Futurism (Christian eschatology)
Encyclopedia
Futurism is a Christian eschatological view
that interprets the Book of Revelation
, the Book of Daniel
, the Olivet discourse
and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats
as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context. Futurism interprets these passages as prophecies that will be fulfilled in the future (in some cases, the imminent future) as literal
, physical events. By comparison, other Christian eschatological views interpret these passages as past events in a literal, physical, and local context (Preterism
and Historicism
), or as present-day events in a non-literal and spiritual context (Idealism
).
, Roman Catholic Jesuit Francisco Ribera
wrote a 500 page commentary on the Book of Revelation. This commentary established the futurist interpretation of Bible prophecy.
; especially when interpreted in conjunction with Daniel
, Isaiah
2:11-22, 1 Thessalonians 4:15–5:11, and other eschatological
sections of the Bible.
Futurist interpretations generally predict a resurrection of the dead
and a rapture
of the living, wherein all true Christians and those who have not reached an age of accountability are gathered to Christ at the time God's kingdom
comes on earth. They also believe a tribulation
will occur - a seven year period of time when believers will experience worldwide persecution and martyrdom, and be purified and strengthened by it. 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.
Pretribulationists
believe 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 as Enoch
was removed before God judged the antediluvian world, in contrast with Noah
who was "kept through" wrath and judgement of God in the flood of Genesis.
Midtribulationists believe 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-tribulationists
believe that Christians will be gathered in the clouds with Christ and join him in his return to earth. (Pretribulationist Tim LaHaye
admits a post-tribulation rapture is the closest of the three views to that held by the early church
.)
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 the Antichrist
, 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 Lindsey
suggests that this revived Roman Empire will be centered in western Europe, with Rome as its capital. Tim LaHaye promotes the belief that Babylon
will be the capital of a worldwide empire. Joel Richardson and Walid Shoebat
have both recently written books proposing a revived eastern Roman Empire, which will fall with the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire
. (Istanbul
also has seven hills, was a capital of the Roman Empire as Constantinople
, and a body of water in the city is known as the Golden Horn
- notable given the eschatological references to the "Little Horn",.)
There is also a variant futuristic view that the Tribulation can occur in any generation, meaning Satan always has an antichrist in the wings and there is always a nation-state that can become the revived Roman Empire. This variant view is developed by Angela Hunt
in her fictional work, The Immortal.
The futurist view was first proposed by two Catholic writers, Manuel Lacunza
and Francisco Ribera
. Lacunza wrote under the pen name "Ben-Ezra", and his work was banned by the Catholic Church. It has grown in popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries, so that today it is probably most readily recognized. Books about the "rapture
" by authors like Hal Lindsey
, and the more recent Left Behind
novels (by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
) and movies, have done much to popularize this school of thought.
The various views on tribulation are actually a subset of theological interpretations on the Millennium, mentioned in Revelation 20. There are three main interpretations: Premillennialism
, Amillennialism
, and Postmillennialism
.
Premillennialism believes that Christ will return to the earth, bind Satan, and reign for a literal thousand years on earth with Jerusalem 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 premillenialist, according to Eusebius. Also Justin Martyr
and Irenaeus
expressed belief in premillennialism in their writings.
Amillennialism, the traditional view for Roman Catholicism, believes that the thousand years mentioned are not ("a-"
) a literal thousand years, but is figurative for what is now the church age, usually, the time between Christ's first ascension and second coming. This view is often associated with Augustine of Hippo
. Amillennialists differ on the time frame of the millennium. Some say it started with Pentecost
, others say it started with the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy regarding the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (70)
, and other starting points have also been proposed. Whether this eschatology is the result of caesaropapism
, 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 the world will have essentially become a Christendom
. This view was held by Jonathan Edwards.
view of Christian eschatology
, the Tribulation is a relatively short period of time where anyone who chose not to follow God
before the Rapture
and was left behind (according to Pre-Tribulation doctrine, not Mid- or Post-Tribulation
teaching) will experience worldwide hardships, disasters, famine, war, pain, and suffering, which will wipe out more than 75% of all life on the earth before the Second Coming takes place.
