Richard Farnham

Last updated

Richard Farnham (died 1642), was an English self-proclaimed "prophet", who claimed, with John Bull, to be one of the witnesses spoken of in the Book of Revelation, xi. 3. [1]

Contents

Life and work

Farnham was a weaver who came from Colchester to Whitechapel in London around 1636, where he and a fellow-craftsman, John Bull, announced that they were prophets inspired with "the very spirit of God". They claimed to be "the two great prophets which should come in the end of the world mentioned in Revelation", and asserted "that the plague should not come nigh their dwelling". Their ravings attracted general attention. [1]

In obedience (as he stated) to an obscure scriptural text, Farnham married Elizabeth Addington, whose husband, Thomas, a sailor, was alive at the time, although away from home. By this union Farnham had a large family. In April 1636, he and Bull were arrested on a charge of heresy, and examined on the 16th by the Court of High Commission. Farnham was committed to Newgate prison. A pamphlet issued in 1636, under the pseudonym "T. H.", reported their replies to the interrogations of the commissioners, under the title of "A True Discourse of the two infamous upstart prophets, Richard Farnham, weaver of Whitechapel, and John Bull, weaver of St. Botolph's, Aldgate" 1636. Farnham added in an appendix an explicit denial that he claimed to be Christ or Elias, or that he had prophesied a shower of blood, but insisted that he foresaw a long drought, pestilence, and war. [1]

On 23 February 1636–7, Farnham was still in Newgate and petitioned the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud for his own release. He described himself as "a prophet of the most High God", expressed his fear that he had been forgotten by the court of high commission, requested to be brought to trial immediately, and threatened an appeal to the king. On 7 March, he wrote a second letter to Laud, demanding permission to return to "Long Lane, near Whittington's Cat", where he had resided, although he had now no home, his family was dispersed, and two of his children were "on the parish". [1]

On 17 March, he petitioned the council to protect him from Laud, who declined to read his letters. Soon afterwards he was taken to Bethlehem Hospital and kept in close confinement. On 26 January 1637–8 the doctors reported to the privy council that he was sane and should have his liberty in the hospital. Meanwhile, the husband of Elizabeth Addington – the woman who had feloniously married Farnham— returned home, and charged her with bigamy. She was tried and convicted in August 1638, but was afterwards reprieved, as Farnham was held to be responsible for her crime. [1]

The judges, after the gaol delivery at which the woman was indicted, ordered Farnham to be removed from Bethlehem to Bridewell, and there "to be kept at hard labour". Late in 1640 he sickened of the plague, and was moved to the house of a friend and disciple named Cortin or Curtain in Rosemary Lane. He died there in January 1641–2. Elizabeth Addington nursed him and reported that, in accordance with his prophecy, he rose from the dead on 8 January 1641–2. Bull died ten days after Farnham, and their followers insisted that they had "gone in vessels of bulrushes to convert the ten tribes". [1]

Besides the pamphlet mentioned above, two others dealt with Farnham's career: 1. "A Curb for Sectaries and bold propheciers, by which Richard Farnham the Weaver, James Hunt the Farmer, M. Greene the Feltmaker, and all other the like bold Propheciers and Sect Leaders may be bridled", London, 1641. 2. "False Prophets Discovered, being a true story of the Lives and Deaths of two weavers, late of Colchester, viz. Richard Farnham and John Bull …", London, 1641[–2]. [1]

Related Research Articles

Book of Micah

The Book of Micah is the sixth of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Ostensibly, it records the sayings of Micah, whose name is Mikayahu, meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th-century BCE prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah.

Prophet Person claiming to speak for a divine being

In religion, a prophet is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the supernatural source to other people. The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy.

A prophecy is a message that is claimed by a prophet to have been communicated to them by a deity. Such messages typically involve inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of divine will concerning the prophet's social world and events to come.

Richard Brandon

Richard Brandon was the common executioner of London from 1639 to 1649, who inherited his role from his father Gregory Brandon and was sometimes known as Young Gregory. Richard Brandon is often named as the executioner of Charles I, though the executioner's identity is not definitely known.

Elizabeth Barton 16th-century English Catholic nun and martyr

Sister Elizabeth Barton, known as "The Nun of Kent", "The Holy Maid of London", "The Holy Maid of Kent" and later "The Mad Maid of Kent", was an English Catholic nun. She was executed as a result of her prophecies against the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn.

