of Apocalyptic prophecy in the history of Christendom since St John's time" then he had gone a long way towards showing how essential the supernatural was to an understanding of all scripture. He was strict as to what proof would be required. It needed distinct events, predicted beforehand, without vagueness and which "could not have been foreseen with human sagacity." Edward Elliott viewed history as "God's education of the world" - a constant struggle between sin and gospel-grace. People could see God's purpose, he believed, only if they could relate past, present and future. Because God's word was perfect, nothing could be added, nor taken away. But revelation was designed to reveal and, given adequate attention to detail, he believed a single shining truth would emerge to human understanding. In his own view, prophecy was, "God's declared purpose of making the near approach of the consummation evident at the time of its approaching; yet, till then, so hidden as to allow of Christians always expecting it ... a declaration well agreeing with that with which Daniel's book closes, that the prophecy was to be sealed only till the time of the end." This leaves unspoken who will have the ears to hear, the eyes to see and the ability to distinguish the true signs from the false and lying ones. He endured numerous attacks on his system by those who disagreed either his method or his conclusions. These attacks intensified as Elliott's timetable began to break down. His original scheme anticipated "the time of the end" as forecast in Daniel 12:12 closing around 1865. He held to the view of a pre-millennial advent of Christ. As the mid-1860s approached undramatically, he was forced to shift his timeframe so that the end was no longer anticipated until 1941. This perceived change of heart caused considerable scoffing in the popular press. Authorship and date of Revelation Reverend Elliott believed Revelation to have been written down by John the apostle. For Elliott, only a connection with the apostle ensured a claim to divine inspiration. Without it, the Apocalypse could be dismissed as a later forgery and Elliott knew that those of anti-millennial views would be only too happy to oblige. His justifications for apostolic authorship were:- that Irenaeus said it was so and Irenaeus being the grand-disciple of John knew the facts, that the difference in language between the Gospel of John and