Summary

Josiah Litch was a Methodist minister and physician who became a leading figure in the Millerite or Second Advent movement of the 1830s and 1840s. He is best remembered for his remarkable prediction, based on the prophecies of Revelation 9, that the Ottoman Empire would lose its independence on August 11, 1840 — a prediction whose fulfillment gave powerful impetus to the Advent movement and convinced multitudes of the correctness of prophetic interpretation. Together with William Miller and Joshua V. Himes, Litch formed the informal triumvirate leadership of the great Second Advent Movement. He was a prolific writer, a bold preacher, and a tireless advocate for the doctrine of Christ’s imminent return.

Early Life (1809–1837)

Josiah Litch was born on April 4, 1809, in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, to Captain John and Jerusha Litch (1773–1836; 1768–1823). His mother was a descendant of the Englishman Samuel Lincoln (1622–1690), a progenitor of President Abraham Lincoln, who was also born in 1809, two months before Josiah Litch.

In his teenage years, Litch studied at the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Massachusetts. In 1826 the school came under the direction of Wilbur Fisk, who wrote shortly thereafter that “the students are generally well-behaved, diligent, and easily governed.” Fisk then added these telling words: “This is undoubtedly, in part, owing to that which rejoices us more than anything else — a revival of religion among us.” In all probability, it was during this revival that Josiah Litch experienced a profound spiritual rebirth that led him to join the Methodist church and begin training for the ministry.

In 1833 Litch was “admitted on trial” to become an itinerant preacher in the New England Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, assigned first to the Sandwich, Massachusetts, circuit. He was ordained a deacon two years later, admitted into “full connection,” and moved to Rochester, Massachusetts. Here he met Sarah Barstow (1812–1906), the daughter of fellow minister William Barstow who had preached himself hoarse and thus could not “attend to the duties of his profession” for many years. Soon after turning 27, Josiah Litch married Sarah on April 25, 1836. In January 1838, they welcomed their first son, William B. Litch (who died in infancy in 1842). Two more boys followed: Wilber Fisk Litch and Josiah Lincoln Litch.

After his trial period ended, Litch was ordained an Elder in June 1837. Apparently he drove himself so hard that by the year’s end he was on the list of “superannuated or worn-out preachers.” Litch had also begun joining various movements that endorsed unconventional ideas, setting a pattern that lasted a lifetime. In 1838 he became the secretary of the newly organized anti-slavery society in Barnstable, Massachusetts, placing him at odds with his former principal at Wilbraham, Wilber Fisk, who supported gradual emancipation rather than immediate abolition.

Conversion to Millerism (1838)

In February 1838, probably during the time given him to regain strength as a “worn-out minister,” Litch was given a copy of Miller’s Lectures. He fit the typical pattern of ministers who joined William Miller (early on) in preaching the Second Advent — claiming to have been skeptical at first, then changing his mind after analyzing Miller’s arguments. But once convinced that Miller’s method of studying the Bible provided a reliable foundation, Litch plunged himself once again into his strenuous work mode, advocating his new convictions.

He immediately summarized Miller’s views in a 48-page pamphlet entitled Midnight Cry. If his first work served as an introduction to Millerism, his second served to spread his own views on the Second Advent doctrine. Litch produced his 204-page tome, The Probability of the Second Coming of Christ About A.D. 1843, with impressive speed — it was also published in 1838, only four months after he became convinced of Miller’s message.

The Ottoman Empire Prediction

In The Probability, Litch first disclosed his prediction of the fall of the Ottoman Empire sometime in August 1840, based on his interpretation of the sixth trumpet in Revelation 9. The book also put him on track toward Millerite eminence. One month after its appearance, the Vermont Telegraph announced that “it appears that another writer, one J[osiah] Litch, has been making predictions, similar to William Miller’s, in regard to 1843.”

As the spring of 1839 approached, Miller traveled to speak in Lowell, Massachusetts, where he first met the thirty-year-old “worn-out preacher.” Miller said: “I also became acquainted with my Bro. J. Litch, who had previously embraced my views, and who has since so aided their extension by his faithful lectures and writings, and energetic and consistent course.”

By July of 1840, Litch was beginning to lose interest in the circuit-riding sphere and began spending more time in Second Advent pursuits. His timely launch into Millerism, coupled with an “eloquent” and “forceful” pen, landed him in an influential position in the movement. His prediction concerning the fall of the Ottoman Empire, in particular, drew attention. Litch staked much on his claim that when the sixth trumpet of Revelation 9 ceased to sound, the Ottoman power would crumble. In early August 1840 he published two articles in Signs of the Times specifying August 11 as the date of the prophecy’s fulfillment. If he proved correct, it would be an impressive validation of the year-day principle, and hence, the veracity of 1843 as the year when Christ would return.

