John Thomas (Christadelphian)
Encyclopedia
Dr. John Thomas was the founder of the Christadelphian movement, a Restorationist religion with doctrines similar in part to some 16th century Antitrinitarian Rationalist Socinians and the 16th century Swiss-German pacifist Anabaptists.
, Hackney
, London, on April 12, 1805, was the son of a Dissenting minister, also named John Thomas. His family is reputed to be descended from French Huguenot
refugees. His family moved frequently, as his father took up various pastorships including a congregation in London, a brief but eventful stay in northern Scotland
, back to London, and then up to Chorley
, Lancashire. John Thomas was a very disciplined student having taught himself Hebrew as a teenager. At the age of 16, in Chorley, he began studying medicine. His family moved back to London, but John Thomas stayed in Chorley. After two years, he returned to London to continue his studies at the Guy's
and St. Thomas's
hospitals for a further three years. He trained as a surgeon and had a keen interest in chemistry and biology, publishing several learned medical articles for The Lancet
, one of which argued in favour of the importance of the use of corpses
for the study of medicine (it was illegal in England to dissect them at this time).
, London to New York
.
The ship embarked on May 1, 1832 and immediately sailed into stormy weather that lasted the whole voyage. During one ferocious storm the ship lost the top of the main-mast and heavy seas stove in the bulwarks, washing everything moveable off the deck. The ship eventually ran into shallow water and ran aground off the coast of Nova Scotia
. The ship was raised up by the waves on twelve successive occasions, each time the keel
striking the sea bed with such force that both crew and passengers were convinced the ship would break up.
Fearing that his life was about to end Thomas, determined to die with a prayer on his lips, prayed for mercy. He was very conscious of a void in his knowledge about what was to happen to him should he die. Thus he made a vow
to dedicate his life, should he be spared, to religious study and to seeking out the truth about the matter of life and death.
Aided by a change in wind direction, the captain's efforts to turn the ship back out to sea were successful and after one final bone-jarring grounding, the ship floated free. Thomas never forgot his vow and spent the rest of his life devoted to Bible
study, determined to understand the true message of the scriptures.
of the need for baptism and joined them in October 1832. He later came to know a prominent leader in the movement, Alexander Campbell who encouraged him to become an evangelist, spending his time travelling around the eastern States of America preaching, until eventually settling down as a preacher in Philadelphia. It was here on 1 January 1834 that he married Ellen Hunt who became his lifelong companion and constant support throughout the trials of faith that persisted throughout his life.
Dr Thomas also wrote for and was editor of the Apostolic Advocate which first appeared in May 1834. His studies during this period of his life generated the foundation for many of the beliefs he came to espouse as a Christadelphian and he began to believe that the basis of knowledge before baptism was greater than the Restoration Movement
believed and also that widely held orthodox Christian beliefs were blatantly wrong. Whilst his freedom to believe his unique beliefs were accepted many objected to them being preached as necessary for salvation and this led to a series of debates particularly between Alexander Campbell and Dr Thomas. Because he eventually rebaptised himself and rejected his former beliefs and associations he was formally disfellowshipped in 1837. However, some people associated with him and accepted his views.
At this time the Millerite
or Adventist
movement was growing and in 1843 Dr Thomas was introduced to William Miller
, the leader of the Millerites. He admired their willingness to question orthodox beliefs and agreed with their belief in the second coming
of Christ and the founding of a millennial age
upon his return. Dr Thomas continued his studies of the Bible and in 1846 travelled to New York where he gave a series of lectures covering thirty doctrinal subjects that later formed part of his book Elpis Israel
(The Hope of Israel).
message. Upon his return to America Dr Thomas moved from Richmond
, Virginia to New York City and began to preach there. He made a point of speaking to the Jewish community because Dr Thomas had come to believe that Christianity
did not replace the Law of Moses, but rather fulfilled it. He believed that Christians must, though faith and baptism, become the ‘seed’ (or, 'descendent') of Abraham
.
It was at this time that Dr Thomas and those who shared similar beliefs became known as the Royal Association of Believers. This group of believers used the term "ecclesia
", a Greek word meaning "called out assembly", to describe them. However, the movement did not have an ‘official’ name until 1864, when a name was chosen during the American Civil War (see below). Instead of having a system of clergy
, all the brethren took equal responsibility on a rota to take on the role of presiding and speaking during their meetings.
