Futurism and Preterism?

The Reformers of the sixteenth century, including Martin Luther, Melanchthon, Ulric Zwingli, John

Calvin, Menno Simons, and their associates declared that the papacy was the antichrist of Bible prophecy.

Prior to that time, Rome had tried to destroy copies of the Scriptures, so the truths of Daniel and

Revelation would not be discovered. But, with the invention of printing, the circulation of Bibles, and the

preaching of the Reformers-something had to be done!

In response to Luther's anti-papal protest, two Catholic theologians, Prierias and Eck, declared the

Catholic Church to be the fifth (the stone) kingdom portrayed in Daniel 2. A very proud boast from the

little horn.

The chapters which point to Rome-But what could they do about the prophecies which pointed

directly to Rome as the antichrist power? In the book of Daniel, it was chapters 7, 8, and 9 which identified

when Rome would arise as an international power. It was those three chapters which unmasked its vicious

attempts to destroy the law of God and slay His people.

Sunday, the basis of papal authority-From AD. 1545-1563, the Council of Trent met intermittently

to devise ways to annihilate Protestantism, either by direct warfare or by infiltration. Its earlier change of

the Sabbath to Sunday was declared to be the foundation of its doctrine of Tradition (the words of men) as

superior to Scripture (see the present author's book, Beyond Pitcairn, pp. 132-135, which explains what

happened on January 18, 1562). In addition, the Jesuits were assigned the task of infiltrating palaces,

schools, and Protestant churches. Jesuit theologians were given the task of reinterpreting Bible prophecies

which pointed to the papacy.

Ribera's Futurism-Two Jesuits were especially successful in this latter task. The first was Francisco

Ribera, who in 1537-1541, developed what we today call Futurism. He declared that the prophecies of

Daniel and Revelation would not be fulfilled until the very last days when, for 2300 literal days or about 7

years, an antichrist would appear. It was theorized that, at that time, a Jewish temple would be rebuilt in old

Jerusalem. (In reality, the Muslims will never permit such a temple to be built on the Temple Mount.)

Samuel Maitland, William Burgh, John Darby, James Todd, and John Henry Newman were later

leading Protestant theologians which infiltrated Jesuits used to spread this error throughout modern

Protestantism. The Plymouth Brethren, the High Church Oxford Movement in the Anglican Church, and

the Scofield Bible especially helped in this work.

A variant of this futurism was the development of dispensationalism, one form of which pushes many

of the prophecies to the last days, to be fulfilled by the Jewish people.

Alcazar's Preterism-Another Jesuit, Luis de Alcazar (1554-1613) developed the opposite position,

known as Preterism. This is the teaching that the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation were fulfilled in

ancient times by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Nero, and/or pagan Rome.

Hugo Grotius, of Holland, and Hammond, of England, helped further this error. Anti-Christian,

German rationalists heavily endorsed it. This included J.C. Eichhorn, G.H.A. Ewald, G.C.F. Lucke,

W.M.L. De Wette, Franz Delitzsch, and Julius Wellhausen. Since 1830, many British and American Bible

teachers have taught it to their students.

The true belief-In contrast, it should be mentioned that many faithful Christian Bible scholars held

that Rome was the antichrist of Daniel and Revelation. This included all the Reformers and, later, such men

as Manuel de Lacunza and Joseph Wolff (both mentioned in Great Controversy), Sir Isaac Newton, Adam

Clarke, Henry Drummond, and Edward Irving.

Ignatius Loyola founded the so-called "Society of Jesus" (the Jesuits) in 1534. Approved by Paul III in

1540, it immediately set to work to either destroy Protestantism or dilute its teachings, when assassination

and warfare were not feasible. For over 450 years, its agents (brilliant men selected for their tenacity) have

infiltrated governments, schools, and churches. These men gradually rose to higher positions as additional

agents were hired into the ranks.

Vance Ferrell (A Biblical Defense Defending our Historic Beliefs about the Sanctuary in Daniel and Hebrews)