Futurism (Christianity)

For other uses, seeFuturism (disambiguation).

Futurismis aChristian eschatological viewthat interprets portions of theBook of Revelation,theBook of Ezekiel,and theBook of Danielas future events in a literal, physical,apocalyptic,and global context.

Diagram byHenry Dunantaiming to explain Revelation and Daniel as prophecies of future events.

By comparison, other Christian eschatological views interpret these passages as past events in a symbolic, historic context (preterismandhistoricism), or as present-day events in a non-literal and spiritual context (idealism). Futurist beliefs usually have a close association withpremillennialismanddispensationalism.

History

Some elements of the futurist interpretation of Revelation and Daniel appeared inthe early centuries of the Christian Church.However, the view was not popular.Irenaeusof Lyon (diedc.202), for instance, subscribed to the view thatDaniel's 70th weekawaited a future fulfillment.

Two Catholic Jesuit writers,Manuel Lacunza(1731–1801) andFrancisco Ribera(1537–1591), proposed the futurist view. Lacunza wrote under the pen name "Ben-Ezra", and his work was banned by theCatholic Church.Up until the 19th century, the futurist view was generally shunned by non-Catholics, being seen as a self-defense of the papacy against the claims of thehistoricistreformers.

The futurist view has grown in popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is currently followed by millions of Christians.However, while this interpretation is popular amongU.S.Evangelicals,it is generally rejected by adherents ofCatholicism,Eastern Orthodoxy,Lutheranism,andReformed Christianity.

Rapture and millennialism

Main articles:RaptureandMillennialism

Further information:Book of RevelationandList of dates predicted for apocalyptic events

The futurist view assigns all or most of the prophecy to the future, shortly before theSecond Coming;especially when interpreted in conjunction withDaniel,Isaiah2:11–22,1 Thessalonians4:15–5:11, and othereschatologicalsections of the Bible.

1919 chart byClarence Larkinattempting to explain the events of Revelation.

Rapture and tribulation

Main article:Great Tribulation

Futurist interpretations generally predict aresurrection of the deadand araptureof the living, wherein all true Christians are gathered to Christ prior to the timeGod's kingdomcomes on earth.They also believe atribulationwill occur – a seven-year period of time when believers will experience worldwide persecution and martyrdom. Futurists differ on when believers will be raptured, but there are three primary views: 1) before the tribulation; 2) near or at the midpoint of the tribulation; or 3) at the end of the tribulation. There is also a fourth view of multiple raptures throughout the tribulation, but this view does not have a mainstream following.

• Pretribulationistsbelieve that all Christians then alive will be taken up to meet Christ before the tribulation begins. In this manner, Christians are "kept from" the tribulation, such asEnochwas removed before God judged theantediluvianworld, in contrast withNoahwho was "kept through" wrath and judgement of God in the flood of Genesis.

• Midtribulationistsbelieve that the rapture of the faithful will occur approximately halfway through the tribulation, after it begins but before the worst part of it occurs. Some midtribulationists, particularly those holding to a "pre-wrath rapture" of the church, believe that God's wrath is poured out during a "Great Tribulation" that is limited to the last 3½ years of the tribulation, after believers have been caught up to Christ.

• Post-tribulationistsbelieve that Christians will be gathered in the clouds with Christ and join him inhis return to earth.

All three views hold that Christians will return with Christ at the end of the tribulation. Proponents of all three views also generally portray Israel as unwittingly signing a seven-year peace treaty with theAntichrist,which initiates the seven-year tribulation. Many also tend to view the Antichrist as head of a revived Roman Empire, but the geographic location of this empire is unknown.Hal Lindseysuggests that this revived Roman Empire will be centered in western Europe, with Rome as its capital. Tim LaHaye promotes the belief thatBabylonwill be the capital of a worldwide empire. Joel Richardson andWalid Shoebathave both recently written books proposing a revived eastern Roman Empire, which will fall within the boundaries of theOttoman Empire.(Istanbulalso hasseven hills,was a capital of the Roman Empire asConstantinople,known as theByzantine Empire,and a body of water in the city is known as theGolden Horn– notable given the eschatological references to the "Little Horn"Daniel 7:8,8:9.)

Thousand years

The rapture views are subsets of premillennial interpretations of the Millennium, mentioned in Revelation 20. There are three main interpretations:premillennialism,amillennialism,andPostmillennialism.

• Premillennialism believes that Christ will return to Earth, bind Satan, and reign for a literal thousand years on Earth withJerusalem as his capital.Thus Christ returns before ( "pre-" ) the thousand years mentioned in chapter 20. There are generally two subclasses of premillennialism: dispensational and historic. Some form of premillennialism is thought to be the oldest millennial view in church history.Papias,believed to be a disciple of the Apostle John, was a premillennialist, according toEusebius.AlsoJustin MartyrandIrenaeusexpressed belief in premillennialism in their writings.

• Amillennialism, the traditional view for Catholicism, believes that the thousand years mentioned are not ("a-") a literal thousand years, but is figurative for what is now thechurch age,usually, the time betweenChrist's ascensionandsecond coming.This view is often associated withAugustine of Hippo,who wrote that Satan will be incarnated in the Antichrist and his emergence will be put to an end with his annihilation by Christ.Amillennialists differ on the time frame of the millennium. Some say it started withPentecost,others say it started with the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy regarding thedestruction of the temple in Jerusalem (70),and other starting points have also been proposed. Whether this eschatology is the result ofcaesaropapism,which may have also been the reason that premillennialism was condemned, is sharply disputed.

• Postmillennialism believes that Christ will return after ( "post-" ) a literal/figurative thousand years, in which theworldwill have essentially become aChristendom.This view was held byJonathan Edwards.

