Prophesy and the Temple

Abstract

Like chronology, ancient texts and alchemy, prophesy was a subject that Newton spent a great deal of time studying. In England, from the beginning of the Puritan unrest to the mid-eighteenth century, Apocalyptic and millenarian thought had became a widespread concern. The work of English Millenarian Joseph Mede, Clavis Apocalyptica published in 1627, was to have a sustaining influence on notable scholars such as John Milton, Henry More, Isaac Newton and William Whiston. The majority of Apocalyptic and millenarian thought centred on the relationship between the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. Mede’s Clavis Apocalyptica was translated from Latin into English as The Key of the Revelation and was authorised for publication by the Parliament at the height of the Civil War in 1643. Although Mede recognised that the correct interpretation of the prophetic language was paramount to understanding the prophet, he explored a synchronic scheme and did not lay down principles of Biblical hermeneutics.