Historicism (Christianity)

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Historicism is a method of interpretation in Christian eschatology which attempts to associate biblical prophecies with actual historical events and identify symbolic beings with historical persons or societies. The main texts of interest are apocalyptic literature, such as the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation, and historicist methods have been applied to ancient Jewish history, the Roman Empire, Mohammedism, the Papacy, the Modern era and even into the End time.

The historicist approach has been used in attempts to predict the date of the end of the world. An example of this is seen in post-Reformation Britain in the works of Charles Wesley who predicted that the end of the world would occur in 1794, based on his analysis of the Book of Revelation. In nineteenth century America, William Miller proposed that the end of the world would occur on the 22nd of October, 1844, based on a historicist model used with Daniel 8:14. Miller’s historicist approach to the Book of Daniel spawned a national movement in the United States known as Millerism. Some of the Millerites eventually organized the Seventh-day Adventist Church.[1] This denomination continues to maintain a historicist reading of biblical prophecy as essential to its eschatology.[2]

One of the most influential aspects of the Protestant's historicist paradigm was the speculation that the Pope could be Antichrist. This view really popularized in the eighteenth century. In response to the historicist approach, Catholicism developed the preterist and futurist approaches to apocalyptic literature. All of these approaches, in Christianity, have been designed to suit their own ends, whether Protestant or Catholic.[3]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early historical interpretations

Prophetic commentaries in the early church were often partial or incomplete, usually interpreting individual passages rather than entire books. The earliest complete commentary on the book of Revelation was carried out by Victorinus in 300 AD, considered to be one of the earliest Historicist commentators.[4][5] An overview of the various prophetic expositions from the third century to the fifth centuries demonstrates that prophecies were uniformly interpreted within a Historicist framework by the Latin (later Catholic) writers.[6][7][8]

Looking to the future fulfillment of certain prophetic passages, Christian theologians concluded that the events of Biblical prophecy (especially as contained in the books of Daniel and Revelation) encompassed the entire Church Age from the ascension of Christ to his second advent.[9]

Throughout the medieval era the Historicist interpretation became increasingly modified and developed by the expositions of Andreas, Primasius (both 6th century), Bede (730 AD), Anspert, Arethas, Haymo, and Berengaud (all of the ninth century).[10]

[edit] Historicism up to the Reformation

This broad form of Historicism held sway in Christianity from the 4th Century until the Reformation. Prefiguring the revolt that was about to come, the 10th century Catholic bishop Arnulf of Orleans was the first to apply the 'man of sin' prophecy in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9 to the papacy.[10][11] The same interpretation was given by the Catholic abbot Joachim of Floris in 1190[10] and the archbishop Eberhard II in 1240.

Out of the Reformation and Counter Reformation, Reformers and Catholics devised different schemes of interpretation, which they each used to claim that the other was the apostate church. From the Reformers arose the historicist paradigm. As such, the Pro-Catholic positions took root when the Jesuit Doctor of Theology, Francisco Ribera[12] proposed Futurism in 1590, as well as the Spanish Jesuit Luis de Alcazar who proposed Preterism.[13][14][15][16]

[edit] Protestant historicist interpretations

The Protestant reformation was born of the rediscovery of Christ's salvation and identifying the papacy as the Antichrist.[17] Protestant historicists saw prophecy fulfilled down through the centuries and into the modern era. Rather than expecting a single Antichrist to rule the earth during a future Tribulation period, Martin Luther, John Calvin and other Protestant Reformers saw the Antichrist as a present feature in the world of their time, fulfilled in the papacy. They were unanimous in this interpretation lending emphasis to their reformation. It led them to protest against Rome and it became their rally and battle cry.[18]

Controversial features of the Reformationist Historicist interpretations is the identification of the Antichrist (1 and 2 John), the Beasts of Revelation 13, the Man of Sin or Man of Lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2, the "Little horn" of Daniel 7 and 8, and the Whore of Babylon (Revelation 17) with the Roman Catholic Church, the Papacy and Papal States, and each successive Pope himself.

[edit] Modern historicism

The 19th century was a significant watershed in the history of prophetic thought. While the historicist paradigm--together with its pre- or post-millennialism, the year-day principle, and the view of the papal Antichrist—was dominant in English Protestant scholarship during much of the period from the Reformation to the middle of the nineteenth century (and continues to find expression in some groups today), it was not the only one on offer in the broader pre- or non-critical marketplace.[19] Arising in Great Britain and Scotland, William Kelly and other Brethren became the leading exponents of dispensationalist premillennial eschatology.[20] By 1826 literalist interpretation of prophecy took hold and dispensationalism saw the light of day[21] The dispensationalist mode of interpretation derived from the historicist model of interpreting Daniel and Revelation and the theory that there was a gap in prophetic fulfillment of prophecy proposed by Futurism, but dispensationalism took a decidedly anti-Catholic position.