Critics asserted that when August 11 passed without the fulfillment of Josiah Litch’s prophecy, Adventism would die. As the day approached, “the entire community were excited, and expectation of tiptoe.” The time passed without news of any empire crumbling to pieces, causing quite a trial for many believers. But in a letter published in the November 1, 1840, issue of the Signs of the Times, Litch reported the arrival of news that the European powers had issued an ultimatum compelling the Ottoman Empire to yield its sovereignty on August 15. Though later reports clarified that August 11 was the day that the Ottoman power had placed itself under the supremacy of the Christian powers of Europe. Discouraged adherents were cheered and the movement revived “with still greater power than ever before.”

As Ellen White recorded in The Great Controversy: “In the year 1840 another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy excited widespread interest. Two years before, Josiah Litch, one of the leading ministers preaching the second advent, published an exposition of Revelation 9, predicting the fall of the Ottoman Empire. According to his calculations, this power was to be overthrown ‘in A.D. 1840, sometime in the month of August.’ … When it became known, multitudes were convinced of the correctness of the principles of prophetic interpretation adopted by Miller and his associates, and a wonderful impetus was given to the advent movement.”

This was a tipping point in the history of Millerism because it contributed to the transformation of the “Advent cause” into a movement.

Leadership in the Millerite Movement

Litch played an integral role in the first Millerite General Conference, convened at Joshua V. Himes’ Chardon Street Chapel in Boston on October 14, 1840, to advance “the rapid, general and powerful spread of ‘the everlasting gospel of the kingdom at hand,’ that the way of the Lord may be speedily prepared, whatever may be the precise period of his coming.” Litch gave two addresses, one “to contemplate our blessed Savior’s glorious advent near” and the next attempting to answer the question, “about what time may we expect the glorious kingdom of God to be revealed?”

One listener proclaimed that Litch “spoke with great eloquence.” But another observed that he was “not a brilliant speaker” and that listeners would “hardly ever see” his eyes, which were downcast most of the time. “You would think him exceedingly sluggish,” another reported, but he could still hold his audience “as if spellbound” anywhere from one and a half to two hours.

Litch’s numerous Millerite duties — which included assistant editor of the Signs of the Times — competed with his responsibilities to his “beloved” Sarah and his children, and his “strong ties” to the Methodist Episcopal Church as a traveling minister. He felt that the needs of his family presented “an insuperable barrier in the way of being exclusively devoted to the work of proclaiming the Lord’s coming.” Until his family could eat from the tree of life in two or three years, he had to feed them himself. Nevertheless, he finally made the difficult decision to leave the Methodist ministry and give his full time to spreading the message of the near second advent, trusting God’s providence. He became the first minister “devoted exclusively to the cause, excepting Mr. Miller.”

News of his actions reached the ears of his Methodist superiors. They were alarmed and decided to assemble on June 9, 1841, to examine the “strange things” he had “been spreading before the community for some time past.” Litch was questioned for half an hour, but the meeting ended on good terms with the presiding elders wishing him welfare and success. He immediately traveled to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he was appointed a general agent of the Millerite Publication Committee.

Publications and Editorial Work

Litch was a talented publisher and public relations man. His major publications included:

• The Midnight Cry (early 1838) — a 48-page pamphlet summarizing Miller’s views
• The Probability of the Second Coming of Christ About A.D. 1843 (1838) — a 204-page tome
• Address to the Clergy (May 1840; enlarged July 1841)
• Prophetic Expositions (November 1842)
• Rise and Progress of Adventism (May 1844)
• A Complete Harmony of Daniel and the Apocalypse (1873)

As editor and assistant editor of the Signs of the Times, his scholarly articles appeared in its columns as well as in many other advent newspapers. In Philadelphia, he edited the Philadelphia Alarm, which later became the Trumpet of Alarm.

Evangelistic Campaigns

During the winter of 1841–1842, Litch traveled to conferences in New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, and stopped by his native Lunenburg, Massachusetts, where his “strange” persuasive powers were seen. At the outset, people didn’t expect much from his quiet demeanor; but his proofs and logical arguments convinced many. The minister of the Methodist church, Rev. Samuel Heath, was converted and immediately began preaching “the doctrines of Millerism.”

In September 1843, Litch witnessed an instance of Millerite extremism at a camp meeting in Stepney, Connecticut. The preacher, John Starkweather, worked the congregation into a frenzy, walking up and down the aisles shouting “Glory!” and “Hallelujah!” While this was going on, Litch stood up and pronounced the agitation as of the devil, calling the real Millerites to leave their own camp meeting.

