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From Here to Forever
“The heavens were as brass over my head, and the earth as iron
under my feet. ... The more I thought, the more scattered were my
conclusions. I tried to stop thinking, but my thoughts would not be
controlled. I was truly wretched, but did not understand the cause.
I murmured and complained, but knew not of whom. I knew that
there was a wrong, but knew not how or where to find the right.”
Miller Finds a Friend
“Suddenly,” he says, “the character of a Saviour was vividly
impressed upon my mind. It seemed that there might be a being so
good and compassionate as to himself atone for our transgressions,
and thereby save us from suffering the penalty of sin. ... But the
question arose, How can it be proved that such a being does exist?
Aside from the Bible, I found that I could get no evidence of the
existence of such a Saviour, or even of a future state... .”
“I saw that the Bible did bring to view just such a Saviour as I
needed; and I was perplexed to find how an uninspired book should
develop principles so perfectly adapted to the wants of a fallen world.
I was constrained to admit that the Scriptures must be a revelation
from God. They became my delight; and in Jesus I found a friend.
The Saviour became to me the chiefest among ten thousand; and the
Scriptures, which before were dark and contradictory, now became
the lamp to my feet and light to my path. ... I found the Lord God to
be a Rock in the midst of the ocean of life. The Bible now became
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my chief study, and I can truly say, I searched it with great delight.
... I wondered why I had not seen its beauty and glory before, and
marveled that I could have ever rejected it. ... I lost all taste for other
reading, and applied my heart to get wisdom from God.
Miller publicly professed his faith. But his infidel associates
brought forward all those arguments which he himself had often
urged against the Scriptures. He reasoned that if the Bible is a
revelation from God, it must be consistent with itself. He determined
to study the Scriptures and ascertain if every apparent contradiction
could be harmonized.
Dispensing with commentaries, he compared scripture with
scripture by the aid of the marginal references and concordance.
1
S. Bliss, Memories of William Miller, pp. 65-67.