David Lord

March 4, 1792 (age 88)

Franklin, Connecticut, United States

At fifteen Lord went to work in New York, where a brother was established in business. In 1823 he became an importer of dry goods. His business prospered until the great fire of 1835, in which he lost heavily; and the financial panic of 1837 played even greater havoc with his fortunes. Later an inheritance from his brother, Rufus, restored them temporarily, but soon this, too, was swept away. In spite of the disasters in his career, Lord seems to have been a fairly skilful and sagacious business man; but it is hardly to be doubted that his inclinations and ambitions lay in another direction. His theological researches were never given up. He followed a daily program of study in Biblical prophecy, interpretation, and symbolism. In 1848 appeared the first number of a quarterly review entitled Theological and Literary Journal, of which Lord was editor. In the thirteen years of this periodical's existence most of its articles were written by the editor and his brother, Eleazar one of the early presidents of the Erie Railroad. Both men were tremendously concerned with the meaning of scriptural prophecy, and it was not unusual to give seventy-five pages of the Journal to a book review or original article on that subject. David also made excursions into geology and questioned the scientific theory of stratification. Even the Darwinian hypothesis did not escape his challenge. Had he lived fifty years later he would undoubtedly have been classified as a Fundamentalist. The Journal expired in the first year of the Civil War, but its editor lived on to 1880.

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The Characteristics and Laws of Figurative Language

(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

Geognosy: Or, the Facts and Principles of Geology Against Theories,

An Exposition of the Apocalypse

(This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)

Visions of Paradise: An Epic, Volume 1

(This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)

The Theological and Literary Journal Volume 3

(This is a reproduction of a classic text optimised for ki...)

The Theological and Literary Journal, Vol. 6: July, 1853-April, 1854 (Classic Reprint)

(Excerpt from The Theological and Literary Journal, Vol. 6...)

The Theological and Literary Journal Volume 8

(This is a reproduction of a classic text optimised for ki...)

The Theological and Literary Journal, Vol. 2: July, 1849-April, 1850 (Classic Reprint)

(Excerpt from The Theological and Literary Journal, Vol. 2...)

The Theological and Literary Journal Volume 10

(This is a reproduction of a classic text optimised for ki...)

The coming and reign of Christ

David Nevins Lord

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merchant theologian

Background

David Nevins Lord was born on March 4, 1792 at Franklin, Connecticut, United States, the youngest but one of the sixteen children of Nathan and Mary (Nevins) Lord.

Education

Lord entered Yale College, from which he graduated in 1817. With a view to entering the ministry he also studied theology, but the loss of his voice and recurring ill health closed that calling to him.

Career

At fifteen Lord went to work in New York, where a brother was established in business. In 1823 he became an importer of dry goods. His business prospered until the great fire of 1835, in which he lost heavily; and the financial panic of 1837 played even greater havoc with his fortunes. Later an inheritance from his brother, Rufus, restored them temporarily, but soon this, too, was swept away.

In spite of the disasters in his career, Lord seems to have been a fairly skilful and sagacious business man; but it is hardly to be doubted that his inclinations and ambitions lay in another direction. His theological researches were never given up. He followed a daily program of study in Biblical prophecy, interpretation, and symbolism. In 1848 appeared the first number of a quarterly review entitled Theological and Literary Journal, of which Lord was editor. In the thirteen years of this periodical's existence most of its articles were written by the editor and his brother, Eleazar one of the early presidents of the Erie Railroad. Both men were tremendously concerned with the meaning of scriptural prophecy, and it was not unusual to give seventy-five pages of the Journal to a book review or original article on that subject. David also made excursions into geology and questioned the scientific theory of stratification. Even the Darwinian hypothesis did not escape his challenge. Had he lived fifty years later he would undoubtedly have been classified as a Fundamentalist. The Journal expired in the first year of the Civil War, but its editor lived on to 1880.