The ''Millennial Harbinger'' was a religious

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

established by the early

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1 ...

leader Alexander Campbell in 1830. Douglas A. Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, , , 854 pages, entry on ''Millennial Harbinger, The'', pp. 517-518 Douglas A. Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, , , 854 pages, entry on ''Campbell, Alexander'', pp. 129-130 Campbell viewed the magazine as an important vehicle for promoting the religious reforms that he believed would help usher in the

millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

History

Campbell began publishing the ''Harbinger'' on January 1, 1830, and it soon became a leading forum for the

during the period prior to the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. The ''Harbinger'' was intended as a successor to Campbell's prior magazine, the '' Christian Baptist'', even though he published both magazines during the first seven months of 1830. Campbell had become concerned about the denominational associations suggested by the name of the ''Christian Baptist''. Differences of opinion were arising between Campbell and the Baptists, and in many cases Baptist associations were expelling those who were associated with the Campbell movement. He was concerned that "Christian Baptist" - which he considered to be less appropriate than the biblical term "Disciples" - was becoming the de facto name of the group. He also wanted the new journal to have a more positive tone, promoting reform and preparing the world for the second coming of Christ. Gary Holloway
"Alexander Campbell as a Publisher"
'' Restoration Quarterly'', Vol. 37 No. 1 (1995) During the 1830s the ''Harbinger'' provided reporting on the merger of the

Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement) The Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement) were a group arising during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. The most prominent leaders were Thomas and Alexander Campbell. The group was committed to restoring primitive Christi ...

with the Christians (Stone Movement). During the 1840s Campbell used the ''Harbinger'' to urge greater cooperation between congregations and to avoid polarization and fragmentation of the movement over the issue of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. Campbell became less active in publishing the ''Harbinger'' during the late 1850s, turning most of the work over to his son-in-law W. K. Pendleton. Pendleton continued publishing the ''Harbinger'' after Campbell's death in 1866. Increased competition led to the ''Harbinger's'' decline, and Pendleton discontinued publishing it in 1870.

References

External links

''The Millennial Harbinger''
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{Restoration Movement 1830 establishments in the United States 1870 disestablishments in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Defunct Christian magazines published in the United States Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement) magazines Magazines established in 1830 Magazines disestablished in 1870 Magazines published in West Virginia Restoration Movement magazines

History

See also

References

External links