Otis Nichols (1811–1897): Lithographer of the 1850 Prophetic Chart
Otis Nichols was a skilled Boston lithographer, engraver, and noble Sabbatarian pioneer. Along with his wife, Mary Bird Nichols, Otis provided shelter, encouragement, and financial backing for Elder James White and Ellen G. White during the critical formative years of 1848–1850.
Explore The 1850 Prophetic Chart Pages
The Dorchester Publishing Vision & The 1850 Chart
In November 1848, while staying at the Nichols home in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Ellen White received her famous vision concerning the publishing work:
"I have a message for you. You must begin to print a little paper and send it out to the people... From this small beginning it was shown to me to be like streams of light that went clear round the world."
In 1850, Otis Nichols applied his artistic engraving talents to publish the 1850 Advent Prophetic Chart. Printed on cloth in Boston, it presented the Three Angels' Messages, the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14, and the Seventh-day Sabbath seal. Ellen G. White recorded in Early Writings (p. 74) that this 1850 chart was “directed by the hand of the Lord.”
The 1843 and 1850 Charts: Make the Vision Plain
“Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie.”
— Habakkuk 2:2-3 (KJV)
The 1843 Prophetic Chart brought Daniel's time prophecies and the first angel's judgment-hour message into a shared visual testimony. Its Chart Key of Explanation (PDF) guides readers through Daniel 2, 7, 8, and 9, the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14, and Revelation 14. The 1850 Sanctuary and Prophetic Chart continued that study with the heavenly sanctuary, the seventh-day Sabbath, the seal of God, and the warning concerning the mark of the beast; open its Chart Explanation (PDF) and Key of Explanation (PDF).
“I was shown that the 1843 chart was directed by the hand of the Lord... Then I was shown that the 1850 chart was directed by His hand, and that the figures were correct.”
— Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 74.
The 1850 chart sets Revelation 13-14 before the reader: worship, the commandments of God, the faith of Jesus, and the warning against the beast and his image. The site’s April 15, 1904 Incorporation Record and History of the Seventh-day Adventist Name collect the legal and organizational documents that readers may compare with this chart study and the pioneer platform.
“The message of the fall of Babylon, as given by the second angel, is repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the churches since 1844. The work of this angel comes in at the right time to join in the last great work of the third angel's message as it swells to a loud cry.”
— Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 277.1.
“Those who have betrayed sacred trusts will be unmasked before the world, whatever may be their position, height, or reputation.”
— Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 81.
The invitation of the charts is active and personal: read the records, test every claim by Scripture, and stand on the eternal truths made plain in the 1843 and 1850 witness. In Brother Miller's Dream, the first casket of Advent treasure is gathered into a larger casket and shines with greater glory; study that picture with New Jerusalem, The Present Truth feature, and the 1872 Fundamental Principles. For the legal question raised by the later record, read the 501(c)(3) church-state study alongside the 1904 documents.
James White: Trinity and Sunday
“Here we might mention the Trinity, which does away the personality of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ, and of sprinkling or pouring instead of being ‘buried with Christ in baptism,’ ‘planted in the likeness of his death:’ but we pass from these fables to notice one that is held sacred by nearly all professed Christians, both Catholic and Protestant. It is, The change of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment from the seventh to the first day of the week.”
— James White, “Preach the Word,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, December 11, 1855, vol. 7, no. 11, p. 85. Read the archival PDF.
James White: The Reformers Stopped Reforming
“The ‘mystery of iniquity’ began to work in the church in Paul’s day. It finally crowded out the simplicity of the gospel, and corrupted the doctrine of Christ, and the church went into the wilderness. Martin Luther, and other reformers, arose in the strength of God, and with the Word and Spirit, made mighty strides in the Reformation. The greatest fault we can find in the Reformation is, the Reformers stopped reforming. Had they gone on, and onward, till they had left the last vestige of Papacy behind, such as natural immortality, sprinkling, the trinity, and Sunday-keeping, the church would now be free from her unscriptural errors.”
— James White, “The Word,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, February 7, 1856, vol. 7, no. 19, p. 148. Read the archival PDF.
Pioneer & Study Resource Connections
- Mary Bird Nichols — Wife and pioneer witness in Dorchester.
- The 1850 Prophetic Chart — High-res chart viewer and PDF downloads.
- James White — Publisher of The Present Truth.
- Ellen G. White — Received the publishing vision at the Nichols home.
- Master Site Index — Complete directory of SundayLaw.com.
