Barbour in January 1874: the Lord comes in the seventh month of 1874
interpretation
On: before the close of 1873
Linked by Rainbow Watch. Barbour defends “the 1873 arguments” of his Evidences for the Coming of the Lord in 1873 and carries them by “a fraction of time” to the seventh month of 1874.
Source quotation · Unsigned article “Time, and Time Arguments,” The Midnight Cry, and Herald of the Morning (N. H. Barbour, editor and publisher), January 1874, pp. 25–26; addressed as “brother B.”
The question is often asked, brother B., do you believe we shall ever know the exact time when Christ will appear? My answer is, I do not believe the day, or year, will ever be known. Why then, do you try to convince the world that He will come in the “seventh month” of 1874? I answer, because I believe He will come, at that time.
The evidences are perfectly overwhelming, not only that it is near, but, that the time is revealed, and will be correctly understood.
Faith, and knowledge, are not the same. It is faith here, but knowledge, over there.
If the time is revealed, it is in such a way that we must search as men search for hidden treasures, if we would find it. Like all other Bible truths it is for those, and only those, who earnestly desire it.
The prophetic periods are given in full years, and center, I believe, in the year 1873. But there is a fraction of time which will carry us to the 7th month of ’74. And as the evidence is very plain, that He will eventually come in the seventh month, I see no reason as yet, for doubting the truthfulness of the 1873 arguments.
Now, for a moment, admit this whole position. The Lord comes next fall; and we go into the kingdom. You ask, there, brother, did you know we were right while you were preaching the time? My answer would be, no! my brother, I did not. I saw evidence that convinced me, and acted up to that evidence by letting the light shine as far as I could; and to God be all the glory that it did not prove a failure.
The Midnight Cry, and Herald of the Morning, January 1874 · The Midnight Cry, and Herald of the Morning (Rochester, N.Y.: N. H. Barbour, editor and publisher), vol. I, no. 2, January 1874 (masthead, BookReader leaf 0), unsigned article “Time, and Time Arguments,” pp. 25–26: from “The question is often asked” (p. 25, second column) through “did not prove a failure.” (p. 26, first column). Internet Archive item magazines-herald-of-the-morning-nelson-h-barbour-1874-1880, BookReader leaves 8–9. Transcribed from the page images. Small capitals (“knowledge”) rendered in lower case; line-end hyphenation joined; space before “?” and “!” closed; whitespace normalized.
Source reuse and transcription
Nineteenth-century publication, public domain in the United States.
Community response to this revision: 0
Published revision history
2026-10-05T15:53:51+00:00
The question is often asked, brother B., do you believe we shall ever know the exact time when Christ will appear? My answer is, I do not believe the day, or year, will ever be known. Why then, do you try to convince the world that He will come in the “seventh month” of 1874? I answer, because I believe He will come, at that time.
The evidences are perfectly overwhelming, not only that it is near, but, that the time is revealed, and will be correctly understood.
Faith, and knowledge, are not the same. It is faith here, but knowledge, over there.
If the time is revealed, it is in such a way that we must search as men search for hidden treasures, if we would find it. Like all other Bible truths it is for those, and only those, who earnestly desire it.
The prophetic periods are given in full years, and center, I believe, in the year 1873. But there is a fraction of time which will carry us to the 7th month of ’74. And as the evidence is very plain, that He will eventually come in the seventh month, I see no reason as yet, for doubting the truthfulness of the 1873 arguments.
Now, for a moment, admit this whole position. The Lord comes next fall; and we go into the kingdom. You ask, there, brother, did you know we were right while you were preaching the time? My answer would be, no! my brother, I did not. I saw evidence that convinced me, and acted up to that evidence by letting the light shine as far as I could; and to God be all the glory that it did not prove a failure.
Barbour’s paper explains why 1873 and 1874 passed
retrospective response
On: before the close of 1873
Linked by Rainbow Watch. The article says “In 1873 we looked for the end” but does not name Barbour’s 1871 tract; the link joins the retrospective to the documented 1873 prediction by the monthly’s editor.
Source quotation · Unsigned article “Harmony in Prophetic Periods,” Herald of the Morning, September 1875, pp. 58–59; the monthly was edited by N. H. Barbour. Three paragraphs from “Those who do not understand” through “shows us our whereabouts.”
