Historicism (Christianity)
Christian Historicism is a school of interpretation which understands some prophecies of the Bible, especially Daniel and Revelation, as being fulfilled in a continuous line from ancient Jewish history through the End of the Age or the End of the World (depending on one's eschatology).
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[edit] History
Prophetic commentaries in the early church were often partial or incomplete, usually interpreting individual passages rather than entire books. The earliest complete commentary on the book of Revelation was carried out by Victorinus in 300 AD, considered to be one of the earliest Historicist commentators.[1][2] An overview of the various prophetic expositions from the third century to the fifth centuries demonstrates that prophecies were uniformly interpreted within a Historicist framework by the Latin (later Catholic) writers.[3][4][5]
Looking to the future fulfillment of certain prophetic passages, Christian theologians concluded that the events of Biblical prophecy (especially as contained in the books of Daniel and Revelation) encompassed the entire Church Age from the ascension of Christ to his second advent.[6]
Throughout the medieval era the Historicist interpretation became increasingly modified and developed by the expositions of Andreas, Primasius (both 6th century), Bede (730 AD), Anspert, Arethas, Haymo, and Berengaud (all of the ninth century).[7]
[edit] Early Historical interpretation
The Early Church Fathers generally identified the four kingdoms of Daniel as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, a view which also prevailed among Jewish interpreters after the Roman occupation of Judea.[8][9][10] Jerome specifically identified the four kingdoms of Daniel 2 in this way.[11] A beast in Revelation 13 was also interpreted as the empire of Rome.[12] The "city on seven hills" in Revelation is understood by the majority of modern scholarly commentators as a reference to Rome.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]
The following chart lays out the characterizations of Historicist interpretation up until the Reformation.
| Chapter | Pre-Reformation Historicist interpretations of Daniel Summary | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel 7 | Majority | Winged Lion is Babylon | Bear is Medo-Persia | Leopard is Macedonians | Great and terrible beast is Rome | Little Horn = Antichrist | God's Kingdom | |
| Minority | Winged Lion is Babylon | Bear is Medo-Persia | Leopard is Macedonians | little Horn = Antiochus | God's Kingdom | |||
| Daniel 8 | Different | The Great Ram = Medo-Persia |
The Very Great Goat = Macedonia |
Exceedingly Great Horn identified as Antichrist | God's Kingdom | |||
| Views | The Great Ram = Medo-Persia |
The Very Great Goat = Macedonia |
Exceedingly Great Horn identified as Antiochus |
God's Kingdom | ||||
| Daniel 11-12 | Medo-Persia | Macedonia | Rome | God's Kingdom | ||||
The above Daniel 7 summary is based on the table on the Daniel 7 Appendix. Thirty-two scholars held that Rome was the 4th beast and 16 of them saw the Little Horn as the Antichrist or False Messiah. Two (possibly 4) of them held that the 4th beast was the Ptolemies and Seleucids with the Little Horn being Antiochus. Comments on the table in the Daniel 8 Appendix indicate that the expositors suggested that the Exceedingly Great Horn was Antiochus, the Antichrist or Mohammed.
[edit] Historicism up to the Reformation
This broad form of Historicism held sway in Christianity from the 4th Century until the Reformation. Prefiguring the revolt that was about to come, the 10th century the Catholic bishop Arnulf of Orleans was the first to apply the 'man of sin' prophecy in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9 to the papacy.[7][26] The same interpretation was given by the Catholic abbot Joachim of Floris in 1190[7] and the archbishop Eberhard II in 1240.
In the Reformation and Counter Reformation, the Reformers and Catholics devised different schemes of interpretation , which they each used to claim that the other was the apostate church.
[edit] Protestant Historicist interpretation
Post-Reformation Protestant Historicists (e.g. Young, Smith, Anderson, etc.) believe that the first four kingdoms of the key prophecies of Daniel should be identified as (1) the Neo-Babylonian empire, (2) the Medo-Persian empire (3) the Macedonian empire of Alexander and his successors, and (4) the Roman empire. They then include the Papacy and the Roman Catholic Church in their interpretations.
Parallel elements of each prophecy of Daniel are the same color.
| Chapter | Interpretation of Daniel as understood by Reformation Historicists[27][28] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past | Present | Future | ||||
| Daniel 2 | Head Gold (Babylon) |
Chest & 2 arms Silver |
Belly and thighs Bronze |
2 Legs Iron |
2 Feet with toes Clay & Iron |
Rock God's unending kingdom left to no other people |
| Daniel 7 | Winged Lion | Lopsided Bear | 4 Heads/4 Wings Leopard |
Iron-toothed Beast w/Little Horn |
Judgment scene Beast slain |
A son of man comes in clouds Given everlasting dominion He gives it to the saints.[29] |
| Daniel 8 | 2-horned Ram (Media-Persia) |
Uni- / 4-horned Goat 4 Winds (Greece) |
Little Horn A Master of Intrigue |
Cleansing of Sanctuary Leads to: --> |
(Kingdom of God) | |
| Daniel 11-12 | Kings (Persia) |
North & South Kings 4 Winds (Greece) |
North & South Kings A Contemptible Person of Intrigue Pagan & Papal Rome |
North & South Kings End Times Global religio-political Government |
Michael stands up Many dead awake To everlasting life |
|
(Nations in parentheses are interpretation of symbols as given in the text. Nations in small italics are Historicist interpretation. "One like a son of man" and "Michael" are understood to be the same being.)
