An historicist is one who believes that prophecy began to be fulfilled during the time of the apostles and has been continuing to be fulfilled throughout history since that time. Luther applied Revelation from chapter four on to the church age. As fulfillments began to falter and history continued beyond what a historicist would have suspected it largely disappeared from scholarly circles. Today the only relevant group to follow this idea (in a modified form) are the Seventh Day Adventists.  

Main Arguments

1. Revelation seen in this light applies to believers in every age (Rev. 22:6-7).
2. It is the view held by the Reformers, plus many eminent scholars (John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Sir Isaac Newton, John Foxe, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, Charles Finney, C.H. Spurgeon, and Matthew Henry).
3. Makes sense of both the imminent fulfillments as well as the future (Rev. 1:3).
4. Startling accuracy predicting the fall of Rome to the various hordes, and the reign of the Papacy with regards to the 1,260 day/year interpretation (Rev. 12:6).

Objections

1. There exists little or no agreement between adherents as to the specific fulfillment of prophecies.There are at least 50 different schools of historicist thought. If the prophecies are still relatively unidentifiable even after they are fulfilled, what good are they?
2. The view focuses primarily on the European church of the 1500's and gives little or no attention to the five centuries that have passed since then. History was not expected to last this long.
3. While some interpretations do have very accurate predictions, many more do not. A few hits or misses do not prove a system of thought.