[edit] Advocates of historicism

Notable advocates and influential expositors of the historicist method in prophetic theology, are as follows:

[edit] Historicist views of Daniel

[edit] Visions of Daniel

Main article: Four kingdoms of Daniel#Traditional view

The Protestant historicist interpretation of the four kingdoms, in the Book of Daniel, is the following traditional view: Neo-Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and the Roman Empire.[33] Additionally, the "little horn" in Daniel 7:8 and 8:9 was viewed by historicists as the Papacy.

According to Seventh-day Adventists, the reference to changing "times and law" (Daniel 7:25) refers to the change of the Christian sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, and the attack on the sanctuary (Daniel 8:11) to the mediatorial ministry of Roman Catholic priests.[34] The "time, times and half a time" (Daniel 7:25) represents a period of 1260 years spanning 538 CE and 1798 CE, when the Roman Catholic Church dominated the Christian world.[35] The feet of the statue in Daniel 2, made of mixed iron and clay, represent modern Europe.[36] The "cleansing" of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 (KJV) and judgment scene in Daniel 7:9-10 refer to an investigative judgment beginning in 1844.

[edit] Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

The historicist view of Adventists on the prophecy of seventy weeks, in Daniel 9, stretches from 457 BCE to 34 CE, and that the final "week" of the prophecy refers to the events of Jesus Christ's ministry.[37]

The historicist view of Jehovah's Witnesses on the prophecy of seventy weeks is that the timeframe spanned from 455 BCE to 29 CE, with the final "week" being fulfilled by 36 CE.[38][39][40]

[edit] Historicist views of Matthew

Great Tribulation
Main article: Great Tribulation

Historicists see Matthew's reference to "great tribulation" (Matthew 24:29) as parallel to Revelation 6:12-13, having ended when the signs and wonders began in the late 18th century.[41]

Historicists believe that mankind has always been in the Tribulation. This view is also called Classical Posttribulationism, an original theory of the Post-tribulation rapture view which holds the position that the church has always been in the tribulation because, during its entire existence, it has always suffered persecution and trouble. They believe that the tribulation is not a literal future event.[42][43]

Historicist have also applied the Tribulation to the period known as "persecution of the saints" as related to Daniel 7 and Revelation 13.

[edit] Historicist views of Revelation

[edit] Influential commentaries

Notable and influential commentaries by Protestant scholars having historicist views of the Book of Revelation, were:

[edit] Seven churches

See also: Seven churches of Asia

The non-separatist Puritan, Thomas Brightman, was the first to propose a historicist interpretation of the Seven Churches of Revelation 2-3.[51] He outlined how the seven Churches represent the seven ages of the Church of Christ.[29] A typical historicist view of the Church of Christ spans several periods of church history, each similar to the original church, as follows:

  1. The age of Ephesus is the apostolic age.
  2. The age of Smyrna is the persecution of the Church through A.D. 313.
  3. The age of Pergamus is the compromised Church lasting until A.D. 500.
  4. The age of Thyatira is the rise of the papacy to the Reformation.
  5. The age of Sardis is the age of the Reformation.
  6. The age of Philadelphia is the age of evangelism.
  7. The age of Laodicea represents liberal churches in a "present day" context.

The age of Laodicea is typically identified as occurring in the same time period as the expositor. Examples of this is how Brightman viewed the age of Laodicea as the England of his day. In the Millerite movement, each church represented a dateable period of ecclesiastical history. Thus, William Miller dated the age of Laodicea from 1798–1843, followed by the End of days in 1844.[29]

[edit] Seven seals

See also: Seven seals

The traditional historicist view of the Seven Seals spanned the time period from John of Patmos to Early Christendom. Protestant scholars such as, Campegius Vitringa,[52] Alexander Keith, and Christopher Wordsworth did not limit the timeframe to the 4th Century. Some have even viewed the opening of the Seals right into the early modern period.[53]

Seventh-day Adventists view the first six seals as representing events that took place during the Christian era up until 1844.[54] Contemporary-historicists view all of Revelation as it relates to John’s own time (with the allowance of making some guesses as to the future).[55]

[edit] Seven trumpets

See also: Seven trumpets

The Adventist historicist view of the first four trumpets are identified with the pagan invasions of Western Christendom in the 5th century A.D. (by the Visigoths, Vandals and Huns), while the fifth and sixth trumpets have been identified with the assault on Eastern Christendom by the Muslim armies and Ottoman Turks during the Middle Ages.[56] The symbolism of Revelation 6:12-13 are said to have been fulfilled in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the dark day of May 19, 1780, and the Leonids meteor shower of November 13, 1833.[54]

[edit] Vision of Chapter 10

The Adventist historicist view of the vision of the angel with the little book, in Revelation 10, represents the Millerite movement; the "bitterness" of the book (Rev 10:10) represents the Great Disappointment.[56]

[edit] Two witnesses

See also: Two witnesses

The Adventist historicist view of the vision of the two witnesses in Revelation 11, correspond to the events of the French revolution.[56]

