|
Nevertheless, the Church continued occasionally to interpret some apocalyptic prophecies in the light of contemporary events, such as the emergence of Islam in the seventh century. But it was not until around the year AD 1OOO that millennial expectations began to appear again in force. This prophetic understanding was, in part, prompted by the simple, though weak, equation of the millennium's length (173:1) The protests against the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church, which led to the establishment of the various denominations of Protestant Christianity, had a major impact on the interpretation of prophecy. Many Protestants firmly believed that the corruptions they perceived in the Roman Catholic Church were clearly set forth in the prophecies and, in time, they came to believe that these were signs indicating the approach of the Second Advent. As interest in the prophecies grew, various Protestants in the nineteenth century wrote polemical histories outlining the interpretation of prophecy. (173:2) Gratten Guinness
(173:3)
|