess I have been thus mistaken as to the definite time; but what of that? Will you or any man dare to take the ground that, because Mr. Miller or any other man made a mistake, the word of God is not true? No, no. There would be nothing in that worthy of being called an argument.
“‘But, above all things else, I was deceived in the number and character of those who, without study, argument, or reason, rejected the (to me at least) glorious news of the coming Saviour. Neither did I suppose that a man or woman could have been found on the habitable earth, who loved the Lord Jesus Christ and believed the Bible, who would reject the second advent or the redemption of the body; the final salvation of the soul, or the inheritance of eternal life, at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Yet facts warrant me to say I find more than one-half who profess Christianity denying one or more of these fundamental pillars of the Christian hope.
“‘I am thankful to God, although much and sorely disappointed, that I never pretended to be divinely inspired, but always directed you to the same source from which I obtained all the information I then had and now possess on this glorious and heart-cheering subject. Let me, then, exhort you, kind reader, by the value of truth, by the worth of your own soul, and the love of life everlasting, to examine your Bible on the coming of Christ, the redemption of the body, the salvation of your soul, and the everlasting inheritance. Lay by all prejudice, all opinions not founded on the plain and clear declarations of God’s word; keep close to that rule which will thoroughly furnish you, and make you perfect in every good work; examine for yourselves; let no man deceive you in these days of deception, when the devil has come, deceiving, if possible, the very elect. Now is the time for you to exercise the “sober second thought;” a good time for you to come over on the side of truth, to choose the good, and refuse the evil. I beseech you, do not say, “Nay, I will not examine!” Do not say, “I am well enough off, and I have got the truth!” Perhaps you have; if so, it will not hurt you to re-examine, for every re-examination only makes the truth the brighter, our evidence more clear, and our love for the truth more fervent; it helps to establish our faith and hope, and keeps us from wavering.
“‘And now, dear reader, let me propose a few questions, in view of what I have said, for you to answer to God and your own soul; and I pray you not to trifle with them, or one of them, if you can find a plain Scripture text which authorizes the question. And I beg of you delay not to answer every question which may or can be answered; and let your answers be such as you will be willing to meet before the throne of God in the day of Judgment, to which day I appeal in thus addressing you. I append a text to every question, to show you they are scriptural:—
“‘1. Will Christ appear the second time? Heb. 9:28.
“‘2. Will he come himself? 1 Thess. 4:16.
“‘3. Who will see him? 1 John 3:2; Rev. 1:7.
“‘4. Who will not be ashamed before him at his coming? 1 John 2:28; 4:17.