When in 1861 the American Civil War
broke out, Dr Thomas travelled to the South and became concerned that the war had placed believers upon opposing sides. The movement as a whole considered that the war required them to make a stand for what they believed in as conscientious objectors. However, in order to be exempted from military service
, it was required that believers had to belong to a recognised religious group that did not agree with participation in war. Thus in 1864, Dr. Thomas coined the name Christadelphian to identify members of the movement. The term Christadelphian comes from Greek
and means ‘Brethren in Christ’. It was during the war that Dr Thomas worked on the three volumes of Eureka, which discusses the meaning of the Book of Revelation
.
On May 5, 1868 Dr Thomas returned to England where he travelled extensively giving lecturers about the Gospel message and meeting with Christadelphians in England. During this period of his life he found extensive support and help from Robert Roberts who had been converted during a previous visit to England by Dr Thomas. Following his return to America he made one final tour of the Christadelphian congregations prior to his death on 5 March 1871 in Jersey City. He was buried in the Green-Wood Cemetery
, Brooklyn, New York.
, or in any way inspired
, but only through independent study to have concluded that many traditional church teachings were incorrect and that from the Bible he could prove that position. Modern Christadelphians generally believe he was right and adhere to the positions he established as defined within the Christadelphian statements of faith; Christadelphians feel, too, that Thomas' example of an inquiring attitude is also an important legacy.
Thomas wrote several books, one of which, Elpis Israel
(1848), in its first section, sets out many of the fundamental scriptural principles believed by Christadelphians to this day.
Thomas' exposition of Bible prophecy, and led to him making various detailed predictions about then current day events many of which did not come to pass, as was noted in the foreword to subsequent editions of Elpis Israel after his death, a point that Thomas himself accepted could happen.
However, Thomas' main focus on the re-establishement of a national homeland for the Jews in Israel
and the role Great Britain would play in its statehood have seemed to prove broadly accurate. This is seen by many Christadelphians as evidence that Thomas had a broadly correct understanding of the main thrust of Bible prophecy. Around 1850 Thomas wrote the following, based on his understanding of what the Bible said about the return of the Jews to the land of Palestine:
The Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the British Mandate of 1922 established Britain
as the political force in charge of Palestine. After British rule the secular State of Israel
was established in 1948.
Early life
John Thomas M.D., born in Hoxton SquareHoxton Square
Hoxton Square is a garden square situated in Hoxton in the London Borough of Hackney, in London's East End. Formerly home to industrial premises, since the 1990s it has become the heart of the Hoxton arts and media scene, as well as being a hub of the thriving local entertainment district...
, Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
, London, on April 12, 1805, was the son of a Dissenting minister, also named John Thomas. His family is reputed to be descended from French Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
refugees. His family moved frequently, as his father took up various pastorships including a congregation in London, a brief but eventful stay in northern Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, back to London, and then up to Chorley
Chorley
Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. It is the largest settlement in the Borough of Chorley. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry...
, Lancashire. John Thomas was a very disciplined student having taught himself Hebrew as a teenager. At the age of 16, in Chorley, he began studying medicine. His family moved back to London, but John Thomas stayed in Chorley. After two years, he returned to London to continue his studies at the Guy's
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
and St. Thomas's
St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS hospital in London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It has provided health care freely or under charitable auspices since the 12th century and was originally located in Southwark.St Thomas' Hospital is accessible...
hospitals for a further three years. He trained as a surgeon and had a keen interest in chemistry and biology, publishing several learned medical articles for The Lancet
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
, one of which argued in favour of the importance of the use of corpses
Cadaver
A cadaver is a dead human body.Cadaver may also refer to:* Cadaver tomb, tomb featuring an effigy in the form of a decomposing body* Cadaver , a video game* cadaver A command-line WebDAV client for Unix....
for the study of medicine (it was illegal in England to dissect them at this time).
Emigration to the United States
Like many people of that era, in 1832 his father made the decision to seek fresh opportunities and emigrate to America. So it was that Dr John Thomas, having few ties, decided to go with his family, agreeing to go on ahead and prepare for the family. He took the opportunity to further his career and accepted an appointment as ship's surgeon on the Marquis of Wellesley which was bound from St Katharine DocksSt Katharine Docks
St Katharine Docks, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, were one of the commercial docks serving London, on the north side of the river Thames just east of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge...
, London to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The ship embarked on May 1, 1832 and immediately sailed into stormy weather that lasted the whole voyage. During one ferocious storm the ship lost the top of the main-mast and heavy seas stove in the bulwarks, washing everything moveable off the deck. The ship eventually ran into shallow water and ran aground off the coast of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. The ship was raised up by the waves on twelve successive occasions, each time the keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
striking the sea bed with such force that both crew and passengers were convinced the ship would break up.
