Clarence Larkin was born in Pennsylvania in 1850 and was became a
Christian at the age of 19. Initially he joined the Episcopal Church. He
worked as a professional draftsman for a period and then became a
teacher of the blind. He became a Baptist at the age of 32 and two years
later ordained later ordained as a Baptist minister.
Clarence Larkin was not a
premillennialist at the time of his ordination, but careful diligent
study of the Scriptures correctly led him to adopt the premillennial
position. Using his former drafting skills he began to make large wall
charts for use in the pulpit, which in turn brought him two invitations
to teach in two Bible schools. During this time he published a number of
prophetical charts, which were widely circulated. He titled the charts
that he used in the pulpit: Prophetic Truth.
During World War I he wrote
his first book, which has become a Christian classic titled:
Dispensational truth. It took him three years to design and draw the
charts for the book. It was published in 1918 and even today is
considered an integral part of any serious Bible student's library. Some
of the other books Reverend Larkin wrote are titled: Rightly Dividing
the Word, The Book of Daniel, Spirit World,
Second Coming of Christ.
During the last five years of
his life, the demand for his books became so high that he had to give up
his pastorate and spend all his time devoted to full-time writing. His
books and charts are all considered Christian classics and have been
immensely helpful to believers all over the world. Some of his work is
available through public domain online libraries.
One cannot help but wonder if
Clarence Larkin is able to watch from heaven's mezzanine and realize the
tremendous benefits his work brought to Christianity through his very
thorough premillennial teachings. Clarence Larkin, a very unique and
greatly gifted individual was called to be with the Lord on January 24,
1924. We imagine his service to the Lord during the millennial kingdom
should prove to be very interesting.