According to Dispensationalists
who hold the futurist view, the Tribulation is thought to occur before the Second Coming of Jesus and during the End Times
. Another version holds that it will last seven years in all, being the last of Daniel
's prophecy of seventy weeks
. This viewpoint was first made popular by John Nelson Darby
in the 19th century and was recently popularized by Hal Lindsey
in The Late Great Planet Earth. It is theorized that each week represents seven years, with the timetable beginning from Artaxerxes
' order to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (the Second Temple
). After seven plus 62 weeks, the prophecy says that the messiah
will be "cut off", which is taken to correspond to the death of Christ
. 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 3.5 years each, from the two 3.5-year periods in Daniel's prophecy where the last seven years are divided into two 3.5-year periods, 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 3.5 years). The 1290 days of , (rather than the 1260 days of ), is thought to be the result of either a simple intercalary leap month adjustment, or due to further calculations related to the prophecy, or due to an intermediate
stage of time that is to prepare the world for the beginning of the millennial reign.
In pretribulationism and midtribulationism, the Rapture and the Second Coming
(or Greek
, par[a]ousia) of Christ are separate events, while in post-tribulationism 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 many Roman Catholic theologians, do not believe in a "time of trouble" period as usually described by tribulationists, but rather that there will be a near utopia
n period led by the Antichrist
.
Many other groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses
, do not believe in a Rapture at any point. According to Jehovah's Witnesses, the Great Tribulation is soon to arrive. This period will see the fall of Babylon the Great, the Great Harlot, as spoken of in Revelation. After Babylon the Great has been removed, they say, the world powers shall move against God's chosen people for a short while. This will then usher in the ending of this "world" (not the earth, but the removal of all those who do not wish to follow God by standards) according to their understanding of . The Great Tribulation ends with the battle of Armageddon
.
(or 3.5 years depending on denomination), and the appearance of the Antichrist
.
Such a thesis is paradigmatic for Dispensational Premillennialism. In contradistinction, Historic Premillennialism
may 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.
Dispensationalists
typically 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 (also known as the "gap theory" of Daniel 9). The seventieth week of the prophecy is expected to commence after the rapture
of the church, which will incorporate the establishment of an economic system using the number '666', the reign of the beast (the Antichrist
), the false religious system (the harlot), the Great Tribulation and Armageddon
.
Controversy exists regarding the antecedent of he in Daniel 9:27. Many within the ranks of premillennialism
do not affirm the "confirmation of the covenant" is made by Jesus Christ (as do many Amillennarians
) but that the antecedent of "he" in vs. 27 refers back to vs. 26 ("the prince who is to come"—i.e., the Antichrist). Antichrist
will 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.
Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
that interprets the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
, the Book of Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
, the Olivet discourse
Olivet discourse
The Olivet discourse or Olivet prophecy is a biblical passage found in the Synoptic Gospels of Mark 13, Matthew 24, Luke 21. It is known as the "Little Apocalypse" because it includes Jesus' descriptions of the end times, the use of apocalyptic language, and Jesus' warning to his followers that...
and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats
The Sheep and the Goats
The Sheep and the Goats or "The Judgment of the Nations" was a discourse of Jesus recorded in the New Testament. It is sometimes characterized as a parable, although unlike most parables it does not purport to relate a story of events happening to other characters.One explanation is that it tells...
as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context. Futurism interprets these passages as prophecies that will be fulfilled in the future (in some cases, the imminent future) as literal
Biblical literalism
Biblical literalism is the interpretation or translation of the explicit and primary sense of words in the Bible. A literal Biblical interpretation is associated with the fundamentalist and evangelical hermeneutical approach to Scripture, and is used almost exclusively by conservative Christians...
