The Forgotten Distinctive of the Advent Christian Church

(Daniel 9: 25-26)

“Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. And After the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.”1

I came to faith when I was 23 years old, and in the Baptist Church and tradition the eschatology I was exposed to featured a future 7-year period of tribulation that was still to come in the distant future. This was the famous “70 Week Prophecy” of Daniel chapter 9. As I began to study the Scriptures for myself, I came to dismiss the idea of a pre-tribulation rapture which happens before the 7-year tribulation and then the second coming of Christ which happens 7 years later as described in Revelation chapter 19. The Bible teaches only one coming of Christ and not two, (one which is secret and the other coming that is visible.) I did not accept the popular pre-tribulation rapture theory. However, I still held the belief that the 70th week of that famous prophecy from Daniel chapter 9 was yet future. I became a Pre-Wrath rapture adherent, but I kept studying, and in 2018, I came to realize that theology was not scriptural either.

The straightforward reading of Daniel 9 and verses 24 through 27 should not include an indeterminate gap of time between the 69th and 70 weeks; all the futurist schemes include this in their eschatology. Oral E Collins says it well,

“Daniel 9: 25-27 is explanatory, giving the division of the seventy week period into three parts- seven, sixty-two, and one, the final week. Notice that there is nothing assigned to the sixty-two weeks. Their function is to indicate the span between the seven and the seventieth. It should be apparent from this as well as from the nature of a time prophecy that the seventieth week is connected to the sixty-two and not separated by an unmentioned and undefined period of time, as some of the futurist school hold.”2

Bible scholars have held this view of the 70 Weeks since the days of the Reformation, which sets aside altogether the pre, mid, and post tribulation rapture theories. Despite this, I have a feeling prophecy teachers will keep selling their latest DVD on late night Christian television.

This brings us to the prophetic interpretation called Historicism which was held by the Reformers, the Puritans, and most mainline denominations until the dispensational views took hold in the 19th century. Again, let us hear from Collins,

 “Advent Christians have as part of their heritage, this historical understanding of prophecy. This was also the understanding of the forerunners and leaders of the Reformation, and the view held by all Protestant denominations until recent times. Today many evangelical groups have moved away from this historical interpretation to other systems. Some Christians treat predictions as though they were riddles and look for curious fulfillments as an idle pastime. Popular books deal with Antichrist and the mark of the Beast giving sensational angles to these prophecies. We do well to stand on our historical heritage rather than drift with passing fads about prophecy.”3 

What exactly is Historicism? Historicism takes the progress and destiny of the church through its history and conflict with Antichristian forces. The approach becomes historical, but not from the standpoint of the New Testament/Biblical author, but from the standpoint of the reader who is reading prophecies that have been fulfilled during the course of church history. Historicism is built upon the belief that “prophecy is history written beforehand.” Historicist expositors regard the books of Daniel and Revelation as describing progressive, symbolic images that have been fulfilled in mostly sequential historical events from the time of ancient Israel into the New Testament era and progressing into the glorious consummation of all things at Christ’s second advent.

Interestingly enough, all Bible prophecy teachers start out as Historicist. The metallic statue of Daniel chapter 2 and the monstrous beasts coming from the great sea of Daniel chapter 7 are almost unanimously identified with the world empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The fun starts when we get to Daniel chapter 7 and verse 8 when out of the fourth beast (Rome) comes a “Little Horn” with eyes like a man and speaking pompous words. Some Preterists, who believe Bible prophecy was all but fulfilled in the first century, believe the little horn represents Seleucid ruler Antiochus Epiphanes who built an altar to Zeus in the Jewish Temple. Futurists, of course, point to a future Antichrist figure to fulfill the “Little Horn” prophecy, again relying on that gap of time they see in Bible prophecy. The fourth beast of Daniel chapter 7 was different from the other beasts, and it had 10 horns. Historicists see the 10 horns as 10 kings or kingdoms, and after the western Roman empire fell to the Goths in the year 476, we see in history 10 kingdoms arising and they were the Barbarian kingdoms of: Anglo-Saxons, Franks, Allemani, Burgundians, Visigoths, Suevi, Vandals, Heruli, Bavarians, and the Ostrogoths. Daniel 7 and verse 24 says the Little Horn power will subdue 3 kings. History verifies that three kingdoms tried to revolt against the medieval state/church system, and they were in 533 the Vandals of North Africa, then the Ostrogoths, and lastly the Lombards. Historicism identifies the “Little Horn” with the state/church system of the Middle Ages. The Revelation continues the Church’s battle against this opposition force, and this would certainly make sense from a first and second century reader’s perspective. Historicists see the various symbols of the Revelation as history on the march. The seal judgments of chapter 6 are the progressive deterioration of the Roman empire. The trumpet judgments are the Barbarian invasions, Moslem Turks, and Ottoman Turk invasions of Rome.

Historicism, although still mentioned in some study Bibles, is a relic. I am positive it will not make a comeback into mainstream Christianity. To some, the failed date setting of the Millerites concerning the return of Christ sealed the death of Historicism. The cause of Historicism is also not helped by the wildly speculative and false beliefs of the Seventh Day Adventists (e.g. 1844 signaling the beginning of the investigative judgment and Sunday as the mark of the Beast). Likewise, identifying the medieval Papacy with its persecutions as the Antichrist is certainly not politically correct today.

Nonetheless, the Historicism of great theologians of the past like Dr. Henry Grattan Guinness and E.B. Elliot should not be dismissed. The late Oral E. Collins was a Professor of Biblical Studies at Berkshire Christian College, and he wrote the contemporary masterpiece on Historicism with the 2007 publication of the book, “The Final Prophecy of Jesus” which is a commentary on the book of Revelation. I am reading it for the third time now, and while I may not agree with every interpretation in the book, it is showing me once again the Sovereign Hand of the Most High God of the Universe as He fights for and defends those that are His saints. Saints from the past, present, and future.

“As much as in any other discipline, the practices and conclusions of historical research have changed in our century. A new generation must seek to master the best results of historical scholarship, compare the data with history, and seek to understand the correlation between history and prophecy. If historicism is, as I believe, basically sound, let’s address it anew and directly to update it for the benefit of God’s people as we approach the end of this century. ”4   – David Dean

Bibliography

1.     Daniel 9: 25-27, New King James Version, 1997, 2006, 2019, by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

2.     Collins, Oral E. 2007. The Final Prophecy of Jesus. Wipf and Stock publishers. pp.26

3.     Collins, Oral E. article entitled, The Promise, from the book God’s Prophetic Calendar, 1983, Advent Christian General Conference of America, pp.14

4.     Dean, David A. article entitled Diversity and Unity in Advent Christian Prophetic Study, from the book, Our Destiny We Know, Venture Books, Charlotte, N.C. 1996, pp.194