The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 3

III. Determining the Dominant Prophetic Exposition

While these individual views on prophecy may at first appear independent and unrelated, there are certain common, or general, agreements upon basic positions that are most impressive. As with the colonial American writers, a tabulation of views of these Old World interpreters reveals a unity of teach ing upon certain fundamentals that can rightly be called the dominant view of the expository group of Old World writers of the time. These include recognition of the four world powers of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome in sequence, followed by Rome’s breakup into ten divisions, and the Little Horn as the Papacy. Antichrist, as the historical Papacy, was recognized as revealed under the various symbols of Little Horn, Man of Sin, Beast, Babylon, and Harlot. Nothing could be more unanimous than this agreement. PFF3 301.1

The year-day principle was yet another universally pro claimed prophetic truth for all prophetic time periods. France as the tenth part of the “city,” and the “earthquake” as the French Revolution, were frequently stressed. The Turk as the power of the sixth trumpet, with his time period of 391 years, was very generally held. And especially was the significance of the 2300 year-days, as beginning in the time of Persia and ending about 1843, 1844, or 1847, the new or added note, growing in volume and clarity. And along with this, there began to be coupled increasingly the declaration of the approaching hour of God’s judgment, and the proclamation of the midnight cry, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh.” PFF3 301.2

Stripped of other details, upon which there were often marked differences, these larger aspects comprehend the common denominator of prophetic: exposition-along with the imminent, personal, premillennial advent of Christ, when the righteous dead will rise and the eternal kingdom will be set up. That was the climax of all prophecy, the goal of all expectation, and the motivating power in all these organizations and their endeavors. These constitute the dominant prophetic exposition. PFF3 301.3

There was yet another commonly, yes, almost universally held position-the return of the Jews and their conversion before the end. This was a point of sharp division between the Old and the New World prophetic heralds, as will be unfolded later. Adherence to it definitely molded the concepts of the Old World group, coloring the understanding of the nature of the events to occur in connection with the ending of the 2300 years. PFF3 302.1

A comprehensive summary of the positions of all leading writers, and warranted conclusions drawn therefrom, will appear in our final chapter, where these points are visualized. PFF3 302.2