1796 RICHARD BROTHERS. Very Rare American Ed. Millennial Work - Pre-William Miller and Ellen G. White.

1757 –1824]. He was influential both in England and America and is often seen as a forerunner to slightly later 19th century figures like William Miller and Ellen G. White. Connected with his eschatology, he was also an early believer and teacher of British Israelism and the idea of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Brothers was quite the character. He retired from the Navy in 1783, then married, then apparently returned to Navy to escape his unhappy marriage. During his second period of service, he experienced a religious awakening and seems to have believed that military service was not compatible with deeply held beliefs rooted in Christianity. So he again resigned

. From there, he became more radical in his views, many based purely in direct revelation. By 1791, he began to question the oath he had been required to take for receipt of his military half-pay, and refused to continue accepting it. He consequently found himself with little income. Brothers then divided his time between the open air and the workhouse, where he developed the idea that he had a special divine commission. Brothers claimed to hear the voice of an attending angel which proclaimed to him the fall of Babylon the Great, which he believed to be London. According to Brothers, God called him to intercede for London, and God spared the city and, at least for a time, the destruction was halted. Near this same time, Brothers received a revelation that he would be visited by a heavenly woman who would descend from the clouds and publicly bless him with financial blessing. By February of 1792, Brothers declared himself a healer and claimed he could restore sight to the blind and drew large public crowds to receive his prayers. A few months later

with] A Calculation on the Commencement of the Millennium, and a Short Reply to Dr. Horne’s Pamphlet, Entitled “A Sound Argument, Dictated by Common Sense,” Together with Cursory Observations on the Age of Credulity. By Nathaniel Brassy Halhed. To which is Added, An original Letter from Mr. Brothers to Philip Stephens, Esq., with His Answers. A Paper Subjoined Pointing Out those Parts of Mr. Brothers’ Prophecies that have been Already Fulfilled. Albany. Printed by Charles R. & George Webster. Nd. c.1796. 27pp. + catalogue. Scarce. Very much handled in original full calf binding, rubbed, with chipping to head and foot of spine; blank ffeps and rfeps absent, title of first work deteriorated at foredge; lacks nearly all of leaf 21/22 and leaf 134/135 lacking a few words at foredge. Handling and staining throughout.