[edit] Beasts of Revelation

See also: Beast of Revelation

The Adventist historicist view of Revelation 12-13 concerns a prophecy about the forces of evil viewed to have occurred in the middle ages and End of times. The first beast of Revelation 13 (from the sea) is considered to be the Papacy, and the second beast (from the earth) symbolizes the United States of America. The "image of the beast" represents Protestant churches who form an alliance with the Papacy, and the "mark of the beast" refers to a future universal Sunday law.[57] Seventh-Day adventists view the Great whore of Babylon, in Revelation 17-18, as Roman Catholicism[58]

[edit] Claims of biblical identifying characteristics

Nine identifying characteristics of Antichrist are found in Daniel 7.[59]

  • The "little horn" or kingdom "came up among them"--the 10 horns which were the kingdoms of Western Europe (Daniel 7:8). So it would be a little kingdom somewhere in Western Europe.
  • It would have a man at its head who could speak for it (Daniel 7:8).
  • It would pluck up or uproot three kingdoms (Daniel 7:8).
  • It would be "diverse" or different from the other 10 kingdoms (Daniel 7:24).
  • It would make war with and "wear out" or persecute the saints (Daniel 7:21, 25).
  • It would emerge from the pagan Roman empire—the fourth world kingdom (Daniel 7:7, 8).
  • God's people (the saints) would "be given into his hand" for "a time and times and the dividing of time" (Daniel 7:25).
  • It would "speak great words against" or blaspheme God (Daniel 7:25). In Revelation 13:5, the Bible says the same power speaks "great things and blasphemies."
  • It would "think to change times and laws." Daniel 7:25.

[edit] Development of idea in history

Over time, Protestant Reformers saw these characteristics as matching the papacy. (See below for statements).

[edit] Daniel 7:8 - "came up among" the 10 kingdoms of Western Europe.

Main article: Holy See

The geographical location of the papal power was in Rome, Italy—the very heart of the territory of Western Europe.

[edit] Daniel 7:8 - It would have a man at its head who speaks for it.

Main article: Pope

The papacy meets this identifying mark because it does have one man at the head (the pope) who speaks for it.

[edit] Daniel 7:8 - Uproot three kingdoms.

Main articles: Vandals, Heruli, and Ostrogoths

The emperors of Western Europe were largely Catholic and supported the papacy in its growth and authority. Three Arian kingdoms, however, did not support the papacy—the Vandals, Heruli, and Ostrogoths. So the Catholic emperors decided they must be subdued or destroyed. Here is how Dr. Mervyn Maxwell, a theologian and historian, described the results in volume 1, page 129, of his book God Cares: "The Catholic emperor Zeno (474-491) arranged a treaty with the Ostrogoths in 487 which resulted in the eradication of the kingdom of the Arian Heruls in 493. And the Catholic emperor Justinian (527-565) exterminated the Arian Vandals in 534 and significantly broke the power of the Arian Ostrogoths in 538. Thus were Daniel's three horns --the Heruls, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths--'plucked up by the roots.' "

[edit] Daniel 7:24 - Different Kingdom

Main article: Holy See

Daniel 7:24 states it would be "diverse" or different from the other kingdoms. The papacy came on the scene as a religious power and was totally different from the secular nature of the other 10 kingdoms.

[edit] Daniel 7:25 - Persecution of the saints.

In The History of the Inquisition of Spain, D. Ivan Antonio Llorente provides these figures from the Spanish Inquisition alone:

  • 31,912 persons were condemned and perished in the flames.
  • 241,450 persons were condemned to severe penalties.

[edit] Daniel 7:7-8 - Emerges From Roman Empire

Main articles: Roman Empire and Roman Catholic Church

It would emerge from the fourth kingdom of iron—the pagan Roman Empire. Two historian authorities have stated:

1. "The mighty Catholic Church was little more than the Roman Empire baptised ... The very capital of the old Roman Empire became the capital of the Christian empire. The office of Pontifex Maximus was continued in that of the pope."[60]

2. "Whatever Roman elements the barbarians and Arians left ... [came] under the protection of the Bishop of Rome, who was the chief person there after the emperor's disappearance. The Roman Church in this way privily pushed itself into the place of the Roman World-Empire, of which it is the actual continuation."[61]

[edit] Daniel 7:25 - Times time and half a time

Main articles: 1260 day prophecy and Day-year principle

God's people (the saints) would "be given into his hand" for "a time and times and the dividing of time." (Daniel 7:25) Several things need clarification in connection with this point:

1. A time is a year, times is two years, and the dividing of time is a half-year. The Amplified Bible translates it: "Three and one-half years."[62]

2. This same time period is mentioned seven times (Daniel 7:25; 12:7; Revelation 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14; 13:5) in the books of Daniel and Revelation: three times as a time, times, and half a time; twice as 42 months; and twice as 1,260 days. Based on the 30-day calendar used by the Jews, these time periods are all the same amount of time: 3 1/2 years = 42 months = 1,260 days.