, physical events. By comparison, other Christian eschatological views interpret these passages as past events in a literal, physical, and local context (Preterism
Preterism
Preterism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets prophecies of the Bible, especially Daniel and Revelation, as events which have already happened in the first century A.D. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the...
and Historicism
Historicism (Christian eschatology)
Historicism is a method of interpretation, in Christian eschatology, by associating biblical prophecies with actual historical events as well as identifying symbolic beings with historical persons or societies. In prophetic theology, the main texts of interest are apocalyptic literature such as the...
), or as present-day events in a non-literal and spiritual context (Idealism
Idealism (Christian eschatology)
Idealism in Christian eschatology is an interpretation of the Book of Revelation that sees all of the imagery of the book as non-literal symbols.Jacob Taubes writes that idealist eschatology came about as Renaissance thinkers began to doubt that the Kingdom of...
).
History
To counter the Protestant interpretation of historicismHistoricism (Christian eschatology)
Historicism is a method of interpretation, in Christian eschatology, by associating biblical prophecies with actual historical events as well as identifying symbolic beings with historical persons or societies. In prophetic theology, the main texts of interest are apocalyptic literature such as the...
, Roman Catholic Jesuit Francisco Ribera
Francisco Ribera
Francisco Ribera was a Spanish Jesuit theologian, identified with the Futurist Christian eschatological view.-Life:He was born at Villacastín. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1570, and taught at the University of Salamanca. He acted as confessor to Teresa of Avila...
wrote a 500 page commentary on the Book of Revelation. This commentary established the futurist interpretation of Bible prophecy.
Book of Revelation
The futurist view assigns all or most of the prophecy to the future, shortly before the second comingSecond Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
; especially when interpreted in conjunction with Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
, Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
2:11-22, 1 Thessalonians 4:15–5:11, and other eschatological
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
sections of the Bible.
Futurist interpretations generally predict a resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
and a rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
of the living, wherein all true Christians and those who have not reached an age of accountability are gathered to Christ at the time God's kingdom
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
comes on earth. They also believe a tribulation
Tribulation
The Great Tribulation refers to tumultuous events that are described during the "signs of the times", first mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet discourse...
will occur - a seven year period of time when believers will experience worldwide persecution and martyrdom, and be purified and strengthened by it. 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.
Pretribulationists
Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
believe 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 as Enoch
Enoch (ancestor of Noah)
Enoch is a figure in the Generations of Adam. Enoch is described as Adam's greatx4 grandson , the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah...
was removed before God judged the antediluvian world, in contrast with Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
who was "kept through" wrath and judgement of God in the flood of Genesis.
Midtribulationists believe 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-tribulationists
Post Tribulation Rapture
In Christian eschatology, the Post-Tribulation Rapture doctrine is the belief in a combined Resurrection and Rapture of all believers coming after the Great Tribulation.-Doctrine and implications:...
believe that Christians will be gathered in the clouds with Christ and join him in his return to earth. (Pretribulationist Tim LaHaye
Tim LaHaye
Timothy F. LaHaye is an American evangelical Christian minister, author, and speaker. He is best known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins. He has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction.-Early life:LaHaye was born in Detroit,...
admits a post-tribulation rapture is the closest of the three views to that held by the early church
Early Christianity
Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....
.)
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 the Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
, 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 Lindsey
Hal Lindsey
Harold Lee "Hal" Lindsey is an American evangelist and Christian writer. He is a Christian Zionist and dispensationalist author. He currently resides in Texas.-Biography:...
suggests that this revived Roman Empire will be centered in western Europe, with Rome as its capital. Tim LaHaye promotes the belief that Babylon
Babylon (New Testament)
Babylon occurs in the Christian New Testament both with a literal and a figurative meaning. The famous ancient city, located near Baghdad, was a complete unpopulated ruin by 275 BC, well before the time of the New Testament...
will be the capital of a worldwide empire. Joel Richardson and Walid Shoebat
Walid Shoebat
Walid Shoebat is a Palestinian immigrant to the United States and campaigner for Christianity and Israel, against Islam. He was born to a Jordanian father and Caucasian American mother, and claims to have been a former PLO militant, although neither the PLO nor the Israeli government have any...
have both recently written books proposing a revived eastern Roman Empire, which will fall with the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. (Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
also has seven hills, was a capital of the Roman Empire as Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, and a body of water in the city is known as the Golden Horn
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn is a historic inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming the natural harbor that has sheltered Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other ships for thousands of...
