The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 3

IV. Futurist Tyso-Literal Time Periods Tied to Future Antichrist

A final glimpse at Futurism’s demoralizing grip on one growing wing of Protestantism is afforded by JOSEPH TYSO, ⁴⁶ whose Elucidation of the Prophecies (of Daniel and the Revelation) (1838), bears this revealing declaration on the title page: PFF3 731.4

“Shewing that the 70 weeks, the 1260 days, and the events predicted under the seven trumpets and seven vials, have not yet taken place, but that they will be accomplished within the space of about three years and a half from their commencement, and probably at no very distant period.” PFF3 732.1

A frontispiece chart pictures the four empires of Daniel 2, their parallels in Daniel 7, and Medo-Persia and Greece in Daniel 8. But Tyso’s scheme of dating begins the stone kingdom of Christ back at the first advent. The little horn of the fourth beast is declared to be neither the pope nor Mohammed. It is made “the Antichrist of the last days,” and involves a “long interval of time” between those early events and the brief period of consummation. ⁴⁷ PFF3 732.2

1. 2300 MADE LITERAL DAYS YET FUTURE

Tyso holds that the Jews will be reinstated and will “rebuild the temple and re store the daily sacrifice.” Then the Little Horn will wax great and “will take away the daily sacrifice and set up the predicted abomination, profane the sanctuary and the host and tread the munder foot in contempt for 2300 literal days.” ⁴⁸ This will all take place in the approaching time of the end. PFF3 732.3

2. DISPARITY OF PERIOD DATINGS CAPITALIZED

In his discussion of the seventy weeks Tyso capitalizes heavily upon the variant beginning and ending dates projected by Mede, Beverley, More, Newton, Prideau, Habershon, and others. He denies that the period had been fulfilled on the year-day principle at the first advent. ⁴⁹ The three and a half “times” he makes literal years, and all the paralleling prophetic periods are likewise made literal time. ⁵⁰ Again, the divergent dates of Historical School interpreters for the terminus of the 1260 year-days are paraded-ranging between 1789 and 1847. ⁵¹ And, stretching back to the proposals of Reformation expositors, they do make a diversified list, as men were but gradually beginning to perceive the appropriate beginning and ending of the period. This was inevitable. PFF3 732.4

The same procedure is followed with the different applications of the seven seals, ⁵² trumpets, and vials citing Bede, Bullinger, Napier, Brightman, Mede, Poole, Godwin, Beverley, Jurieu, Fleming, Whiston, Daubuz, Faber, Frere, Fry, Scott, Cooper, Cuninghame, Keith, Habershon-and their naturally conflicting Historicist, Preterist, and Futurist expositions. ⁵³ Likewise with the dissimilarities of the ten-horn tabulations, giving the different listings of Machiavelli, Napier, Eberhard, Brightman, Pareus, Mede, Daubuz, Newton, Whiston, Bishop Newton, Lloyd, Frere, Faber, Thorp, Cuninghame, Jurieu, Hale, Brooks-twenty-eight in all, ⁵⁴ scattered over centuries. This variance is made the occasion for discarding all. PFF3 732.5

Thus the principles of Historical interpretation, built up by the cumulation of reverent scholarship of the centuries, are brushed aside by an all-comprehensive application of literalism, and by thrusting virtually all events into that brief, congested period of Antichrist’s ascendancy just before the end. PFF3 733.1