I. Time Foreshortened to Early Expositors

Within certain attendant limitations, the church of this period was strongly premillennialist. But difficulties and misunderstandings arose over the time element concerning the great “falling away” from the faith and practice of apostolic times. Such a development could not be clearly comprehended until clarified by the actual historical developments. And the character of the reign of the glorified saints during the thousand years after the second advent, was a cause of controversy which brought discredit to premillennialist doctrine, as we shall see. ^{2See page 306.}PFF1 241.2

We shall find in this period the seventy weeks of Daniel interpreted as 490 years, but there was no application of the year-day principle to the longer time periods by any Christian writer of this early era—not, indeed, until we come to the twelfth century. Only in the seventy weeks was this principle clearly applied—and that, obviously, because they were recognized as actually past and certified through the first advent of Christ. But in no instance in the early centuries was this principle carried over and applied to the prophesied 1260 days in its varying forms of numeration in Daniel or the Apocalypse.PFF1 241.3

There could be no concept, on the part of any of these early expositors, of a long reign of entrenched apostasy through centuries—as the symbolic time would indicate—before the final developments and the return of Christ. Time was naturally foreshortened to them, for they looked for the speedy return of their Lord. Indeed, only as history actually unrolled the prophetic scroll through fulfillment, could its intent be perceived. To have unfolded clearly in unveiled terminology the spreading span of the intervening ages would doubtless have been to shake or crush the faith of the harassed martyr church. Yet for the prophets not to have spoken thus would have left God without this matchless predictive witness, and would have deprived later generations of the certainties of such prophetic declarations.PFF1 242.1

As will be seen as we progress, it has been the misconception and misapplication of aspects of these outline prophecies that has led to much of the fanaticism that has marred the centuries, often bringing odium and suspicion upon a sound and wholesome belief in the advent to take place at the destined time of God’s appointment.PFF1 242.2