3. One prophetic day equals one literal year (Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34).

4. Thus, the little horn (Antichrist) was to have power over the saints for 1,260 prophetic days or 1,260 literal years.

5. The rule of the papacy began in A.D. 538, when the last of the three opposing Arian kingdoms was uprooted. Its rule continued until 1798 when Napoleon's general, Berthier, took the pope captive with hopes of destroying both Pope Pius VI and the political, secular power of the papacy. This period of time is an exact fulfillment of the 1,260-year prophecy. The blow was a deadly wound for the papacy, but that wound began to heal and continues healing today.

6. This same period of persecution is mentioned in Matthew 24:21 as the worst period of persecution God's people will ever experience. Verse 22 tells us it was so devastating that not one soul would have survived if God had not shortened it. But God did shorten it. The persecution ended long before the pope was taken captive in 1798.

[edit] Daniel 7:25 - Blasphemy

Main article: Blasphemy

Daniel 7:25 states it would speak "great words" of blasphemy "against the most High [God]." Blasphemy has two definitions in Scripture:

1. Claiming to forgive sins (Luke 5:21).

2. Claiming to be God (John 10:33).

The Catholic Catechism states "Does the Priest truly forgive the sins, or does he only declare that they are remitted? The Priest does really and truly forgive the sins in virtue of the power given to him by Christ."[63] It could be argued that the Papacy undermines Jesus by setting up a system of confession to an earthly priest, and as such bypasses Jesus, the High Priest (Hebrews 3:1; 8:1, 2) and Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5).

In Pope Leo XIII's Encyclical Letter he states "We [the popes] hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty."[64] Here is another: "The pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ, Himself, hidden under the veil of flesh."[65]

[edit] Pre-Reformation use

[edit] The Waldensians

Reinerius Saccho (died 1259), a Roman Catholic who wrote two reports for the Inquisition, Summa de Catharis et Pauperibus de Lugduno (roughly) "Of the Sects of Modern Heretics" (1254)[66] States that the Waldensians believed that "the Church of Rome is the Harlot in the Apocalypse".[66] That the Pope is the head of all errors.[66] And that no one is greater than another in the church. Matt. 23. "All of you are brethren."[66]

[edit] Articles of the Lollards

The first of the twenty-five articles of the Lollards from 1388 is:

The first, that this Pope Urban the Sixth hath not the power of Saint Peter in earth, but they affirm him to be son of Anti-christ, and that no true pope was from the line of Silvester pope.[67]

Passional Christi und Antichristi, by Lucas Cranach the Elder, from Luther's 1521 Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist. The Pope is signing and selling indulgences.

Some of the Spiritual Franciscans considered the Emperor Frederick II a positive Antichrist who would clean the Church from riches and clergy.[68]

[edit] Protestant Reformation

[edit] Views of the reformers

[edit] Martin Luther

Martin Luther (1483–1546) (Lutheran): "Luther ... proved, by the revelations of Daniel and St. John, by the epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. Jude, that the reign of Antichrist, predicted and described in the Bible, was the Papacy ... And all the people did say, Amen! A holy terror seized their souls. It was Antichrist whom they beheld seated o­n the pontifical throne. This new idea, which derived greater strength from the prophetic descriptions launched forth by Luther into the midst of his contemporaries, inflicted the most terrible blow o­n Rome." [69]

Based on prophetic studies, Martin Luther finally declared, "We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist." (Aug. 18, 1520).[70]

[edit] John Calvin

John Calvin (1509–1564) (Presbyterian): "Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt... I shall briefly show that (Paul's words in II Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy." [71]

[edit] John Knox

John Knox (1505–1572) (Scotch Presbyterian): John Knox sought to counteract "that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church." As with Luther, he finally concluded that the Papacy was "the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks." [72]

[edit] Thomas Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556) (Anglican): "Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons." (Referring to prophecies in Revelation and Daniel.) [73]

[edit] Roger Williams

Roger Williams (1603–1683) (First Baptist Pastor in America): Pastor Williams spoke of the Pope as "the pretended Vicar of Christ o­n earth, who sits as God over the Temple of God, exalting himself not o­nly above all that is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, yea, and God himself...speaking against the God of heaven, thinking to change times and laws; but he is the son of perdition (II Thess. 2)." [74]

[edit] The Westminster Confession of Faith

The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647): "There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition that exalteth himself in the church against Christ and all that is called God." [75]

[edit] Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather (1663–1728) (Congregational Theologian): "The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church: and in the Pope of Rome, all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them." [76]

[edit] John Wesley

John Wesley (1703–1791) (Methodist): Speaking of the Papacy, John Wesley wrote, "He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers... He it is...that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped...claiming the highest power, and highest honour...claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone." [77]

