Explaining the Theology of Futurism

By Pastor Paul Coulombe

Bibles became accessible to the common man in the 15th century. The prophecies of the books of Daniel with the all of its symbols and Revelation with all of its apocalyptic writings became the foundation of study which revealed an entity known as the Antichrist.
In the book of 2 Thessalonians 2:3 we read, “Let no man deceive you be any means…” This is referring to the fact of not listening to incorrect Scripture. It continues with; “for that day shall not come, except there be a falling away first…” This is translated; “for that day shall not come, except there come a departure first” It concludes with; “,and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition defines “perdition” as follows:
1 a archaic : utter destruction b obs : LOSS 2 a : eternal damnation b : HELL
What does all this have to do with the common belief in the rapture? In reviewing this theology we deal only with the presumption of the truth. These truths are founded on the interpretation of the Books of Daniel 7, 2 Thessalonians 2, Revelation 13, 17, 18.
In our search for the truth of the Second coming of our Lord and our review of scriptures the following characteristics of the main entity which highlights this study, is apparent:
It will rise to be a great power after the fall of the pagan Roman empire (after 476 A.D.)
It will be a geographically small nation ( a little horn).
It will rule over many people, nations, and tongues (it will be universal).
It will be headquartered in the city of seven hills, Rome.
It will be a religio-political entity – a political city-state reuled by a priest-king.
Its priest-king will make great and blasphemous claims
It will claim authority over all kings.
It will claim its power to change the times and laws of God as its mark of authority.
It will be an apostate church, that makes the nations drink her cup of apostate doctrine.
It will be a “mother’ church, with apostate daughters coming from her/
It will be a persecuting power, killing the faithful saints of Jesus Christ as heretics.
It will hold power and authority for 1260 years following the fall of pagan Rome.
It will suffer a deadly wound that will end 1260 years of dominance and persecution.
It will be revived after the deadly wound, and all the world will wonder at it’s revival.
This appears to be revealing not an individual but a system of apostasy and destruction. But there are those of us who do see the prophesy as a revealing of a true individual. The element of the 15th century was trying to put forth a belief that the antichrist was in fact the Roman Catholic Church. This was substantiated by the understanding of the Protestants of the Reformation as to why the Roman church was against the scriptures (the Bible) being available for everyone to read and interpret for themselves.
The “Fifth Lateran Council (1512-17 A.D.) went into the business of censorship on books and preaching on the antichrist.
Session 10 dated May 10, 1515 dictated censorship of books. In the review the crux of it’s writing that the readers were uninformed and ignorant. This led to the ban on any writings or printing in Rome or any of the cities unless reviewed by the bishops and the “powers on high” within the church. People found in the act of printing, writing or distributing, would suffer the sentence of excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church.
Session 11 dated December 19, 1516 dictated on how and what to preach. The catholic church demanded that no one preach or determine any fixed time for future events including the coming of the antichrist or the day of judgment. The church held to scripture, which in fact is the teaching of our Lord that it is not for us to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority.
The Catholic Church realized they couldn’t ban bibles because this action would be
perceived as admitting to the insinuation that the Church “was in fact” the harlot
persecuting church of prophecy.
But the realization is that since the fall of pagan Rome only one (singular) entity on
earth has ruled for the length of time indicative to the 1260 years of the rule of the
antichrist and that entity is the Catholic Church.
Prophecy that was relating to Dan 7:25 was truly pointing to the Church as the
antichrist.
A Jesuit doctor of theology by the name of Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) wrote a
lengthy commentary on the book of Revelation. In his writings Ribera was
attempting to remove the Catholic Church as the antichrist. He put forth that the 1st
chapters of Revelation was referring to pagan Rome not the church, and related
that a future period of 3 ½ years prior to Christ’s second coming was evident. In
this the antichrist was a single individual that would commit to and achieve the
things we as tribulation believers hold as fact:
> The rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem
> The denial of Jesus Christ
> Total acceptance by the Jews
> The pretense that he is God
> The murder of God’s two witnesses
> He will conquer the world (after the rapture of the believers)
His writings reveal that the 1260 years of church domination of the middle ages was
not the message put forth in the book of Revelation, but it was referring to the literal
3 ½ years of the “future” prior to the second coming which now we can identify by
name; Futurism.
One of the best known Jesuit apologists of the 16th century, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine published a work, Polemi Lectures Concerning the Dispute Points of the Christian Belief Against the Heretics of This Time. In this he denied the “day equals year” principal and talked about and agreed with Ribera of the 3 ½ future year period.
The Jesuits continued advocacy of Futurism into the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries when a Jesuit from Chili, Manuel De Lacunza (1731-1801), wrote “The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty” under a Jewish name to hide he was a Catholic. He was hoping for acceptance by Protestants and wished to take pressure of the Catholic Church by proposing that antichrist was to come in the future.
Edward Irving (1792-1834) leader in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements in Scotland translated Lacunza’s writings from Spanish to English.
So the world would understand better, Lacunza followed the teaching of previous Jesuits that the Antichrist would appear in the end times:
“That there shall be an Antichrist (singular[my insertion]); that he shall be revealed, and publicly declared, toward the last times; and that he shall commit in the world the greatest evils, making formal war against Christ and all that pertains to him--these are three certain things, of which no Christian can doubt.
According to all the signs given in the Holy Scriptures, and others, not equivocal, offered to us by time, which is wont to be the best interpreter of the prophecies, the antichrist, or the contrachrist, with whom we stand threatened in the times immediate upon the coming of the Lord, is nothing but a moral body, composed of innumerable individuals, diverse in themselves, but all morally united and animated with one common spirit, against the Lord and against his Christ.”
When speaking of “innumerable individuals” we understand that these would be the contemporaries who follow the individual antichrist and do his bidding.
Lacunza in the translation by Irving refers to the harlot woman in Revelation 17 taking away the implication that this is the church of mid times but is in fact revealing future Rome or the centre of unity where power will establish itself and be guilty of fornication with the kings of the earth.
So is Rome of the future the place of residence of the antichrist? It appears a general concensus that it could very well be.
Edward Irving continued even further with his position of Futurism by promoting a Secret Rapture at a prophecy conference in Dublin. This was brought about through a letter he received from a 15 year old Scottish girl, a member of his congregation who has visions of a Secret Rapture of believers before the Antichrist.