- notable given the eschatological references to the "Little Horn",.)
There is also a variant futuristic view that the Tribulation can occur in any generation, meaning Satan always has an antichrist in the wings and there is always a nation-state that can become the revived Roman Empire. This variant view is developed by Angela Hunt
Angela Elwell Hunt
Angela Elwell Hunt is a prolific Christian author, and her books include The Tale of Three Trees, The Debt, The Note, and The Nativity Story, among others.-Career:...
in her fictional work, The Immortal.
The futurist view was first proposed by two Catholic writers, Manuel Lacunza
Manuel Lacunza
Manuel Diaz Lacunza S.J. was a Jesuit priest who used the pen-name Juan Josafat Ben-Ezra for his main work on the interpretation of the prophecies of the Bible.- Biography :...
and Francisco Ribera
Francisco Ribera
Francisco Ribera was a Spanish Jesuit theologian, identified with the Futurist Christian eschatological view.-Life:He was born at Villacastín. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1570, and taught at the University of Salamanca. He acted as confessor to Teresa of Avila...
. Lacunza wrote under the pen name "Ben-Ezra", and his work was banned by the Catholic Church. It has grown in popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries, so that today it is probably most readily recognized. Books about the "rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
" by authors like Hal Lindsey
Hal Lindsey
Harold Lee "Hal" Lindsey is an American evangelist and Christian writer. He is a Christian Zionist and dispensationalist author. He currently resides in Texas.-Biography:...
, and the more recent Left Behind
Left Behind (series)
Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
novels (by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
Tim LaHaye
Timothy F. LaHaye is an American evangelical Christian minister, author, and speaker. He is best known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins. He has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction.-Early life:LaHaye was born in Detroit,...
) and movies, have done much to popularize this school of thought.
The various views on tribulation are actually a subset of theological interpretations on the Millennium, mentioned in Revelation 20. There are three main interpretations: Premillennialism
Premillennialism
Premillennialism in Christian end-times theology is the belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for his millennial reign, at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it holds that Jesus’ physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration...
, Amillennialism
Amillennialism
Amillennialism is a view in Christian end-times theology named for its rejection of the theory that Jesus Christ will have a thousand-year long, physical reign on the earth...
, and Postmillennialism
Postmillennialism
In Christian end-times theology, , postmillennialism is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring after the "Millennium", a Golden Age in which Christian ethics prosper...
.
Premillennialism believes that Christ will return to the earth, bind Satan, and reign for a literal thousand years on earth with Jerusalem 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
Papias
Papias was a bishop of the early Church, canonized as a saint. Eusebius of Caesarea calls him "Bishop of Hierapolis" which is 22 km from Laodicea and near Colossae Papias (writing in the first third of the 2nd century) was a bishop of the early Church, canonized as a saint. Eusebius of...
, believed to be a disciple of the Apostle John, was a premillenialist, according to Eusebius. Also Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
and Irenaeus
Irenaeus
Saint Irenaeus , was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, then a part of the Roman Empire . He was an early church father and apologist, and his writings were formative in the early development of Christian theology...
expressed belief in premillennialism in their writings.
Amillennialism, the traditional view for Roman Catholicism, believes that the thousand years mentioned are not ("a-"
Privative a
In Ancient Greek grammar, privative a is the prefix a- that expresses negation or absence . It is derived from a Proto-Indo-European syllabic nasal *, the zero ablaut grade of the negation *ne, i.e. /n/ used as a vowel...
) a literal thousand years, but is figurative for what is now the church age, usually, the time between Christ's first ascension and second coming. This view is often associated with Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
. Amillennialists differ on the time frame of the millennium. Some say it started with Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
, others say it started with the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy regarding the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (70)
Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
, and other starting points have also been proposed. Whether this eschatology is the result of caesaropapism
Caesaropapism
Caesaropapism is the idea of combining the power of secular government with, or making it superior to, the spiritual authority of the Church; especially concerning the connection of the Church with government. The term caesaropapism was coined by Max Weber, who defined it as follows: “a secular,...
