You don’t have to be a student of the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to understand what is meant by the phrase, “The Great Disappointment.” As we know, the early pioneers of our denomination were a part of what has been referred to in American history as the Second Great Awakening. This was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States, which spread religion through revivals and spirit-filled preaching, and eventually sparked a number of reform movements in the fields of health, education and religion, just to name a few. And a major thrust of this revival movement was the preaching of Christ’s imminent return, in their lifetime, which resulted from a resurgence in the study of certain biblical prophecies that they believed held the secret to the timing of the second coming of Christ.
Again, you don’t have to be a student of history to know that this prediction never came to fruition. October 22, 1844 came and went and Jesus did not return as countless many had hoped. But because of the conviction that many held in this prediction, a large number of followers of this movement abandoned not only their earthly possessions, but their livelihoods as well, as they eagerly waited for Christ to come bursting through the clouds. But what made this disappointment so great was the tremendous hope that these early “Adventists” had placed in this one event, an event which they believed would be the answer to all their hopes and dreams.
As we know, this past Tuesday was Election Day here in the United States, as we as citizens exercised our right and privilege to cast our vote for whom we believed would be the most suitable candidate for the office of President of the United States. But Tuesday has come and gone and there has been no clear winner, at least not as I sit here at my desk on Wednesday to compose this edition of the eWeekend editorial. But regardless of party affiliation, many are disappointed that their candidate did not come through as the clear decisive winner they had hoped for. And by the time this election process is finally over and a winner has been determined, one way or another, there will still be a great sense of disappointment felt by at least half of those who make up our country.
But although this is a great disappointment for many, it cannot and should not be placed in the category of a “great” disappointment. The reason I say this is that although as Christians it is our privilege and duty to exercise our Christian stewardship to vote for the candidate that we believe has their values aligned with those of God’s kingdom, such as justice and righteousness, we must never lose sight of the fact that our hope for a better world and a new beginning should never be placed in the election of a president, no matter which party he or she is a part of. Instead, our hope should always be in the return of a king. As Christians, we, more than any other group, should understand that the only true answer to the dilemma that our world is in today is in the return of Jesus. Again, this does not mean that we shouldn’t stand for issues of justice and righteousness and to vote for those candidates who we feel best exhibit these characteristics of the kingdom. But what it does mean is that when our candidate loses, our disappointment needs not be of the magnitude of those early “Adventists,” because our hope is not in the sovereignty of a man or an office, but our hope is in the sovereignty of a mighty God, a God, who by the way, “Sets up kings while he brings down others.”