Matthew 1:22

Matthew 1:22 is the twenty-second verse of the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. Joseph has just been spoken to in a dream by an angel.

Matthew 2 Gospel according to Matthew

Matthew 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It describes the events after the birth of Jesus, the visit of the magi and the attempt by King Herod to kill the infant messiah, Joseph and his family's flight into Egypt, and their later return to live in Israel, settling in Nazareth.

False prophet Person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration

In religion, a false prophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneously considered a "false prophet" by others, even within the same religion as the "prophet" in question. In a wider sense, it is anyone who, without having it, claims a special connection to the Deity and sets him or herself up as a source of spirituality, as an authority, preacher, or teacher. Analogously, the term is sometimes applied outside religion to describe someone who fervently promotes a theory that the speaker thinks is false.

Lodowicke Muggleton

Lodowicke Muggleton (1609–1698) was an English religious thinker who gave his name to Muggletonianism, a Protestant sect which was always small, but survived until the death of its last follower in 1979. He spent his working life as a journeyman tailor in the City of London and was imprisoned twice for his beliefs. He held opinions hostile to all forms of philosophical reason, and had received only a basic education. He encouraged quietism and free-thought amongst his followers whose beliefs were predestinarian in a manner that was distinct from Calvinism. Near the close of his long life, Muggleton wrote his spiritual autobiography which was published posthumously.

In Islam, prophecy is the principle that God has appointed exemplary individuals, i.e. prophets and messengers to communicate His guidance to humanity. This is one of the five principles of the Twelver Principles of Religion.

Henry Burton (theologian)

Henry Burton, was an English puritan. Along with John Bastwick and William Prynne, Burton's ears were cut off in 1637 for writing pamphlets attacking the views of Archbishop Laud.

Prophets of Christianity

In Christianity the figures widely recognised as prophets are those mentioned as such in the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is believed that prophets are chosen and called by God.

Latter Day Saints teach that the Latter Day Saint movement began with a revelation from God. They also teach that revelation is the foundation of the church established by Jesus Christ and that it remains an essential element of his true church today. Continuous revelation provides individual Latter Day Saints with a "testimony", described by Richard Bushman as "one of the most potent words in the Mormon lexicon".

Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest denomination of the movement, and it currently applies the terms to the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In the past, it has also been applied to the Presiding Patriarch of the church and the Assistant President of the Church. Other sects and denominations of the movement also use these terms.

Micah (prophet) Prophet in Judaism

According to the Hebrew Bible, Micah was a prophet in Judaism and is the author of the Book of Micah. He is considered one of the Twelve Minor Prophets of the Hebrew Bible and was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea. Micah was from Moresheth-Gath, in southwest Judah. He prophesied during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah.

Prophecy in the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen G. White, one of the church's co-founders, was a prophetess, understood today as an expression of the New Testament spiritual gift of prophecy.

Cessationism versus continuationism involves a Christian theological dispute as to whether spiritual gifts (Apostolic) remain available to the church, or whether their operation ceased with the Apostolic Age of the church. The cessationist doctrine arose in the Protestant Reformation, initially in response to claims of Roman Catholic miracles. Modern discussions focus more on the use of charismatic gifts in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements.

Prophets and messengers in Islam Individuals who Muslims believe were sent by Allah to various villages and towns in order to serve as examples of ideal human behavior and to spread Gods message on Earth

Prophets in Islam are individuals to serve as examples of ideal human behavior and to spread God's message on Earth. Some prophets are categorized as messengers, those who transmit divine revelation, most of them through the interaction of an angel. Muslims believe that many prophets existed, including many not mentioned in the Quran. The Quran states: "There is a Messenger for every community". Belief in the Islamic prophets is one of the six articles of the Islamic faith.

John Bull (prophet) English self-proclaimed prophet.

John Bull was an English self-proclaimed prophet who claimed to be one of the two witnesses of the Book of Revelation, alongside Richard Farnham. Through the late 1630s and early 1640s, they established a small religious following surrounding their prophesies.

Rose Thurgood was an English religious writer, known as the author of one of the earliest English conversion narratives, "A Lecture of Repentance" (1637/8).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Farnham, Richard". Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

Further reading