, 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 the world will have essentially become a Christendom
Christendom
Christendom, or the Christian world, has several meanings. In a cultural sense it refers to the worldwide community of Christians, adherents of Christianity...
. This view was held by Jonathan Edwards.
Great Tribulation
In the futuristFuturism (Christian eschatology)
Futurism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets the Book of Revelation, the Book of Daniel, the Olivet discourse and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context...
view of Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
, the Tribulation is a relatively short period of time where anyone who chose not to follow God
God in Christianity
In Christianity, God is the eternal being that created and preserves the universe. God is believed by most Christians to be immanent , while others believe the plan of redemption show he will be immanent later...
before the Rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
and was left behind (according to Pre-Tribulation doctrine, not Mid- or Post-Tribulation
Post Tribulation Rapture
In Christian eschatology, the Post-Tribulation Rapture doctrine is the belief in a combined Resurrection and Rapture of all believers coming after the Great Tribulation.-Doctrine and implications:...
teaching) will experience worldwide hardships, disasters, famine, war, pain, and suffering, which will wipe out more than 75% of all life on the earth before the Second Coming takes place.
According to Dispensationalists
Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
who hold the futurist view, the Tribulation is thought to occur before the Second Coming of Jesus and during the End Times
End times
The end time, end times, or end of days is a time period described in the eschatological writings in the three Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios in various other non-Abrahamic religions...
. Another version holds that it will last seven years in all, being the last of Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
's prophecy of seventy weeks
Prophecy of Seventy Weeks
The Prophecy of Seventy Septets appears in the angel Gabriel's reply to Daniel, beginning with verse 22 and ending with verse 27 in the ninth chapter of the Book of Daniel, a work included in both the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Bible; as well as the Septuagint...
. This viewpoint was first made popular by John Nelson Darby
John Nelson Darby
John Nelson Darby was an Anglo-Irish evangelist, and an influential figure among the original Plymouth Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism. He produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation...
in the 19th century and was recently popularized by Hal Lindsey
Hal Lindsey
Harold Lee "Hal" Lindsey is an American evangelist and Christian writer. He is a Christian Zionist and dispensationalist author. He currently resides in Texas.-Biography:...
in The Late Great Planet Earth. It is theorized that each week represents seven years, with the timetable beginning from Artaxerxes
Artaxerxes I of Persia
Artaxerxes I was the sixth king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 465 BCE to 424 BCE. He was the son of Xerxes I of Persia and Amestris, daughter of Otanes.*Artaxerxes I was the sixth king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 465 BCE to 424 BCE. He was the son of Xerxes I of Persia and...
' order to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
). After seven plus 62 weeks, the prophecy says that the messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
will be "cut off", which is taken to correspond to the death of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. 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 3.5 years each, from the two 3.5-year periods in Daniel's prophecy where the last seven years are divided into two 3.5-year periods, 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 3.5 years). The 1290 days of , (rather than the 1260 days of ), is thought to be the result of either a simple intercalary leap month adjustment, or due to further calculations related to the prophecy, or due to an intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate means "occurring between two extremes, or in the middle of a range". It comes from the Latin word 'intermedia' which literally means 'among the middle' and may refer to:...
stage 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:- PretribulationistsDispensationalismDispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
believe that all Christians (dead and alive) will be taken bodily up to HeavenHeavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
(called the Rapture) before the Tribulation begins. According to this theory, 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 TribulationistsPrewrathThe Prewrath rapture is one of several premillennial views on the end-times events among evangelical Christians, and states that Christians will be raptured at the end of the great tribulation, and before the day of the Lord's wrath , sometime during the second half of the seventieth week of Daniel...
believe the Rapture will occur during the tribulation, halfway through or after, but before the seven bowls of the wrath of GodWrath of GodWrath of God may refer to:* Divine retribution, a general term for the phrase "Wrath of God"* Operation Wrath of God, an alleged Israeli military operation* The Wrath of God, a Western film starring Robert Mitchum and Frank Langella...