In February 1844, Litch accompanied Miller and Himes in venturing south to preach in Washington, D.C. Beginning on February 20, 1844, they preached for two weeks in the nation’s capital. Litch was surprised at the results: “A greater revolution in public sentiment has rarely been witnessed in so short a time,” he wrote. Even government officials noted the public fascination with Miller, Himes, and Litch. “Are the Millerites in town?” a senator reportedly asked a newsman, who said that they were. “I thought so,” replied the senator, “for I never heard so much singing and praying in Washington before.”

The Disappointment and After

When S. S. Snow’s seventh-month movement gained momentum in mid-summer 1844, Litch was very cautious and only formally announced his acceptance a few days before October 22. After the second disappointment, it did not take Josiah Litch long to reassess his Millerite interpretations and beliefs. Although he had previously thought that the “door of mercy” would close before the Second Advent, he came to believe (after 1844) that it was still open. This led him to conclude that the 2300 days did not end in 1844.

In 1845 he attended the Albany conference where the “open-door” Millerites attempted to bring order to the movement while distancing themselves from the “shut-door” Adventists (from which the future Seventh-day Adventists would emerge). Together with other leaders, Litch developed a plan of action outlining the direction the movement was to take.

In the 1850s factions arose within the Albany Adventists over issues of organization, and by 1858 the rift was widened over the question of conditional immortality. Litch was prominent among those who rejected conditional immortality and formed the American Evangelical Advent Conference, while those who accepted the doctrine formed the Advent Christian denomination.

Moving away from the Millerite teachings, Litch came to believe that the Jewish people would be literally restored to the land of Israel — a view that gradually exerted a pull toward dispensationalism. He thus described himself as a futurist (rather than an historicist) to Dudley M. Canright in 1877.

He retained his title of Reverend, though, and continued preaching, lecturing, and writing, publishing numerous books and articles in the following years. He also attempted to establish a pharmaceutical business, promoting “Dr. Litch’s Medicines,” which included a cough remedy. His two sons also followed the medical and ministerial sides of his life: William became a dentist and Josiah Lincoln a minister.

Final Years

Toward the end of his life, Litch published a note calling his fellow believers to be patient. “I am now in my seventy-seventh year,” he wrote, “sixty of which (in an imperfect manner) I have spent in the ranks of Christ’s soldiers, and forty-eight years in proclaiming the blessed gospel of the kingdom at hand.” He pointed out that during his lifetime many who had proclaimed Christ’s advent had died. “But the whole family will soon ‘meet over there.'”

His health began declining and soon he became confined to his bed. He died of “apoplexy” on January 31, 1886, in his home in Providence, Rhode Island.

Key Quotes

On the Ottoman Empire prediction: “Allowing the first period, 150 years, to have been exactly fulfilled before Deacozes ascended the throne by permission of the Turks, and that the 391 years, fifteen days, commenced at the close of the first period, it will end on the 11th of August, 1840, when the Ottoman power in Constantinople may be expected to be broken.” — Signs of the Times, August 1, 1840.

On preaching in Washington, D.C. (1844): “A greater revolution in public sentiment has rarely been witnessed in so short a time.”

On the event of October 22, 1844: “It yet remains to be shown that our calculations of time are not correct, and are only in error relative to the event which marked its close. This is the most likely.”

Near the end of his life: “I am now in my seventy-seventh year, sixty of which (in an imperfect manner) I have spent in the ranks of Christ’s soldiers, and forty-eight years in proclaiming the blessed gospel of the kingdom at hand.”

Legacy

The two leading Seventh-day Adventist papers, the Review and Herald and the Signs of the Times, published brief notices of Litch’s death. The Signs observed that Litch had been “a co-laborer with Wm. Miller in proclaiming the advent,” and noted his previous interest in the types of the sanctuary as early as 1844. But since his “brethren” were not interested, he desisted. Both notices concluded by observing that — Litch had “rejected the third [angel’s] message.”

But still, Adventists had Litch to thank for pioneering several viewpoints of prophetic interpretation that exerted a profound impact on their eschatology. One of these was the belief in a pre-Advent judgment, that Litch came by in an attempt to reconcile the doctrine of two resurrections, the millennium, along with the common proceedings of a trial. Another was the understanding that the seven last plagues were yet to happen.

Litch did not see himself as rejecting new biblical truth, but as progressing in the ranks of Christ, even after experiencing bitter disappointments. To the end of his life, he continued looking forward to the Second Advent, even if his understanding of the prophecies changed.