Concerning the popular system of interpreting the Scriptures, Wolff wrote: “The greater part of the Christian church have swerved from the plain sense of Scripture, and ... suppose that when they are reading Jews, they must understand Gentiles; and when they read Jerusalem, they must understand the church; and if it is said earth, it means sky; and for the coming of the Lord they must understand the progress of the missionary societies; and going up to the mountain of the Lord's house, signifies a grand class meeting of Methodists.”3Journal of the Rev. Joseph Wolff, p. 96. HF 224.2
From 1821 to 1845, Wolff traveled in Egypt, Abyssinia, Palestine, Syria, Persia, Bokhara, India, and the United States. HF 224.3