Dr. Josiah Litch (1809–1886) was a Methodist Episcopal preacher in the New England region of the United States, who was most well-known for his connections with the Millerite movement, and for using Bible prophecy to predict a loss of power for the Ottoman Empire. Year 1809 ( MDCCCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1886 ( MDCCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common For individual churches named Methodist Episcopal Church, see Methodist Episcopal Church (disambiguation The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes Preacher is a term the for someone who preaches Sermons or gives homilies History See also History of New England New England's earliest inhabitants were Algonquian -speaking Native Americans including the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Bible prophecy, or " biblical prophecy " is the belief in prophecies in the Bible. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish
Millerism
In 1838, a friend asked Josiah Litch to read the writings of William Miller. William Miller (1782–1849 was an American Baptist Preacher, whose followers have been termed Millerites. Litch at first was hostile to Miller's prediction of the second coming of Jesus, but after reading he was converted into the Millerite movement. In Christianity, the Second Coming is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven to earth an event that will fulfill aspects of Messianic Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE)
Litch then wrote his own book, The Probability of the Second Coming of Christ About A. D. 1843. In a comment on Revelation 9, Litch predicted that the Ottoman Empire would lose power in August 1840. When on August 11, 1840, the Ottoman Empire accepted guarantees from the Great Powers, it was interpreted as a fulfillment of Bible prophecy and Litch's interpretation thereof.
One of Litch's most notable converts was Charles Fitch, who later became one of the foremost preachers in the Millerite movement. Charles Fitch (1805–1844 was an American Preacher in the early 19th century who rose to prominence for his work with the Millerite movement
Around 1841, the Millerite movement requested Litch to become the first general agent. Litch was granted release from his pastoral duties, and became the first paid Millerite worker. Litch was successful as a promoter and secretary for the movement.
Another idea that Litch developed was the idea of a pre-advent judgment. In Christian theology, the pre-advent judgment is a belief that the Final judgment will occur before the Second Coming (or "Advent" of Jesus According to Litch, "no human tribunal would think of executing judgment on a prisoner until after his trial; much less God. " He began to develop the idea in 1840, but didn't publish until 1841. After the Great Disappointment, some Millerites applied Litch's pre-advent judgment to October 22, 1844, the Millerites' predicted date of Jesus' return (the Seventh-day Adventists later developed this into the investigative judgment doctrine). The Great Disappointment was a major event in the history of the Millerite movement, a 19th century American Christian sect. The Seventh-day Adventist (abbreviated " Adventist " Church is a Christian denomination which is distinguished mainly by its observance The Investigative Judgment is a unique Seventh-day Adventist doctrine, which asserts that a judgment of professed Christian believers has been in progress since
After the Great Disappointment, Litch joined William Miller in setting dates, then waiting for the soon return of Jesus.
See also
Sources
- Knight, George R. (1999). The term Adventist generally refers to someone who believes in the Second Advent of Jesus (popularly known as the Second coming) in the tradition of the Millerites George Raymond Knight (1941— is a Seventh-day Adventist historian and educator A Brief History of Seventh-day Adventism. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald. The Review and Herald Publishing Association is one of two major Seventh-day Adventist publishing houses in North America and is the oldest institution of the Seventh-day ISBN 0-8280-1430-2.
- Knight, George R. (2000). A Search for Identity: The Development of Seventh-day Adventist Beliefs. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association. ISBN 0-8280-1541-4.
- Schwarz, Richard W. ; Greenleaf, Floyd (1979). Light Bearers: A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press. The Pacific Press Publishing Association, or Pacific Press for short is one of two major Seventh-day Adventist publishing houses in North America ISBN 0-8163-1795-X.
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