Preaching in the Last Days The Theme of "Two Witnesses" in the 16th and 17th Centuries

by Petersen, Rodney L.

• ISBN13: 9780195073744
• ISBN10: 0195073746
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1993-06-24
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Visionary strength was given to the piety, polity, and political activity of Protestantism in its formative periods through the way in which the Apocalypse was read. By identifying with the text depicting two witnesses, or prophets, who preach at the end of history, are slain by the beast from the abyss (understood to be Antichrist), and rise again victoriously, representatives of the Protestant movement found a measure of self-identity. This text, Revelation 11:3-13, became the lens through which many envisioned the movement of history from the first advent of Christ to his promised return. It was used by earlier reform movements, but it lent special definition to the work of Protestant ministers through the nineteenth century, suggesting different approaches to social organization. Preaching in the Last Days is a study in the history of how the Apocalypse was read. It is also an examination of how social groups are formed through ideas occasioned by texts. It offers an account of the interplay between religious and social history during the time of the development of Protestantism. Petersen's study provides a fascinating look at the theological significance of how we read biblical texts and the insights this offers on the development of culture, the Christian movement, and its churches. The book is especially important for understanding the assumptions behind the ways in which the book of Revelation is being read and used in our own day.

Author Biography

Rodney L. Petersen is Executive Director of the Boston Theological Institute (BTI), Adjunct Professor of Church History at several BTI member schools, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Management and Human Resource Development at Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. xiii
Adventual Prophets	p. 3
Introduction to an Idea	p. 3
Exegesis of the Text	p. 5
Revivified Prophets	p. 8
Symbolic Representation	p. 12
Witnesses Through History	p. 28
Doorkeepers to the Future	p. 28
Disclosing Deception	p. 30
Orders for Church Renewal	p. 32
Members of Christ's Body	p. 40
Heralds of the Second Advent	p. 43
The Dawn of Reformation Preaching	p. 59
Power to Prophesy	p. 59
The Spirit of Elijah	p. 60
The Sword of Gideon	p. 66
Prophets of a Last Chance	p. 71
Identification or Representation	p. 88
Messianic Troubles	p. 88
Elijah and the Apostolic Messengers	p. 92
Luther the Prophet	p. 97
The Eternal Gospel	p. 102
Bullinger and the Testimony of the Church	p. 120
Bullinger's Preachers	p. 120
The Prophet and the Promise	p. 121
A Veiled History	p. 124
Adventual Witnesses and the Growth of Evil	p. 129
Rebuilding the Temple	p. 149
The Company of Prophets	p. 149
The Place of Prophecy	p. 151
A Visionary Mission	p. 160
A Perpetual Reformation	p. 165
Self-Conscious Witnesses: John Foxe and the Martyrs	p. 179
John Foxe's Martyrs	p. 179
The Drama of History	p. 182
Tangible Goodness	p. 184
The Trope Becomes the Letter	p. 188
Forerunners of the Kingdom	p. 200
From Prophets to Rulers	p. 200
The Triumph of the Saints	p. 202
The Mourning Prophets	p. 207
Locating the Restored Temple	p. 212
Political Spirituality	p. 215
Witnesses in the Wilderness	p. 227
Faithful Church or Faithful Remnant?	p. 227
Heralds of the Seventh Trumpet	p. 228
Preachers of Glory in Days of Adversity	p. 230
Looking for the Witnesses--Finding the Kingdom	p. 232
Epilogue	p. 259
Abbreviations	p. 263
Selected Bibliography	p. 265
Name and Subject Index	p. 303
Scripture Index	p. 313
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