Had Prophecy Failed?

The career of the Midwestern Adventist leader Enoch Jacobs highlights the complex interrelationship between the Millerite and Shaker movements during the 1840s. Serving initially as editor of The Western Midnight Cry!!!—a newspaper started in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1841, with Joshua V. Himes as its publisher— Jacobs tirelessly sought to spread William Miller's message that Christians must repent and prepare for Christ's literal return to earth in 1843. Following the failure of the 1843 predictions and of the prediction of October 1844 as well, Jacobs, like many others who experienced the Great Disappointment, struggled to understand what had gone wrong. The number of exclamation points in the title of The Western Midnight Cry! was reduced from three to one, and on February 18, 1845, the newspaper's title was changed to The Day-Star, with Jacobs as the sole editor and publisher. The name change reflected a significant change of emphasis: “The day-star must arise before the Sun of Righteousness: The Resurrection must take place before Christ can come with 'all his saints.' “ ¹