[edit] Key features of Protestant Historicist interpretation
Common features of Reformationist Historicist interpretations which makes them controversial are the identification of the Antichrist (1 and 2 John), the Beast (Revelation 13), the Man of Sin or Man of Lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2) , the "Little horn" of Daniel 7 and 8, and the Whore of Babylon (Revelation 17) with the Roman Catholic Church, the Papal system and each successive Pope himself (a common position held by Protestants in the Reformation, which is not prevalent today). Such an identification, however, is not unique to post-Reformation Historicism, has not been held by all Historicists, and has been and is currently, held by some Futurists and Dispensationalists.
[edit] Post-Reformation Developments
Other interpretations of prophecy arose out of the Reformation and Counter Reformation when the Jesuit Doctor of Theology Francisco Ribera[30] proposed Futurism in 1590, and the Spanish Jesuit Luis De Alcazar proposed Preterism.[31][32] Both of these positions were pro-Catholic.
The 19th century was a significant watershed in the history of prophetic thought. While the historicist paradigm--together with its pre- or post-millennialism, the year-day principle, and the view of the papal Antichrist--was dominant in English Protestant scholarship during much of the period from the Reformation to the middle of the nineteenth century (and continues to find expression in some groups today), it was not the only one on offer in the broader pre- or non-critical marketplace.[33]Arising in Great Britain and Scotland, William Kelly and other Brethren became the leading exponents of Dispensationalist premillennial eschatology.[34] By 1826 literalist interpretation of prophecy took hold and Dispensationalism saw the light of day[35] The Dispensationalist mode of interpretation derived from the historicist model of interpreting Daniel and Revelation and the theory that there was a gap in prophetic fulfillment of prophecy proposed by Futurism, but it took a decidedly anti-Catholic position.
Preterism also experienced an increase in interest during this time.[36]
[edit] Proponents of post-Reformation Historicism
- Albert Barnes[37]
- John Calvin[citation needed]
- Adam Clarke
- Jonathan Edwards[citation needed]
- Edward Bishop Elliott
- John Gill[38]
- Matthew Henry[39]
- Alexander Hislop
- John Knox[citation needed]
- Martin Luther[citation needed]
- Isaac Newton[40]
- Ian Paisley
- John Wesley
- Ellen G. White
- George Whitefield
- Charles H. Spurgeon[citation needed]
- James Wylie[41]
- William Miller
[edit] Seventh-day Adventist teaching
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The Seventh-day Adventist Church advocates a historicist approach to the books of Daniel and Revelation.[42] However, some progressive Adventists and certain members of the Adventist Society for Religious Studies disagree with some of the traditional interpretations of their denomination.
[edit] Prophecies of Daniel
Seventh-day Adventists teach that the four successive kingdoms described in Daniel chapters 2 and 7 correspond to Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. Traditionally it has been taught that the "little horn" found in Daniel 7:8 and 8:9 refers to the Papacy; the reference to changing "times and law" (Daniel 7:25) refers to the change of the Christian sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, and the attack on the sanctuary (Daniel 8:11) to the mediatorial ministry of Roman Catholic priests.[43] The "time, times and half a time" (Daniel 7:25) represents a period of 1260 years spanning 538 CE and 1798 CE, when the Roman Catholic Church dominated the Christian world.[44] The feet of the statue in Daniel 2, made of mixed iron and clay, represent modern Europe.[45] The "cleansing" of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 (KJV) and judgment scene in Daniel 7:9-10 refer to an investigative judgment beginning in 1844.
Adventists teach that the prophecy of seventy weeks in Daniel 9 stretches from 457 BCE to 34 CE, and that the final "week" of the prophecy refers to the events of Jesus Christ's ministry.[46]
The interpretation of Daniel 11-12, and the time periods contained therein, has been problematic for Adventists, and although there have been various attempts to pinpoint the precise events, consensus is lacking.[47][48] Traditionally, the "time of trouble" mentioned in Daniel 12:1 is taken to be a reference to the final crisis just prior to the second coming.