Fearing that his life was about to end Thomas, determined to die with a prayer on his lips, prayed for mercy. He was very conscious of a void in his knowledge about what was to happen to him should he die. Thus he made a vow
Vow
A vow is a promise or oath.-Marriage vows:Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ceremony. Marriage customs have developed over history and keep changing as human society develops...
to dedicate his life, should he be spared, to religious study and to seeking out the truth about the matter of life and death.
Aided by a change in wind direction, the captain's efforts to turn the ship back out to sea were successful and after one final bone-jarring grounding, the ship floated free. Thomas never forgot his vow and spent the rest of his life devoted to Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
study, determined to understand the true message of the scriptures.
Association with Alexander Campbell
The Marquis of Wellesley docked in New York and Thomas travelled on to Cincinnati, Ohio where he became convinced by the Restoration MovementRestoration Movement
The Restoration Movement is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century...
of the need for baptism and joined them in October 1832. He later came to know a prominent leader in the movement, Alexander Campbell who encouraged him to become an evangelist, spending his time travelling around the eastern States of America preaching, until eventually settling down as a preacher in Philadelphia. It was here on 1 January 1834 that he married Ellen Hunt who became his lifelong companion and constant support throughout the trials of faith that persisted throughout his life.
Dr Thomas also wrote for and was editor of the Apostolic Advocate which first appeared in May 1834. His studies during this period of his life generated the foundation for many of the beliefs he came to espouse as a Christadelphian and he began to believe that the basis of knowledge before baptism was greater than the Restoration Movement
Restoration Movement
The Restoration Movement is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century...
believed and also that widely held orthodox Christian beliefs were blatantly wrong. Whilst his freedom to believe his unique beliefs were accepted many objected to them being preached as necessary for salvation and this led to a series of debates particularly between Alexander Campbell and Dr Thomas. Because he eventually rebaptised himself and rejected his former beliefs and associations he was formally disfellowshipped in 1837. However, some people associated with him and accepted his views.
At this time the Millerite
Millerites
The Millerites were the followers of the teachings of William Miller who, in 1833, first shared publicly his belief in the coming Second Advent of Jesus Christ in roughly the year 1843.-Origins:...
or Adventist
Adventist
Adventism is a Christian movement which began in the 19th century, in the context of the Second Great Awakening revival in the United States. The name refers to belief in the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It was started by William Miller, whose followers became known as Millerites...
movement was growing and in 1843 Dr Thomas was introduced to William Miller
William Miller (preacher)
William Miller was an American Baptist preacher who is credited with beginning the mid-nineteenth century North American religious movement now known as Adventism. Among his direct spiritual heirs are several major religious denominations, including Seventh-day Adventists and Advent Christians...
, the leader of the Millerites. He admired their willingness to question orthodox beliefs and agreed with their belief in the second coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
of Christ and the founding of a millennial age
Millennialism
Millennialism , or chiliasm in Greek, is a belief held by some Christian denominations that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth in which "Christ will reign" for 1000 years prior to the final judgment and future eternal state...
upon his return. Dr Thomas continued his studies of the Bible and in 1846 travelled to New York where he gave a series of lectures covering thirty doctrinal subjects that later formed part of his book Elpis Israel
Elpis Israel
Elpis Israel - An Exposition of the Kingdom of God is a theological book written by John Thomas, founder of the Christadelphians, in 1848-1849 and published in 1849.The book was based on a series of lectures given by Thomas in 1848 and is written in three parts, The...
(The Hope of Israel).
The Christadelphians
Based upon his new found understanding of the Bible, Thomas was rebaptised (a second and final time) in 1847 and the groups of congregations and individuals who shared his beliefs continued to grow. In 1848 the movement became international when he travelled to England in order to preach what he now saw as the true gospelGospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
message. Upon his return to America Dr Thomas moved from Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia to New York City and began to preach there. He made a point of speaking to the Jewish community because Dr Thomas had come to believe that Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
did not replace the Law of Moses, but rather fulfilled it. He believed that Christians must, though faith and baptism, become the ‘seed’ (or, 'descendent') of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
.
It was at this time that Dr Thomas and those who shared similar beliefs became known as the Royal Association of Believers. This group of believers used the term "ecclesia
Ecclesia
-Ecclesia:* the Christian Church**See Church militant and church triumphant for ecclesia militans, ecclesia penitens, ecclesia triumphans* Congregation among many English-speaking Christadelphians....
