The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1

III. The Scope of This Treatise

1. DANIEL AND REVELATION THE PRINCIPAL FIELDS

In tracing the historical development of prophetic interpretation through the centuries, it will be necessary to limit the study to certain main lines of prophecy—of the so—called apocalyptic or eschatological prophecies. We shall therefore trace, principally, the unfolding exposition of the two books of the Bible which present the most outstanding prophecies of the end of the age, and the events leading thereto—the books of Daniel and the Revelation—and also of the great prophecy of Jesus concerning the last days, and of certain related passages, such as Paul’s discussion of the Man of Sin. PFF1 30.1

Again, the organization of the subject matter of these various prophetic interpretations will be centered on five principal topics that will be found to be the key factors which have conditioned the prophetic outlook of the Christian church through the centuries. These are: (1) the outline prophecies (2) the resurrection, (3) the millennium, (4) the Antichrist, and (5) the visible kingdom of God. It will be pointed out that these five factors, influenced, of course, by the historical and spiritual background of the church, reacted to exert strong influence on the thinking and development of the church through the ages. PFF1 30.2

2. THE PLAN OF THIS WORK

Pursuant to this plan of studying the unfolding interpretation of the books of Daniel and the Revelation, it is essential at the very outset to understand the relationship of Daniel’s prophecy to the other writings of the Old Testament, which together constitute the Jewish canon of Scripture, as well as its relationship to the great epochs and events in Israel’s history, and to the dominant Neo—Babylonian and Medo—Persian empires under whose control the Hebrews lived in Daniel’s day. It is equally desirable to have a clear grasp of the relationship of Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, and especially of the apostle John’s book of Revelation, to the historical timing and circumstances of the apostolic writings which comprise the New Testament canon of the Christian church. To aid in obtaining this over—all perspective, chapters two, three, and four will deal with the book of Daniel and its relation to the Old Testament canon and the Apocrypha, and then the Apocalypse in its relation to the New Testament canon. An understanding of this is fundamental. PFF1 30.3

After this background material of the first four chapters, the next two will give a brief survey of the content of these prophetic scriptures, as a basis for the study to follow of the successive interpretations of the prophecies that will form the body of this work. These preliminary chapters may seem rather expansive. However, they are not unduly extended for an introduction to a four—volume work of this character. They cover a relatively brief space in which to sketch the significant and illuminating background for the development of major prophetic interpretation through the centuries. PFF1 31.1

Indeed, the entire four volumes of this work afford space for only a survey of the subject of prophetic interpretation as it has ebbed and flowed through the ages, from the time of Daniel on to approximately the middle of the nineteenth century. And the ramifications of the numerous varieties of eschatological beliefs from the later nineteenth century to the present must be passed by; they would require several more volumes, but their taproots can be seen in the early nineteenth century. The present work is therefore primarily a survey of the past—of the historical antecedents of current views—rather than a study of present—day exposition. PFF1 31.2