[edit] Protestant Reformers

A Great Cloud of Witnesses: "Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, Calvin, Cranmer; in the seventeenth century, Bunyan, the translators of the King James Bible and the men who published the Westminster and Baptist confessions of Faith; Sir Isaac Newton, Wesley, Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards; and more recently Spurgeon, Bishop J.C. Ryle and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones; these men among countless others, all saw the office of the Papacy as the antichrist." [78]

[edit] The Centuriators of Magdeburg

The Centuriators of Magdeburg, a group of Lutheran scholars in Magdeburg headed by Matthias Flacius, wrote the 12-volume "Magdeburg Centuries" to discredit the papacy and identify the pope as the Antichrist. The fifth round of talks in the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue notes,

In calling the pope the "antichrist," the early Lutherans stood in a tradition that reached back into the eleventh century. Not only dissidents and heretics but even saints had called the bishop of Rome the "antichrist" when they wished to castigate his abuse of power.[79]

[edit] Reformation confessions of faith

The Reformation allowed for more confessions of faith to be written. Previously, this was prevented by a prohibition on creed writing in the Council of Nicea. Lutherans, Reformed, Anabaptists, and Methodists all included references to the Papacy as the Antichrist in their confessions of faith:

Smalcald Articles, Article four (1537)

...the Pope is the very Antichrist, who has exalted himself above, and opposed himself against Christ because he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power, which, nevertheless, is nothing, and is neither ordained nor commanded by God. This is, properly speaking to exalt himself above all that is called God as Paul says, 2 Thess. 2, 4. Even the Turks or the Tartars, great enemies of Christians as they are, do not do this, but they allow whoever wishes to believe in Christ, and take bodily tribute and obedience from Christians... Therefore, just as little as we can worship the devil himself as Lord and God, we can endure his apostle, the Pope, or Antichrist, in his rule as head or lord. For to lie and to kill, and to destroy body and soul eternally, that is wherein his papal government really consists... The Pope, however, prohibits this faith, saying that to be saved a person must obey him. This we are unwilling to do, even though on this account we must die in God's name. This all proceeds from the fact that the Pope has wished to be called the supreme head of the Christian Church by divine right. Accordingly he had to make himself equal and superior to Christ, and had to cause himself to be proclaimed the head and then the lord of the Church, and finally of the whole world, and simply God on earth, until he has dared to issue commands even to the angels in heaven...[80]
Christus, by Lucas Cranach. This woodcut of John 13:14-17 is from Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist. Cranach shows Jesus kissing Peter's foot during the footwashing. This stands in contrast to the opposing woodcut, where the Pope demands others kiss his feet.
Passional Christi und Antichristi, by the Lutheran Lucas Cranach the Elder. This woodcut of the traditional practice of kissing the Pope's toe is from Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist. The two fingers the Pope is holding up symbolizes his claim to be the Church's substitute for Christ's earthly presence.

Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope (1537)

...Now, it is manifest that the Roman pontiffs, with their adherents, defend [and practice] godless doctrines and godless services. And the marks [all the vices] of Antichrist plainly agree with the kingdom of the Pope and his adherents. For Paul, in describing Antichrist to the Thessalonians, calls him 2 Thess. 2, 3: an adversary of Christ, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God. He speaks therefore of one ruling in the Church, not of heathen kings, and he calls this one the adversary of Christ, because he will devise doctrine conflicting with the Gospel, and will assume to himself divine authority...[81]

National Covenant of 1580

...And therefore we abhor and detest all contrary religion and doctrine; but chiefly all kind of Papistry in general and particular heads, even as they are now damned and confuted by the word of God and Kirk of Scotland. But, in special, we detest and refuse the usurped authority of that Roman Antichrist upon the scriptures of God, upon the kirk, the civil magistrate, and consciences of men; all his tyrannous laws made upon indifferent things against our Christian liberty; his erroneous doctrine...[82]

Westminster Confession (1646)

25.6. There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ: nor can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition, that exalts himself in the Church against Christ, and all that is called God.[83]

1689 Baptist Confession of Faith

26.4. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the church, in whom, by the appointment of the Father, all power for the calling, institution, order or government of the church, is invested in a supreme and sovereign manner; neither can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof, but is that antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ.

In 1754, John Wesley published his Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, which is currently an official Doctrinal Standard of the United Methodist Church.[84] In his notes on Revelation chapter 13, he commented,

"The whole succession of Popes from Gregory VII. are undoubtedly antichrist. Yet this hinders not, but that the last Pope in this succession will be more eminently the antichrist, the man of sin, adding to that of his predecessors a peculiar degree of wickedness from the bottomless pit. This individual person, as Pope, is the seventh head of the beast; as the man of sin, he is the eighth, or the beast himself."[85]

[edit] 1800 To Present Day

[edit] Confessional Lutherans

Confessional Lutheran church bodies, such as the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod and the Church of the Lutheran Confession teach that the Roman papacy or office of the pope is the Antichrist, including this article of faith as part of a quia rather than quatenus subscription to the Book of Concord. In 1932 the LCMS adopted A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod. Statement 43, Of the Antichrist:

43. As to the Antichrist we teach that the prophecies of the Holy Scriptures concerning the Antichrist, 2 Thess. 2:3-12; 1 John 2:18, have been fulfilled in the Pope of Rome and his dominion. All the features of the Antichrist as drawn in these prophecies, including the most abominable and horrible ones, for example, that the Antichrist "as God sitteth in the temple of God," 2 Thess. 2:4; that he anathematizes the very heart of the Gospel of Christ, that is, the doctrine of the forgiveness of sins by grace alone, for Christ's sake alone, through faith alone, without any merit or worthiness in man (Rom. 3:20-28; Gal. 2:16); that he recognizes only those as members of the Christian Church who bow to his authority; and that, like a deluge, he had inundated the whole Church with his antichristian doctrines till God revealed him through the Reformation -- these very features are the outstanding characteristics of the Papacy. (Cf. Smalcald Articles, Triglot, p. 515, Paragraphs 39-41; p. 401, Paragraph 45; M. pp. 336, 258.) Hence we subscribe to the statement of our Confessions that the Pope is "the very Antichrist." (Smalcald Articles, Triglot, p. 475, Paragraph 10; M., p. 308.)[86]

[edit] Lutheran Churches of the Reformation

The Lutheran Churches of the Reformation,[87] the Concordia Lutheran Conference,[88] the Church of the Lutheran Confession,[89] and the Illinois Lutheran Conference[90] all hold to Brief Statement.

[edit] Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

In 1959 the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) formally issued its Statement on the Antichrist, a doctrinal statement that declared, "we reaffirm the statement of the Lutheran Confessions, that 'the Pope is the very Antichrist'".[91]

[edit] Seventh-day Adventists

Seventh-day Adventists teach that the anti-Christ is the office of the Papacy.[92] In 1798, the French General Berthier exiled the Pope and took away all his authority, which was restored in 1813, destroyed again in 1870 and later restored in 1929. This is taken as a fulfillment of the prophecy that the Beast of Revelation would receive a deadly wound but that the wound would be healed. Adventists have attributed the wounding and resurgence in Revelation 13:3 to the papacy, referring to General Louis Berthier's capture of Pope Pius VI in 1798 and the pope's subsequent death in 1799.

Adventists have interpreted the number of the beast, 666, as corresponding to the title Vicarius Filii Dei of the Pope. The number 666 is calculated by using gematria.

V I C A R I V S F I L I I D E I TOTAL
5 1 100 0 0 1 5 0 0 1 50 1 1 500 0 1 666

In 1866, Uriah Smith was the first to propose the interpretation to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.[93] See Review and Herald 28:196, November 20, 1866. In The United States in the Light of Prophecy he wrote

The pope wears upon his pontifical crown in jeweled letters, this title: "Vicarius Filii Dei," "Viceregent of the Son of God;" [sic] the numerical value of which title is just six hundred and sixty-six. The most plausible supposition we have ever seen on this point is that here we find the number in question. It is the number of the beast, the papacy; it is the number of his name, for he adopts it as his distinctive title; it is the number of a man, for he who bears it is the "man of sin."[94]

Prominent Adventist scholar J. N. Andrews also adopted this view.[95] Uriah Smith maintained his interpretation in the various editions of Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, which was influential in the church.[93]

Various documents from the Vatican contain wording such as "Adorandi Dei Filii Vicarius, et Procurator quibus numen aeternum summam Ecclesiae sanctae dedit" [96] Which as translated is "As the worshipful Son of God's Vicar and Caretaker, to whom the eternal divine will has given the highest rank of the holy Church".

Samuele Bacchiocchi an Adventist scholar, and only Adventist to be awarded a gold medal by Pope Paul VI for the distinction of summa cum laude (Latin for "with highest praise").[97] has documented the pope using such a title.[98][99]

We noted that contrary to some Catholic sources who deny the use of Vicarius Filii Dei as a papal title, we have found this title to have been used in official Catholic documents to support the ecclesiastical authority and temporal sovereignty of the pope. Thus the charge that Adventists fabricated the title to support their prophetic interpretation of 666, is unfair and untrue.

— ' Samuele Bacchiocchi, http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/et_196.htm slide 116

[edit] Ian Paisley

Ian Paisley, MEP and the leader of the Free Presbyterian Church, loudly denounced then-Pope John Paul II as an antichrist in 1988 while the pontiff was giving a speech at a sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

[edit] Criticism

Historicist interpretations have been criticized for inconstancies, conjectures, and speculations due to the complete lack of agreement about various outlines of church history. This is because the historicist readings of Revelation have constantly been revised as new events occur and new figures emerge on the world scene.[100]

