Clarence Larkin (1850–1924) was an American

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

pastor, Bible teacher and author whose writings on

dispensationalism Dispensationalism is a Christian theology, theological framework for Biblical hermeneutics, interpreting the Bible which maintains that history is divided into multiple ages called "dispensations" in which God the Father, God interacts with h ...

had a great impact on conservative

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

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in the 20th century. His intricate and influential charts provided readers with a visual strategy for mapping God's action in history and for interpreting complex biblical prophecies.

Biography

Larkin was born on October 28, 1850, in

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, Delaware County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He experienced Christian conversion at the age of 19. Larkin worked in a bank until 21 when he enrolled in college, graduating with a mechanical engineering degree. He worked as a professional draftsman, then became a teacher of the blind. This last endeavor cultivated his descriptive faculties, while his drafting experience aided charting theological truths. Later, failing health compelled him to give up teaching. After a prolonged rest, he engaged in the manufacturing business. When first converted, Larkin become a member of the Episcopal Church, but in 1882 at the age of 32, his position on baptism was challenged, and for two years studied the subject. As a result, he left the Episcopal Church and became a Baptist. Larkin wrote the book ''Why I Am a Baptist'' as part of that study, and was ordained as a Baptist minister two years later, entering the ministry. Larkin's first pastorate was in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania; his second was in Fox Chase, Pennsylvania, where he remained for 20 years. His study of the Scriptures led him to adopt many of the tenets of the premillennialist theology that was gaining favor in conservative Protestant circles in the

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

. Larkin created large wall charts, which he titled "Prophetic Truth," for his pulpit sermons. He was also invited to teach theology in other venues. During this time he published a number of prophetical charts, which were widely circulated, and contributed articles for the '' Sunday School Times''. In 1918, he completed ''Dispensational Truth,'' but high demand for the work led him to produce a greatly expanded edition of 1920. Larkin was an advocate of

gap creationism Gap creationism (also known as ruin-restoration creationism, restoration creationism, or "the Gap Theory") is a form of creationism that posits that the six-'' yom'' creation period, as described in the Book of Genesis, involved six literal 24-h ...

.McIver, Thomas Allen. (1989)
''Creationism: Intellectual Origins, Cultural Context, and Theoretical Diversity''
University of California, Los Angeles.

Notable works

Larkin's first major publication was ''dispensational Truth (or God's Plan and Purpose in the Ages)'', which contains many charts. The preparation of the charts and text took Larkin three years to produce. The book is a defense of premillennialist dispensationalism that draws on the major themes found in the works of figures like C.I. Scofield, William Eugene Blackstone, and

John Nelson Darby John Nelson Darby (18 November 1800 – 29 April 1882) was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern ...

. After the second printing of ''Dispensational Truth'', Larkin revised and expanded it, releasing it in its present form of over 300 pages. Following this success, Larkin published five additional works: ''Rightly Dividing the Word''; ''The Book of Daniel''; ''Spirit World''; ''Second Coming of Christ''; and ''A Medicine Chest for Christian Practitioners'', a handbook on evangelism. Like C. I. Scofield, he postulated seven separate dispensations—the current being the "Dispensation of Grace," "Church Dispensation," "Ecclesiastical Dispensation," or "Parenthetical Dispensation." This position held that the church age filled a "gap" in the timeline of biblical prophecy.

Later years

Larkin disliked the tendency of writers to say uncharitable things about each other, so he sought to avoid criticisms and to satisfy himself with presenting his understanding of the Scriptures. During the last five years of his life, the demand for Larkin's books made it necessary for him to give up the pastorate and devote his full-time to writing. He died on January 24, 1924.

References

External links

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Rev. Historic Sketch of the author Clarence Larkin

online with charts and images

in Bible software format {{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Clarence 1850 births 1924 deaths 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century Baptists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Baptists American Christian creationists American male non-fiction writers American religious writers Baptists from Pennsylvania Baptist writers Christian writers about eschatology Converts to Baptist Christianity Dispensationalism Former Anglicans Premillennialism Writers from Pennsylvania