The Shaker’s official name is The United Society of Believer’s in Christ’s Second Appearing, lead by Ann Lee Stanley, or Mother Ann. Stanley received revelations from God leading her to believe she was the second coming of Christ in female form. Since he had come previously as a man, and in keeping with their “dualism” belief in nature, the Shakers accepted that his second coming would be as a woman. Though they lived communally, Shaker beliefs required they “abstain from sex, which is the root of all evil” (Gonzalez 326). The Shakers believed the end of the world was at hand and that the Kingdom of Heaven was to be established on Earth, causing the downfall of the antichrist. Shakers were persecuted throughout England for their Spiritualistic beliefs. Mother Ann received visions from God telling her to build a society in America, where the Second Christian Church would be, and that the colonies were to gain their independence, letting the Shakers “worship without hindrance or molestation” (Setzer and Shefferman 224).

The Shaker’s belief in Mother Ann being the second coming of Christ lead to their many apocalyptic beliefs. In the Gospel there is a “fourth and last great cycle” which would be the “time for ‘the restitution of all things, which God had spoken by the mouth of all his prophets” (Setzer and Shefferman). Because Ann Lee Stanley received visions from God, thus making her a prophet, the apocalypse was predicted.

William Miller was raised as an American Baptist in New York. As a student of the Bible, he believed in deism as a young adult, but eventually returned to “views of a providential God” after his “survival at the Battle of Plattsburgh” (Setzer and Shefferman 227). Miller used the Bible, in particular the recordings of Daniel and John, to calculate the “passing of a 2,300-year period before the return of Christ”, identifying 1843 as the year of the apocalypse (Setzer and Shefferman 227).

Miller considered the prophecy he had calculated to be “somewhat different than other parts of Scripture” since these beliefs were shared amongst several different Biblical prophets. He cites numerous passages in the Bible that seem to echo each other, including Revelations 18:7, Daniel 12:1, and the Gospel of Matthew, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (KJV Matthew 24:21) All of these verses seemed to point toward the second coming of Christ. Because the first coming was so well predcted, he believed that since the Bible pointed to a second coming it made sense to follow the Biblical prophecies for his second coming. Miller shared his discovery so that every individual would “be prepared that that day may not come upon them unawares (238).

Ellen G. White was an “Adventist” and disciple of Miller. Despite the day he had predicted the Kingdom of God to arrive on Earth passing without incident, White and several others believed the “Second Advent was still at hand… and the process had been set in motion in 1844” (229). White began having visions, convincing her of the time and place of the Second Advent of Christ. She was a founder of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and explained her vision for Christian education in her book The Book of Books, “the study of the Bible will give strength to the intellect” and “without the Bible we should have been left to conjectures and fables in regard to the occurance of past ages” (230). White and the Adventists believed that without the guidance of the Bible, worshipers would have no idea of when the Second Coming was to occur. She also wrote that if the Bible were applied in everyday life those who studied it would bebrought up from “earthliness and debasement”, ensuring they would not be lead into temptation and sin (230). If people were to meditate on God they would receive a strengthening off their spirit. God would not accept those who belittled him into Heaven. By studying and implementing the Bible, worshipers would be able to enter Heaven. White quotes Revelations 22:12-14 as proof that through belief and study of the Bible, believers would be allowed to enter Heaven.

The Shakers believed in the “dual” nature of life and as a result, thought the Second Coming of Christ would involve Jesus in female form (Setzer and Shefferman, 221). This is why apocalypticism arose in the United Society of Believers, and when a young woman named Ann Lee started to receive visions in 1770, they thought she was the coming Messiah. They believed in the idea of a cyclic nature of history, and thought that once the “culminating point of Spiritualism has been reached,” a new “Church of God” forms for that cycle of time (four of these periods were said to have occurred) (Evans, 222). The Shaker church is the result of the spiritual part of the fourth and final cycle, characterized by the “restitution of all things” and the Second Coming. The formation of Shaker societies arises from a “general agitation of spiritual elements” and a subsequent “movement of the religious elements in man” (Evans, 223). The spiritual faculties in man have been “aroused” and spiritualism has laid the groundwork for the joining of the natural and spiritual worlds (Evans, 223). They called for people to be saved in proclaiming the second appearance of Christ, and just like the Mullerites, claimed the apocalypse was happening, and a new society would be created. The Shakers believed themselves to be fulfilling all of world history, and connected their movement with historical cycles including the rise of a new church. They cite “proper historical data” that confirms their place in the spiritual and historical history of the world (Evans, 223). While they don’t give any solid evidence (Deists would be appalled), the Shakers position their church as the natural extension of spiritual order.

William Miller, a former Baptist, believed scriptural prophecy was knowable and actually happened/happens. His method of biblical interpretation led him to conclude that 1843 was the year the return of Christ, restoration of Jerusalem, and the kingdom of God would all take place. He believed all of the prophecies in scripture can be attributed to different authors writing in different time periods and geographical areas, but all agree and confirm each other (Miller, 227). He states that the biblical student should bring all relevant pieces of scripture together and “let every word have its own Scripture meaning;” if one does this, his/hers theory is correct (Miller, 228). Miller posits that all prophecy centers on the first and second coming of Christ. He concludes that Christ will come in 1843, the conclusion of a 2300 year period, evidence for which Miller pieced together from scripture. He encourages his audience to study scripture, set aside their prejudices, and believe in God so they may be saved and gain admittance into the New Jerusalem.

Ellen White, the founder of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church, concurred with Miller, but only went as far as saying the process of the apocalypse had only begun in 1844. She too advocated for biblical study, and claimed the Bible is the ultimate tool (“Book of books”) for understanding the world, from moral instruction to universal wonders to God himself; it is the ultimate source of truth (White, 230). She says that when people disregard the Bible, Satan springs up and does evil things, taking advantage of the situation to strip people away from God. She even goes as far as saying that God simply does not accept those who “[belittle] his powers” and only composes Heaven with “spiritualized” people (White, 230). Those who “cherish pride” and “[contemplate] sin” are “unfitted for moral advancement” and cannot fully understand the truth (White, 231). If one studies the Bible, they are blessed by God and “may enter in through the gates” into Heaven (White, 231).

The Shakers, Miller, and White all supported rigorous spiritual study, which they believed led believers to the truth and into Heaven. Likewise, all of these parties envisioned themselves as part of the immediate, apocalyptic fulfillment of scripture and coming of the new heavenly society.