The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 3

III. President Willard-Advent Hope Illuminates Last Days

The second expositor of the eighteenth century is SAMUEL WILLARD (1640-1707), vice-president of Harvard and minister at Boston. Born at Concord, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard, with an M.A. in 1059, he was ordained in 1664. He served as pastor of the church at Groton, then became co-pastor of the Old South Church, Boston (1678-1707), and vice-president and acting president of Harvard from 1701 to 1707. Though he was the author of numerous hooks between 1674 and 1707, his most noted were The Fountain Opened (1700) and A Corn-pleat Body of Divinity (1726). PFF3 155.14

1. NEW-EARTH STATE Is IMMINENT

In the former work Willard holds to the national restoration of the Jews but de scribes the triumphant state of the church, yet to come, in this way: PFF3 155.15

“The whole Creation groans for this day, and we ought to live upon the Hope of it, Romans 8:19-23.... It will not be long before these days Commence. Although we cannot tell the day, or month, or year; ... yet we are fully assured that it is hastning.” ⁴⁰ PFF3 155.16

This he believed comes after the Gospel-Church has been in its “prefixed time” in the wilderness-1260 days. ⁴¹ PFF3 156.1

2. ANTICHRIST’S DESTRUCTION AND THE CALL Our OF BABY LON

Referring to the “things foretold” in the prophecies yet to be “brought to pass,” and particularly to the destruction of Antichrist, he adds: PFF3 156.2

“God will doubtless prepare the way to the destruction of the Man of Sin, who stands in the way, by giving an enlarged Commission for the Preaching of the Everlasting Gospel, which shall Call His out of Babylon and convince the Great Ones of their egregious folly.” ⁴² PFF3 156.3

3. SECOND ADVENT NOT FAR OFF

In the latter work Willard looked for the premillennial advent, declaring, “This is the day that I love, that I wait for,” ⁴³ and stating, “It will not be long before that day shall come; these are the last days, and the winding up of the time that we live in.” ⁴⁴ The titles of three other works reveal the burden of his heart and show the central place held by the advent hope in his thinking: Checkered State of the Gospel Church (1701), Rules for the Discerning of the Present Times (1693), and Peril of the Time Displayed (1700). PFF3 156.4