The challenge of a great need was the impelling motive back of this really huge undertaking—the obvious need for a thorough work of this sort, and the lack of anything of its kind extant in any language. The history of past interpretation should have a direct bearing on prophetic interpretation today. But the sheer inaccessibility of many of the thousands of source documents required for a work of this character, the prohibitive costliness of extensive travel and of acquiring them, the excessive time required for such a task, and the need of expert assistants to overcome the multiple language barriers, all combine to place a task of this kind utterly beyond the range of most students, no matter how competent they may be or how desirous of undertaking such a study. PFF1 10.2
The proffered provision, then, of the facilities and the means necessary for carrying through such a tremendous task, was regarded by the author as a summons to undertake such an investigation. PFF1 11.1