John Tillinghast facts for kids

John Tillinghast (born 1604, died 1655) was an English religious leader. He was known for his strong beliefs about the future and for speaking directly to Oliver Cromwell, who was a powerful leader in England at the time.

Life of John Tillinghast

John Tillinghast was born in 1604 in a place called Streat, in Sussex, England. His father was also a church leader there. John went to school in Newport, Essex, and then studied at Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge when he was 16 years old. He finished his first degree in 1625.

John started his career as a church leader in Tarring Neville, Sussex, in 1636. A year later, he took over from his father as the leader of the church in Streat. He stayed there until 1643, when he became a well-known preacher in London.

By 1650, John became part of a different religious group called the Independents. He joined a new church in Syleham, Suffolk. In 1651, a church in Great Yarmouth asked him to join them. He and his wife, Mary, moved there. John was also re-baptized in June 1651.

In 1652, several other Independent churches wanted John to lead them. He chose to go to Trunch, where he became the church leader.

John had strong beliefs about the future, which are sometimes called "millenarian" ideas. These were spiritual beliefs about what would happen in the world, not about violence. His other religious ideas were very traditional for his time.

In the spring of 1655, John went to London. He wanted to talk to Oliver Cromwell and comfort some of his friends who were in prison for their beliefs. He even visited one friend, Christopher Feake, in Windsor Castle. A friend named Nathaniel Brewster introduced John to Cromwell. John spoke very openly to Cromwell, perhaps even a bit too much! Soon after this meeting, John Tillinghast died in London in June 1655.

John Tillinghast's Writings

John Tillinghast wrote several books and sermons during his life. These books shared his religious ideas and thoughts about the future.

Here are some of his published works:

• Demetrivs his Opposition to Reformation (1642)
• Generation Work (1653, with parts published in 1654). The title means "work for the people of today."
• Knovvledge of the Times (1654)
• A Motive to Generation Work (1655)

Some of his works were published after he died:

• Mr. Tillinghast's Eight Last Sermons (1656), which was put together by his friend Christopher Feake.
• Six Several Treatises (1656), edited from his notes.
• Elijah's Mantle: or the Remains of ... Tillinghast (1658), a collection of nine sermons.