Great Tribulation

Main article:Great Tribulation

In the futurist view ofChristian eschatology,the tribulation is a relatively short period of time where anyone who chose not to followGodbefore theRaptureand was left behind (according topre-tribulationdoctrine, notmid-orpost-tribulationteaching) will experience worldwide hardships, disasters, famine, war, pain, and suffering, which will wipe out more than 75% of all life on the earth before theSecond Comingtakes place.

According todispensationalistswho hold the futurist view, the tribulation is thought to occur before the Second Coming of Jesus and during theEnd Times.Another version holds that it will last seven years in all, being the last ofDaniel'sprophecy of seventy weeks.This viewpoint was first made popular byJohn Nelson Darbyin the 19th century and was recently popularized byHal LindseyinThe Late Great Planet Earth.It is theorized that each week represents seven years, with the timetable beginning fromArtaxerxes' order to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (theSecond Temple). After seven plus 62 weeks, the prophecy says that themessiahwill be "cut off", which is taken to correspond to the death ofChrist.This is seen as creating a break of indeterminate length in the timeline, with one week remaining to be fulfilled.

This seven-year 'week' may be further divided into two periods of 3½ years each, from the two 3½ year periods in Daniel's prophecy where the last seven years are divided into two 3½ year periods, (Daniel 9:27) The time period for these beliefs is also based on other passages: in the book of Daniel, "time, times, and half a time",interpreted as" a year, two years, and half a year, "and the Book of Revelation," a thousand two hundred and threescore days "and" forty and two months "(the prophetic month averaging 30 days, hence 1260/30 = 42 months or 3½ years). The 1290 days ofDaniel 12:11,(rather than the 1260 days ofRevelation 11:3), is thought to be the result of either a simpleintercalaryleap month adjustment, or due to furthercalculationsrelated to the prophecy, or due to anintermediatestage of time that is to prepare the world for the beginning of the millennial reign.

Events

Among futurists there are differing views about what will happen to Christians during the tribulation:

• Pretribulationistsbelieve that all Christians (dead and alive) will be taken bodily toHeaven(called the Rapture) before the tribulation begins.According to this doctrine, every true Christian that has ever existed throughout the course of the entire Christian era will be instantaneously transformed into a perfect resurrected body, and will thus escape the trials of the tribulation. Those who become Christians after the rapture will live through (or perish during) the tribulation. After the tribulation, Christ will return to establish His Millennial Kingdom.
• Prewrath tribulationistsbelieve the Rapture will occur after the tribulation, but before the seven bowls of thewrath of God.
• Midtribulationistsbelieve that the Rapture will occur halfway through the tribulation, but before the worst part of it occurs. The seven-year period is divided into halves – the "beginning of sorrows" and the "great tribulation".
• Posttribulationistsbelieve that Christians will not be taken up into Heaven, but will be received or gathered by Christ into the Kingdom of God on earth at the end of the tribulation.

In pretribulationism and midtribulationism, the Rapture and theSecond Coming(orGreek,par[a]ousia) of Christ are separate events, while in posttribulationism the two events are identical or simultaneous. Another feature of the pre- and mid-tribulation beliefs is the idea that after the Rapture, Christ will return for a third time (when also counting the first coming) to set up his kingdom on the earth.

Some, including manyRoman Catholictheologians,do not believe in a "time of trouble" period as usually described by tribulationists, but rather that there will be a nearutopianperiod led by theAntichrist.

70th week of Daniel

Main article:Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

According to futurism, the 70th week of Daniel will occur at some point in the future, culminating in seven years (or 3½ years depending on denomination) oftribulationand the appearance of theAntichrist.

Such a thesis is paradigmatic for dispensational premillennialism. In contradistinction,historic premillennialismmay or may not posit Daniel's 70th week as future yet retain the thesis of the future fulfillment of many of the prophecies of Major and Minor Prophets, the teachings of Christ (e.g., Matthew 24) and the book of Revelation.

Dispensationalist interpretation

Dispensationaliststypically hold that a 'hiatus', which some refer to as a 'Biblical parenthesis', occurred between the 69th and 70th week of the prophecy, into which the "Church Age" is inserted. The seventieth week of the prophecy is expected to commence after theraptureof the church, which will incorporate the establishment of an economic system using the number '666', the reign of the beast (theAntichrist), the false religious system (the harlot), theGreat TribulationandArmageddon.

Controversy exists regarding the antecedent ofhein Daniel 9:27. Many within the ranks ofpremillennialismdo not affirm the "confirmation of the covenant" is made by Jesus Christ (as do manyamillennarians) but that the antecedent of "he" in verse 27 refers back to verse 26 ( "the prince who is to come" —i.e., the Antichrist).Antichristwill make a "treaty" as the Prince of the Covenant (i.e., "the prince who is to come" ) with Israel's future leadership at the commencement of the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy; in the midst of the week, the Antichrist will break the treaty and commence persecution against a regathered Israel.

Proponents

• Gleason Archer
• Donald Barnhouse
• Martin De Haan
• Arno Clemens Gaebelein
• Norman Geisler
• Robert Govett
• Harry A. Ironside
• Walter Kaiser, Jr.
• Arthur Katz
• Hal Lindsey
• Ernst Lohmeyer
• John F. MacArthur
• J. Vernon McGee
• Henry M. Morris
• William A. Newell
• J. Dwight Pentecost
• Lewis Sperry Chafer
• John Bertram Phillips
• Francisco Ribera
• Charles Caldwell Ryrie
• Ray Stedman
• Merrill Tenney
• John Walvoord
• Warren W. Wiersbe
• John Whitcomb
• Peter Ruckman

See also

• Christian Eschatology
• Mid-tribulation rapture
• Millenarianism
• Post Tribulation
• Progressive dispensationalism
• Summary of Christian eschatological differences
• Rapture