The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 3

II. Spotlight Shifts From Daniel 7 to Daniel 8

With the ending of the 1260 years of Daniel 7, allotted to the exploits of the Little Horn, and brought to a close through the French Revolution, the spotlight of prophetic interest and concern moved from Daniel 7 over to Daniel 8, and the great 2300-year time period of verse 14. Over the span of the centuries prophetic study had shifted progressively from Rome, the last of the four world powers, to Rome’s divisions, then to the identification of the little horn as the Papacy. And now, after the close of the designated era of that Little Horn, only the judgment scenes remain in the outline of Daniel 7. So, while-Daniel 7 and other prophecies are still of interest and concern, the focal point of advanced study and discussion shifts to Daniel 8 after the French Revolution. PFF3 328.4

As we cross the threshold of the nineteenth century, many of the treatises on prophecy by Protestant writers, from the very first, deal with aspects of these 2300 years, particularly the closing events. This period becomes the theme of principal inquiry by a growing number of earnest, competent students, seeking to determine the intent of the climax of this heretofore little-under stood prophecy. It is a new emphasis. The correct dating of the period-its relation to other time periods, the accurate determination of its beginning year, the true length of the period itself, and the nature of the events to take place at its close, all become the quest of many minds and divers pens. PFF3 328.5

We shall now meet these men individually, first noting briefly their differing backgrounds, training, and achievements, and the events that had a bearing upon their study of prophecy, as well as their special contributions to the sum total of sound interpretation. Special note will be taken of their scholastic training, not to glorify learning or degrees, but to discover their mental caliber and competency for such exposition. Possessed of competent scholarship, these men were the intellectual peers of any in their day. They were not ignorant enthusiasts, but were unsurpassed in training, language, history, and theology, as well as in pulpit power and literary achievement. PFF3 329.1

And, as through the years men had come to sound conclusions through candid discussion of differing viewpoints, so this process for sifting and improvement becomes intensified in the nineteenth century. We shall begin with the early writers and follow progressively through the succeeding decades. PFF3 329.2