Those who do not understand these arguments think they have all proved failures; because, as they suppose, the time has gone by. Now I would ask. If there is a harvest, a time which Christ calls “the end of the world,” and a prophetic period pointing to “the end of the world;” and after reaching that point, the light comes out that this end of the world, is a period of time, which also has an end of its own; would it be wise to renounce the whole thing, and refuse to investigate any further, because all the events belonging to the “end of the world,” did not come where the end began? For instance: In 1873 we looked for the end. It was there the 6000 years ended; and, of course, the 7th, or as we suppose, the “day of the Lord,” began. The time came, and what we then expected, viz. a general smash up, [tradition of the Advent people] did not occur. But instead of being discouraged, and giving up, we re-examined the arguments, found the chronology invulnerable; and the light from God’s word shone in upon our darkness, and we saw that “the day of the Lord,” was a period of time; and that while the chronology, and many other arguments, proved that it had begun, there was no evidence that it had not; hence, the arguments retained their power.
The period ending on the “tenth day of the seventh month,” in 1874, did not bring all the events of the “harvest,” but only the beginning of the time of harvest. Hence, that too, was, by some, supposed to be a failure. And we are free to confess that it was a disappointment. But, mind you, the argument that the “end of the world,” [age] was due, at that time, cannot be answered.
But, say some; if nothing transpired that could be seen, why not give it all up, even if the arguments do appear unanswerable? I presume I was weak enough to have done so, but, just then the light came out that the “end of the world,” was a period of time. “The harvest is the end of the world.” And “In the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers” &c. And the thought occurred, perhaps we may have to walk by faith clear to the end of the harvest, since the gathering of the “wheat,” is the last event; and in that case it won’t do to give up the very evidence that brings faith, and shows us our whereabouts.
Herald of the Morning, September 1875 · Herald of the Morning (Rochester, N.Y.), No. 4, September 1875, unsigned article “Harmony in Prophetic Periods, or ‘The time of the end’,” pp. 57–59. Internet Archive scan “Herald of the Morning, N. H. Barbour, éditions de 1874 à 1880” (BookReader leaves 72–74; masthead on leaf 64). Transcribed from the page images; the OCR text layer was used only for comparison. Line-end hyphenation joined, italics rendered plain, typographic quotation marks as printed, whitespace normalized. Selected units: p. 58 last paragraph through p. 59 first column (“Those who do not understand” through “shows us our whereabouts.”) and p. 59 second column (“Now, as strange as it may seem” through “(Isa. 40: 2).”).
Source reuse and transcription
Nineteenth-century publication, public domain in the United States.
Community response to this revision: 0
Published revision history
2026-10-01T14:02:23+00:00
Those who do not understand these arguments think they have all proved failures; because, as they suppose, the time has gone by. Now I would ask. If there is a harvest, a time which Christ calls “the end of the world,” and a prophetic period pointing to “the end of the world;” and after reaching that point, the light comes out that this end of the world, is a period of time, which also has an end of its own; would it be wise to renounce the whole thing, and refuse to investigate any further, because all the events belonging to the “end of the world,” did not come where the end began? For instance: In 1873 we looked for the end. It was there the 6000 years ended; and, of course, the 7th, or as we suppose, the “day of the Lord,” began. The time came, and what we then expected, viz. a general smash up, [tradition of the Advent people] did not occur. But instead of being discouraged, and giving up, we re-examined the arguments, found the chronology invulnerable; and the light from God’s word shone in upon our darkness, and we saw that “the day of the Lord,” was a period of time; and that while the chronology, and many other arguments, proved that it had begun, there was no evidence that it had not; hence, the arguments retained their power.
The period ending on the “tenth day of the seventh month,” in 1874, did not bring all the events of the “harvest,” but only the beginning of the time of harvest. Hence, that too, was, by some, supposed to be a failure. And we are free to confess that it was a disappointment. But, mind you, the argument that the “end of the world,” [age] was due, at that time, cannot be answered.
But, say some; if nothing transpired that could be seen, why not give it all up, even if the arguments do appear unanswerable? I presume I was weak enough to have done so, but, just then the light came out that the “end of the world,” was a period of time. “The harvest is the end of the world.” And “In the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers” &c. And the thought occurred, perhaps we may have to walk by faith clear to the end of the harvest, since the gathering of the “wheat,” is the last event; and in that case it won’t do to give up the very evidence that brings faith, and shows us our whereabouts.