The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 4

CHAPTER THREE: Light Dawns on the Last Days

I. Century Ends With Upsurge in Prophetic Study

Around the turn of the century, during and following the world-shaking events and repercussions of the French Revolution, there was an unprecedented general turning to Bible prophecy on the part of an impressive number of thoughtful students of the Word among all leading Protestant faiths. And where one sermon on the theme was published, many more were evidently given orally, without ever getting into print. It seemed as if men had entered a new epoch in searching the pages of the two leading books of prophecy-Daniel in the Old Testament and Revelation in the New-the one obviously the complement of the other. PFF4 56.1

It was as though a baffling seal of mystery and restricted understanding of its latter portions had at last been broken. As men of all persuasions on both sides of the Atlantic began poring over these pages as never before, comparing part with part and checking them with history, light began to dawn on certain heretofore mysterious symbols, and greater understanding came on some of its cryptic phrases concerning the last events of the age. And this investigation continued with increasing momentum for several decades. Historian Ludlum makes this cogent observation on the emphasis in this period: PFF4 56.2

“In search for the workings of the divine will religious men turned to the Scriptures; in the Books of Daniel and Revelation they found not only a satisfactory explanation for the prevalence of irreligion but also the ideological foundation for an attack on existing evils. PFF4 56.3

“At the turn of the century many tomes of Biblical exegesis came from New England presses and received a wide circulation. Though differing on minor points, all agreed that the ‘times of the prophecies’ had arrived, that the present constituted the predicted Reign of Infidelity, and that the Second Coming of Christ and the commencement of the Millennium were ‘at hand.’” ¹ PFF4 57.1

It seemed to an increasing number of investigators that they had entered a distinctly new era in the understanding of those aspects of prophecy pertaining to the latter-day affairs of mankind in general and the church in particular. Men began to call this new period the “time of the end,” and to refer to it as the “last days”—consciously or unconsciously employing the very terms of prophecy in their depictions. In increasing numbers, books, tractates, and periodical articles appeared, dealing with the meaning of the times and pointing out the period to which it was believed the world had come in the inspired schedule of the centuries. PFF4 57.2

In fact, they began to declare that the prediction of Daniel 12:4 was being fulfilled before their very eyes: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” (Daniel 12:4.) The eyes of these men were literally “running to and fro” over its pages, searching and comparing, and seeking as never before for a clearer understanding of the closing events of God’s great outline of the ages as it is set forth in the Scriptures. Knowledge of the prophecies of the latter days was greatly increased. ² PFF4 57.3

The really phenomenal nineteenth-century awakening on prophecy overseas, and the great number of volumes that began to pour forth from the presses of the Old World, can be visualized by a survey of the tabular chart on pages 270 and 271 of Volume III of Prophetic Faith. Each horizontal line represents the life span of a prophetic expositor, and each heavy dot stands for one of his expositions of prophecy. The chart therefore not only records a cold historical fact but represents a throbbing, human activity in this field, transcending all previous interest in prophecy. And what was true of the first four decades of the nineteenth century across the Atlantic in Europe was soon matched and then surpassed in North America. However, the literature of the one aided the other, since there were many reprints of prophetic publications, each group stimulating the interest of the other. PFF4 57.4

The remarkable extent of this quest, and the activity of these pious and learned men in portraying the meaning of the times, and thus in locating the place they believed they had reached in God’s grand outline of the centuries, is without a parallel in history. And not only were the great outline prophecies (like Daniel 2 and 7, and 8 and 11) studied afresh, but the great time prophecies, or designated periods, of that book, relating to the “time of the end” and the end of time, received special attention. These time features intrigued men. They sought to find when they would end, and what would then take place. As a result scores of books began to appear discussing this particular aspect. Nothing comparable to it, in sheer numbers, had appeared before. And this in itself became a recognized sign of the times, and came to be looked upon as a fulfillment of prophecy. PFF4 58.1

It was the last segment of the various prophecies focusing on the last days that received chief attention, the eschatological angle. The signs of the times, the obvious nearness to the end, and the second coming of Christ to wind up human affairs and vindicate the right and punish wrong, as well as the imminent introduction of the millennium-these were the themes that men studied and upon which they wrote and discoursed most earnestly. Again and again they were led to record their conviction that they were manifestly entering the final epoch in the affairs of mankind. But before we discuss the first of these nineteenth-century American writers, let us drop back to 1795. PFF4 58.2