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Newport 2000, p. 22
  2. ^ Holbrook 1983, p. [Provide page number]
  3. ^ Newport 2000, pp. 21–2
  4. ^ "One of the very first commentators on Revelation, Victorinus of Pettau (c. 300), was a proponent of this method.", Desrosiers, "An introduction to Revelation", p. 32 (2000).
  5. ^ "His reading was historicist in the sense that he held that the images and symbols of the book could be tied to specific historical events.", Rusconi, "Opere di Gioacchino da Fiore. Strumenti", p. 12 (1996).
  6. ^ "Two primary camps, historicist and allegorist, had emerged by the late third century.", Cain U& Lenski, "The power of religion in late antiquity", p. 6 (2009).
  7. ^ Thomas Cornman, "The development of third-century hermeneutical views in relation to eschatological systems," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 30.3 (Sept. 1987): 279-287
  8. ^ F.F. Bruce, "Eschatology in the Apostolic Fathers," D. Nieman & M. Schatkin, eds
  9. ^ "The early church fathers largely expected the church to be suffering and persecuted when the Lord returns. However, they also believed in the imminent return of Christ, which is a central feature of pretribulational thought.", LaHaye & Hindson (eds.), "The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy: Over 140 Topics from the World's Foremost Prophecy Experts", p. 316 (2004).
  10. ^ a b c EB Elliott, 'Horae Apocalypticae', volume IV, Appendix I, fifth edition, 1862
  11. ^ Leroy Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our Fathers, volume I (1950) pages 541-542
  12. ^ In Sacrum Beati Ioannis Apostoli & Evangelistiae Apocalypsin Commentari
  13. ^ Investigation of the Hidden Sense of the Apocalypse
  14. ^ The Catholic Origins of Futurism and Preterism
  15. ^ Boyd & Eddy, "Across the spectrum: understanding issues in evangelical theology" (2002)
  16. ^ Harrison, general editor, Ronald F. Youngblood ; consulting editors, F.F. Bruce, R.K.; Thomas Nelson Publishers (1995-08-15). Nelson's new illustrated Bi ble dictionary (null ed.). Nashville: T. Nelson. pp. 1140–1141. ISBN 978-0-8407-2071-9. 
  17. ^ Froom 1948, p. 243, "The Reformation ... was really born of a twofold discovery--first, the rediscovery of Christ and His salvation; and second, the discovery of the identity of Antichrist and his subversions."
  18. ^ Froom 1948, pp. 244, 245, "The reformers were unanimous in its acceptance. And it was this interpretation of prophecy that lent emphasis to their reformatory action. It led them to protest against Rome with extraordinary strength and undaunted courage. ... This was the rallying point and the battle cry that made the Reformation unconquerable."
  19. ^ Newport, "Apocalypse and millennium: studies in biblical eisegesis", pp. 14-15 (2000)
  20. ^ McClune, foreword to "An Exposition of the Book of Isaiah", in Central Bible Quarterly (22.4.28), 1979 (4)
  21. ^ Stitzinger, "The Rapture in Twenty Centuries of Biblical Interpretation", Master's Seminary Journal (13.2.168), 2002
  22. ^ Glabach, Wilfried E. (2007). Reclaiming the book of Revelation : a suggestion of new readings in the local Church. New York: P. Lang. p. 11. ISBN 9781433100543. 
  23. ^ a b c d e f Girdlestone, Henry (1847) (Digital). Notes on the Apocalypse. London: William Edward Painter. p. 4. http://books.google.com/books?id=C_QDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA4&dq=cunninghame+apocalypse&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved Oct 3, 2006. 
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cook, Frederick Charles (1881). Frederick Charles Cook, M. A.. ed (Digital). The holy Bible, authorized version, with comm (a revision of the tr. by bishops and other clergy of the Anglican Church, Vol. IV ed.). London: John Murray. pp. 582–3. http://books.google.com/books?id=zKcGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA582&dq=f.+c.+cook+1881&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved Feb 21, 2007. 
  25. ^ The Prophecies of Daniel & the Apocalypse. 1733
  26. ^ Acts to Revelation, vol. 6 in Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell
  27. ^ Commentary of the Whole Bible
  28. ^ Henry & Scott (1838). William Jenks. ed (Digital). The comprehensive commentary on the Holy Bible: (containing the text according to the authorized version, Volume 6 ed.). Boston: Fessenden & Co. p. 155. http://books.google.com/books?id=30FVAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA1&dq=biography+of+biblical+writers&hl=en#v=onepage&q=biography%20of%20biblical%20writers&f=false. Retrieved Jan 8, 2008. 
  29. ^ a b c Moyise, edited by Steve (2001). Studies in the book of Revelation. Edinburgh: T & T Clark. p. 24. ISBN 9780567088147. 
  30. ^ Froom 1946, pp. 744–5.
  31. ^ Revelation in Notes on the New Testament; Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1884–85
  32. ^ The Seventh Vial