[edit] Prophecies of Revelation
Traditionally, Adventists have believed that the seven churches of Revelation 2-3 represent seven eras spanning Pentecost and the second coming. The "Laodicean" (or "lukewarm") period (Rev 3:14-22) represents the present era, which began in 1844.[49]
The seven seals and seven trumpets of Revelation 6-9 are generally taken to represent events which took place during the Christian era up to 1844. For example, the first four trumpets have traditionally been identified with the pagan invasions of Western Christendom in the 5th century CE (by the Visigoths, Vandals and Huns), while the fifth and sixth trumpets have been identified with the assault on Eastern Christendom by the Muslim armies and Ottoman Turks during the Middle Ages.[49] Revelation 6:12-13 was fulfilled in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the dark day of May 19, 1780, and the Leonids meteor shower of November 13, 1833.[50] The vision of the angel and little book (Revelation 10) represents the Millerite movement; the "bitterness" of the book (Rev 10:10) represents the Great Disappointment. The vision of two witnesses (Revelation 11) corresponds to the events of the French revolution.[49]
According to Seventh-Day Adventist Historicism, Revelation 12-13 contains a prophecy about the forces of evil in the middle ages and end times. In this interpretation, the dragon represents both Satan and pagan Rome. The Remnant church is mentioned in Revelation 12:17. The first beast of Revelation 13 (from the sea) symbolizes the Papacy, and the second beast (from the earth) symbolizes the United States of America. The "image to the beast" represents Protestant churches which will form an alliance with the Papacy, and the "mark of the beast" refers to a future universal Sunday law.[51]
According to the traditional interpretation and conservative scholars, Revelation 14 contains the three angels' messages, which represent the mission of the Remnant (that is, the Seventh-day Adventist church). The seven last plagues (Revelation 15-16) occur during the "time of trouble" following the close of human probation. Revelation 17-18 recapitulate with a description of Roman Catholicism (Babylon, the great whore) and its final downfall.[52]
Finally, Revelation 19-22 describe the second coming of Jesus, the millennium, the final (or "executive") judgment, and the new creation.
[edit] See also
- Book of Daniel
- Book of Revelation
- Christian Eschatology
- Day-year principle
- Summary of Christian eschatological differences
- History of the Papacy
- Anti-Catholicism
- Great Apostasy
- David Koresh
[edit] Notes
- ^ "One of the very first commentators on Revelation, Victorinus of Pettau (c. 300), was a proponent of this method.", Desrosiers, "An introduction to Revelation", p. 32 (2000).
- ^ "His reading was historicist in the sense that he held that the images and symbols of the book could be tied to specific historical events.", Rusconi, "Opere di Gioacchino da Fiore. Strumenti", p. 12 (1996).
- ^ "Two primary camps, historicist and allegorist, had emerged by the late third century.", Cain U& Lenski, "The power of religion in late antiquity", p. 6 (2009).
- ^ Thomas Cornman, "The development of third-century hermeneutical views in relation to eschatological systems," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 30.3 (Sept. 1987): 279-287
- ^ F.F. Bruce, "Eschatology in the Apostolic Fathers," D. Nieman & M. Schatkin, eds
- ^ "The early church fathers largely expected the church to be suffering and persecuted when the Lord returns. However, they also believed in the imminent return of Christ, which is a central feature of pretribulational thought.", LaHaye & Hindson (eds.), "The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy: Over 140 Topics from the World's Foremost Prophecy Experts", p. 316 (2004).
- ^ a b c EB Elliott, 'Horae Apocalypticae', volume IV, Appendix I, fifth edition, 1862
- ^ "The church fathers did not always agree on the identification of the four kingdoms, but the view that they were Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome prevailed among both Christians and Jews.", Shepherd, "Daniel in the context of the Hebrew Bible", Studies in Biblical Literature, p.69 (2009).
- ^ "The four kingdoms represented by the statue were normally interpreted by Christian writers as the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, 'Greek', and roman empires.", Fear, "Orosius: Seven Books of History Against the Pagans", p. 19 (2010).
- ^ http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/re/jewish-apocalyptic_bruce.pdf
- ^ "Jerome identified the four kingdoms analogously with the interpretation of the prophecy of Daniel 2, in a diachronic system. In the first kingdom, symbolized by the lion, he saw the Neo-Babylonian empire. He identified the bear with the Persian kingdom, the leopard with the Macedonian rule, and the fourth beast with the Roman empire.", Fröhlich, "Time and times and half a time: Historical Consciousness in the Jewish Literature of the Persian and Hellenistic Eras', JSP Supplements, pp. 71-72 (1996).
- ^ "The four beasts of Daniel, however, reappear in the monster of Chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation, with ten horns, seven heads, bear's feet and a lion's mouth, which the Fathers of the Church took to be the Roman Empire.", Gelston, et al., "New heaven and new earth prophecy and the millennium: essays in honour of Anthony Gelston", p. 297 (1999).
