The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 4

II. Second Advent Library a Major Contribution

This Second Advent Library was now a sizable series of pamphlets and books on the advent and the prophecies, uniform in page size, but varying in the number of pages from leaflets to full book dimensions. This series was just getting nicely under way, published at the Boston headquarters, and written largely by the Millerite leaders. To it were added a few reprints of especially pertinent treatises. Money was pledged for their circulation, and Josiah Litch was chosen as traveling, or “General Agent,” for the Committee of Publications of the movement—an established custom among religious bodies of the time. His support was provided, along with an appropriation for the circulation of second advent publications. A glance at the titles and authors will disclose the scope and reveal the writer personnel of this vital series of books and pamphlets that played such a major part in the movement. PFF4 584.3

The authors, and the number of their respective treatises in the series, were: Miller (13), Himes (4), Litch (8), Bliss (8), Cox (1), Cook (1), Sabine (1), Storrs (1), Whiting (1), Hawley (1), Hervey (2), Starkweather (1), and Gunn (1). Then there were also two anonymous works, and three reprints- by Spalding, Hooper of England, and Bernard. In range, they covered the second advent, Biblical exposition, prophetic interpretation, reviews, declarations of principles, lectures, charts and explanations, prophetic symbols, time periods, cleansing of the sanctuary, types and the jubilee, the kingdom of God, history of Advent Movement, return of the Jews, paraphrases of the prophecies, Babylon’s fall, warnings to watch, appeals to ministers, new heavens and new earth, millennium, and age to come. These, along with the battery of some forty periodicals, and broadsides and charts and hymnbooks, comprised a formidable array of highly effective literature. PFF4 585.1