", a Greek word meaning "called out assembly", to describe them. However, the movement did not have an ‘official’ name until 1864, when a name was chosen during the American Civil War (see below). Instead of having a system of clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
, all the brethren took equal responsibility on a rota to take on the role of presiding and speaking during their meetings.
When in 1861 the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
broke out, Dr Thomas travelled to the South and became concerned that the war had placed believers upon opposing sides. The movement as a whole considered that the war required them to make a stand for what they believed in as conscientious objectors. However, in order to be exempted from military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
, it was required that believers had to belong to a recognised religious group that did not agree with participation in war. Thus in 1864, Dr. Thomas coined the name Christadelphian to identify members of the movement. The term Christadelphian comes from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and means ‘Brethren in Christ’. It was during the war that Dr Thomas worked on the three volumes of Eureka, which discusses the meaning of the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
.
On May 5, 1868 Dr Thomas returned to England where he travelled extensively giving lecturers about the Gospel message and meeting with Christadelphians in England. During this period of his life he found extensive support and help from Robert Roberts who had been converted during a previous visit to England by Dr Thomas. Following his return to America he made one final tour of the Christadelphian congregations prior to his death on 5 March 1871 in Jersey City. He was buried in the Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
, Brooklyn, New York.
Legacy
Thomas did not claim to be any kind of prophetProphet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
, or in any way inspired
Inspired
Inspired is a collection of Lea Salonga's personal favorites, including "To Hear You Say You Love Me" , "Do You Hear It" , "Who Are You" , and her Official Wedding Song "Two Words" .-Track listing:...
, but only through independent study to have concluded that many traditional church teachings were incorrect and that from the Bible he could prove that position. Modern Christadelphians generally believe he was right and adhere to the positions he established as defined within the Christadelphian statements of faith; Christadelphians feel, too, that Thomas' example of an inquiring attitude is also an important legacy.
Thomas wrote several books, one of which, Elpis Israel
Elpis Israel
Elpis Israel - An Exposition of the Kingdom of God is a theological book written by John Thomas, founder of the Christadelphians, in 1848-1849 and published in 1849.The book was based on a series of lectures given by Thomas in 1848 and is written in three parts, The...
(1848), in its first section, sets out many of the fundamental scriptural principles believed by Christadelphians to this day.
Thomas' exposition of Bible prophecy, and led to him making various detailed predictions about then current day events many of which did not come to pass, as was noted in the foreword to subsequent editions of Elpis Israel after his death, a point that Thomas himself accepted could happen.
However, Thomas' main focus on the re-establishement of a national homeland for the Jews in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the role Great Britain would play in its statehood have seemed to prove broadly accurate. This is seen by many Christadelphians as evidence that Thomas had a broadly correct understanding of the main thrust of Bible prophecy. Around 1850 Thomas wrote the following, based on his understanding of what the Bible said about the return of the Jews to the land of Palestine:
The Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the British Mandate of 1922 established Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as the political force in charge of Palestine. After British rule the secular State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
was established in 1948.
Books
- Anastasis
- The Apostacy Unveiled (1872)
- Blasphemy and the Names of Blasphemy
- The Book Unsealed: A Lecture on the Prophetic Periods of Daniel and John (1869)
- Catechesis
- Chronikon Hebraikon
- Destiny of the British Empire as revealed in the Scriptures (1871)
- Elpis IsraelElpis IsraelElpis Israel - An Exposition of the Kingdom of God is a theological book written by John Thomas, founder of the Christadelphians, in 1848-1849 and published in 1849.The book was based on a series of lectures given by Thomas in 1848 and is written in three parts, The...
(1848) - Eternal Life (1848)
- Eureka: An Exposition of the ApocalypseEureka: An Exposition of the ApocalypseEureka: An Exposition of the Apocalypse is a book written by John Thomas in 1861. Each chapter has been written expounding the correspond chapter of last book of the bible . Originally written in three volume set, later editors published the work in 5 volumes...
(In 5 Volumes) - Exposition of Daniel (1868)
- Faith In the Last Days (posthumous anthology of writings from 1845–61)
- How to Search the Scriptures (1867)
- The Last Days of Judah's Commonwealth
- Mystery of the Covenant of the Holy Land Explained (1854)
- Odology
- Phanerosis (1869)
- The Revealed Mystery
Magazines
- The Apostolic Advocate (Editor) (1834–39)
- The Herald of the Future Age (Editor) (1843–49)
- Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come (Editor) (1851–61)