In chronological order we look next at Samuel Roffey Maitland (1792-1866) scholar of the archbishop of Canterbury. He continued the promotion of Futurism as a resul of Lucunza’s work.
A Church of Ireland clergyman upon learning of the visions of Margaret McDonald also promoted Futurism and a Secret Rapture. He visited America, 1859/1874 where the theology of Futurism was instantly accepted.
An influential writer, actually the author of the Scofield Reference Bible, Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921) firmly established the Jesuit inspired interpretation of Futurism in the Protestant Bible schools of the United States in the 20th century.
The following are Seminaries have abandoned the teaching that the Roman Catholic Church is the apostate church and the harlot of revelation.
> Dallas Theological Seminary - Most likely the most influential seminary in the US on Futurism and the secret rapture.
> Moody Bible Institute - Supplied Sunday School lessons to the Assembly of God churches about 1914, introducing Pentecostals to Futurism and the secret rapture theology.
> Western Theological Seminary - Alma Mater of Tim LaHaye, founder of the Pre-trib Research Center and co-author of the Left behind series
> Tim LaHaye School of Prophecy - opened January 2002 on the campus of Liberty University.


Well known ministries teaching Futurism and the Secret Rapture
> Trinity Broadcasting
> Jack Van Impe Ministries
> Jerry Falwell Ministries
> John Hagee Ministries
> The King is Coming, World Prophetic Ministries
> Grant R. Jeffrey (Prophecy Online)
> Hilton Sutton World Ministries
> Zola Levitt - “holds to a strictly literal and inerrant Bible interpretaion, salvation through Christ alone, a soon pre-tribulation Rapture of all believers and the establishment of a thousand-year kingdom of Earth.
> John Ankerberg
> Perry Stone - Voice of Evangelism Ministries, Inc.

Conclusion
It is to be understood that the writing here is foundational in nature. I have purposely kept any opinion to a minimum. The information and quotations gathered for this writing are from the writers and supporters of Futurism & the Secret Rapture who have spent their lives in the revelation of God’s word.
Since the accessibility of the Bible to the public, the theology of the end times and second coming has been a point of contention between believers and non-believers of the word. The “Catholic Church” has borne the brunt of some interpretation probably due to the writings of Revelation 17.
For the most part, scholars of theology have put the argument against the Church to rest. Protestantism has embraced the belief of “future” theology of an individual antichrist holding true to our “individual” enemy and the enemy of Christ: 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
In the next article, the facts of Preterism, a counter interpretation to Historism will be discussed and the dangers it proposes.

Obama's first week, a precursor to the next 4 years?

By Dan Hamblin

Well it's only been a week since Obama became the 44th president of the United States and he has certainly hit the ground running. He has addressed the issue of openly gay people joining the military, looks like that will be allowed very soon. Many people see that as a major mistake, the military is already suffering from a low enlistment rate, if gays are allowed in that will drastically affect the amount of new recruits.
Obama has also decided to abolish a previously enacted law that banned the United States from funding and abortions whether it is here at home or anywhere else in the world. Within the first 5 minutes of him taking office the White house website went from pro-life to pro-choice. I for one am outraged at this, if you lay down and do the deed, you need to be responsible and deal with the end result. Call me old fashioned, but that is how it should be. What ever happened to accountability?
The president also seems to have an arrogance about him that what ever he says WILL happen no matter what anyone thinks about it, not very flattering from our new commander and chief. He was seen yesterday in a meeting with some members from the senate in which he stated "I won, I am the president". Now if that doesn't sound like an elitist I don't know what does. It seems like these people are intimidated by him or something, they back down and he gets what ever his devious little heart desires.
Today Barack made a statement to the Muslim world in which he stated "we are not your enemy". He is wrong; they are our enemy because of their terroristic regimes and terroristic actions. Is he forgetting about 9/11? These are the same idiots that train kids it's OK to kill another man because of their religion at the age of 8 and 9 years old! Come on! Yet Obama wants to reach out to them, why not, he was Muslim by birth and always will be. After he won the election he said he had a certain duty to the Muslim community as well as to the United States. Anyone can see that. He also wants to have a one on one talk with the president of Iran; Barack thinks he can draw Iran closer to us, yeah right.
Today Obama somehow got his 825 billion dollar stimulus plan through the senate, the details of his plan do very little for our economy. We already have a 10 trillion dollar deficit, sure what's another 836 billion dollars. It allows for things like endowment of the arts and other frivolous causes. Earlier this week, the financial system and the government in Iceland crashed because of idiot leaders like Obama; this could be us before too long.
I don't trust Obama and think electing this man was a huge mistake for America. Many are saying Obama could fit the bill of the false prophet and I am beginning to see that in him. By the way he is also working on a bill that would prohibit certain things that he doesn't want us knowing from being printed or broadcasted for whatever reason he sees fit. Hello socialism! Goodbye red white & blue.