. - Seventh Trumpet Tribulationists believe the rapture will occur during the tribulation, halfway through or after, but before the seven bowls of the wrath of God. Specifically, at the sound of the Seventh Trumpet (Rev. 11:15, 1 Cori. 15:52).
- Midtribulationists believe 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".
- PosttribulationistsPost Tribulation RaptureIn Christian eschatology, the Post-Tribulation Rapture doctrine is the belief in a combined Resurrection and Rapture of all believers coming after the Great Tribulation.-Doctrine and implications:...
believe 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. "Immediately after the tribulation ... then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man [Jesus] ... and he shall gather his elect" (Matthew 24:29–31; Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-27). The idea of a post-tribulation rapture can also be read into 2 Peter 3:10-13 where Christ's return is equated with the "elements being melted" and "the earth also and the works therein shall be burned up."
In pretribulationism and midtribulationism, the Rapture and the Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
(or Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, par[a]ousia) of Christ are separate events, while in post-tribulationism 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 many Roman Catholic theologians, do not believe in a "time of trouble" period as usually described by tribulationists, but rather that there will be a near utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n period led by the Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
.
Many other groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, do not believe in a Rapture at any point. According to Jehovah's Witnesses, the Great Tribulation is soon to arrive. This period will see the fall of Babylon the Great, the Great Harlot, as spoken of in Revelation. After Babylon the Great has been removed, they say, the world powers shall move against God's chosen people for a short while. This will then usher in the ending of this "world" (not the earth, but the removal of all those who do not wish to follow God by standards) according to their understanding of . The Great Tribulation ends with the battle of Armageddon
Armageddon
Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
.
70th week of Daniel
According to Futurism, the 70th week of Daniel will occur at some point in the future, culminating in seven years of TribulationTribulation
The Great Tribulation refers to tumultuous events that are described during the "signs of the times", first mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet discourse...
(or 3.5 years depending on denomination), and the appearance of the Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
.
Such a thesis is paradigmatic for Dispensational Premillennialism. In contradistinction, Historic Premillennialism
Historic premillennialism
Historic premillennialism is the polemical designation which could be more objectively called post-tribulational premillennialism. The use of the term "historic" implies that this point of view is the historical view of premillennialists, while pre-tribulationism is a new theory...
may 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
Dispensationalists
Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
typically 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 (also known as the "gap theory" of Daniel 9). The seventieth week of the prophecy is expected to commence after the rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
of the church, which will incorporate the establishment of an economic system using the number '666', the reign of the beast (the Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
), the false religious system (the harlot), the Great Tribulation and Armageddon
Armageddon
Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
.
Controversy exists regarding the antecedent of he in Daniel 9:27. Many within the ranks of premillennialism
Premillennialism
Premillennialism in Christian end-times theology is the belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for his millennial reign, at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it holds that Jesus’ physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration...
do not affirm the "confirmation of the covenant" is made by Jesus Christ (as do many Amillennarians
Amillennialism
Amillennialism is a view in Christian end-times theology named for its rejection of the theory that Jesus Christ will have a thousand-year long, physical reign on the earth...
) but that the antecedent of "he" in vs. 27 refers back to vs. 26 ("the prince who is to come"—i.e., the Antichrist). Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
will 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
See also
- Christian EschatologyChristian eschatologyChristian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
- Mid-tribulation rapture
- MillenarianismMillenarianismMillenarianism is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming major transformation of society, after which all things will be changed, based on a one-thousand-year cycle. The term is more generically used to refer to any belief centered around 1000 year intervals...
- Post Tribulation
- Progressive dispensationalismProgressive dispensationalismIn evangelical Christian theology, progressive dispensationalism is a variation of traditional dispensationalism. All dispensationalists view the dispensations as chronologically successive. Progressive dispensationalists, in addition to viewing the dispensations as chronological successive, also...
- Summary of Christian eschatological differences
- The RaptureRaptureThe rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....