- ^ Wall, R. W. (1991). New International biblical commentary: Revelation (207). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
- ^ Bratcher, R. G., & Hatton, H. (1993). A handbook on the Revelation to John. UBS handbook series; Helps for translators (248). New York: United Bible Societies.
- ^ Davis, C. A. (2000). Revelation. The College Press NIV commentary (322). Joplin, Mo.: College Press Pub.
- ^ Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of Revelation. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (315). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
- ^ Beckwith, Isbon T. The Apocalypse of John. New York: MacMillan, 1919; reprinted, Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2001.
- ^ Caird, G. B. A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John the Divine. Black’s New Testament Commentaries, edited by Henry Chadwick. London: Adam & Charles Black, 1966.
- ^ Bruce, F. F. The Revelation to John. A New Testament Commentary, edited by G. C. D. Howley. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1969.
- ^ Swete, Henry Barclay. Commentary on Revelation. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1977.
- ^ Morris, Leon. The Book of Revelation, an Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Revised Edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.
- ^ Roloff, J. (1993). A Continental Commentary: The Revelation of John (198). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.
- ^ Aune, D. E. (2002). Vol. 52C: Word Biblical Commentary : Revelation 17-22. Word Biblical Commentary (944). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.
- ^ Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament (Re 17:9). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.
- ^ Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (Re 17:7–18). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.
- ^ Leroy Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our Fathers, volume I (1950) pages 541-542
- ^ Smith, U., 1944, Daniel and Revelation, Southern Publishing Association, Nashvill, TN
- ^ Anderson, A., 1975, Pacific PRess Pub. Assoc., Unfolding Daniel's Prophecies, Mountain View, CA
- ^ Daniel 7:13-27 see verses 13, 14, 22, 27
- ^ In Sacrum Beati Ioannis Apostoli & Evangelistiae Apocalypsin Commentari
- ^ Investigation of the Hidden Sense of the Apocalypse
- ^ http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/antichrist.htm
- ^ Newport, "Apocalypse and millennium: studies in biblical eisegesis", pp. 14-15 (2000)
- ^ McClune, foreword to "An Exposition of the Book of Isaiah", in Central Bible Quarterly (22.4.28), 1979 (4)
- ^ Stitzinger, "The Rapture in Twenty Centuries of Biblical Interpretation", Master's Seminary Journal (13.2.168), 2002
- ^ Boyd & Eddy, "Across the spectrum: understanding issues in evangelical theology" (2002)
- ^ Revelation in Notes on the New Testament; Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1884–85
- ^ Commentary of the Whole Bible
- ^ Acts to Revelation, vol. 6 in Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell
- ^ The Prophecies of Daniel & the Apocalypse. 1733
- ^ The Seventh Vial
- ^ Frank B. Holbrook (1983). "What Prophecy Means to This Church". Biblical Research Institute. http://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/documents/What%20Prophecy%20Means%20to%20Church.htm.
- ^ Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (2005). Seventh-day Adventists believe (2nd ed). Pacific Press. pp. 356–357, 293–295.
- ^ Seventh-day Adventists believe (2nd ed), pp. 184-185
- ^ Seventh-day Adventists believe (2nd ed), p 376
- ^ Seventh-day Adventists believe (2nd ed), pp. 358-359
- ^ Alberto R. Timm. "The 1,290 and 1,335 Days of Daniel 12". Biblical Research Institute. http://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/documents/daniel12.htm.
- ^ Gerhard Pfandl. "THE TIME PROPHECIES IN DAN 12" (PDF). Biblical Research Institute. http://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/documents/The%20Time%20Prophecies%20in%20Dan%2012.pdf.
- ^ a b c SDA Bible commentary
- ^ Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (2005). Seventh-day Adventists Believe (2nd ed). Pacific Press. pp. 378–380.
- ^ Seventh-day Adventists Believe (2nd ed), pp. 190-197, 382
- ^ Seventh-day Adventists believe (2nd ed).
[edit] References
- Froom, Le Roy Edwin (1950). Early Church Exposition, Subsequent Deflections, and Medieval Revival. The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers: The Historical Development of Prophetic Interpretation. 1. The Review and Herald Publishing Association. pp. 1006. http://www.adventistarchives.org/doc_info.asp?DocID=42770.
[edit] External links
- The Historicism Research Foundation – run by Parnell McCarter, and which is advised by Dr. Francis Nigel Lee of Queensland Presbyterian Theological College.
- The Non-Preterist Historicalism of John Calvin and the Westminster Standards by Francis Nigel Lee
- Jon Paulien's articles The End of Historicism? Reflections on the Adventist Approach to Biblical Apocalyptic - part 1, part 2 (PDF) in the Journal of the Adventist Theological Society (supportive).