  33. ^ McDowell,, Sean [general editor] (2009). Apologetics study Bible for students : hard questions, straight answers. Nashville, Tenn: Holman Bible Publishers. ISBN 9781586404932. |p=899
  34. ^ Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (2005). Seventh-day Adventists believe (2nd ed). Pacific Press. pp. 356–357, 293–295. 
  35. ^ Seventh-day Adventists believe (2nd ed), pp. 184-185
  36. ^ Seventh-day Adventists believe (2nd ed), p 376
  37. ^ Seventh-day Adventists believe (2nd ed), pp. 358-359
  38. ^ "11". Pay Attention to Daniel's Prophecy!. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. 
  39. ^ "How Daniel’s Prophecy Foretells the Messiah’s Arrival". Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. 2009. http://www.watchtower.org/e/bh/appendix_02.htm. 
  40. ^ Insight on the Scriptures (Vol. II ed.). Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. pp. 899–901. 
  41. ^ Smith, Uriah, Daniel and Revelation, pp.437-449
  42. ^ Benware, Paul N. Understanding End Times Prophecy: A Comprehensive Approach. Moody Publishers (Chicago, IL, USA). Ch. 13: The Posttribulation Rapture View. pg. 240
  43. ^ ESCHATOLOGY - Different Rapture Views  - Greg Rugh
  44. ^ Mede, Joseph (1627). Trans. by Robert Bransby Cooper. ed (Digital). Clavis Apocalyptica (A translation ed.). England. http://books.google.com/books?id=gvrCAIPC99kC&pg=PA1&dq=joseph+mede+The+Key+to+the+Apocalypse&hl=en#v=onepage&q=joseph%20mede%20The%20Key%20to%20the%20Apocalypse&f=false. Retrieved Apr 4, 2006. 
  45. ^ Eijnatten, Joris van (2003). p. 84. 
  46. ^ Daubuz, Charles (Copy, 1842). Peter Lancaster, Matthew Habershon. ed. A Symbolical Dictionary (Matthew Habershon's ed.). J. Nisbet & Co. p. vii. 
  47. ^ Keith, Alexander (1832) (Digital). The Signs of the Times (as denoted by Fulfilment of Historical Predictions, Traced down from the Babylonish Captivity to the Present Time, Second Edition, Vol. I ed.). Edinburgh: William Whyte & Co.. http://books.google.com/books?id=c5QHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=alexander+keith+apocalypse&hl=en#v=onepage&q=second%20seal&f=false. Retrieved Apr 16, 2007. 
  48. ^ Elliott, Edward Bishop (1847) (Digital). Horae Apocalypticae (or a Commentary on the Apoc., including also an Examination of Dan, Vol. I ed.). London: Seeley, Burnside, and Seeley. http://books.google.com/books?id=iYs-AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA6&dq=elliott's+letters+to+keith&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved May 19, 2009. 
  49. ^ Elliott, Edward Bishop (1848) (Digital). Vindiciae Horariae (Twelve letters to the Rev. Dr. Keith, in reply to his strictures on the "Horae apocalypticae" ed.). London: Seeleys. p. 296. http://books.google.com/books?id=iYs-AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=elliott's+letters+to+keith&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved Sep 5, 2007. 
  50. ^ Wordsworth, Christopher (1849) (Digital). Lectures on the Apocalypse (Hulsean Lectures 1848 on the Apocalypse ed.). London: Francis & John Rivington. http://books.google.com/books?id=CVANAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:0Jd_1u5XcTyztj#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved Aug 17, 2007. 
  51. ^ Thomas Brightman, The Works of Thomas Brightman, A Revelation of the Apocalypse (London: 1644), p. 40f
  52. ^ Eijnatten, Joris van (2003). Liberty and concord in the United Provinces : religious toleration and the public in the eighteenth-century Netherlands (null ed.). Leiden: Brill. p. 564. ISBN 978-90-04-12843-9. http://books.google.com/?id=pqYTE0KSg0wC. 
  53. ^ Cook, Frederick Charles (1881). See Joseph Tyso’s table from "An Exposition of the Books of Daniel and the Revelation". p. 583. http://books.google.com/books?id=zKcGAAAAQAAJ&dq=f.%20c.%20cook%201881&pg=PA583#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
  54. ^ a b Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (2005). Seventh-day Adventists Believe (2nd ed). Pacific Press. pp. 378–380. 
  55. ^ Newport 2000, p. 16
  56. ^ a b c SDA Bible commentary
  57. ^ Seventh-day Adventists Believe (2nd ed), pp. 190-197, 382
  58. ^ Seventh-day Adventists believe (2nd ed).
  59. ^ Who Is The AntiChrist?
  60. ^ Alexander Clarence Flick, The Rise of the Medieval Church, pp. 148, 149.
  61. ^ Adolf Harnack, What is Christianity? (New York: Putnam, second edition, revised, 1901), pp. 269, 270.
  62. ^ The Amplified Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan 1962.
  63. ^ Joseph Deharbe, S.J., A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion (New York: Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss, 1924), p. 279.
  64. ^ Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter "The Reunion of Christendom" (dated June 20, 1894) trans. in the Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII (New York: Benziger, 1903), p. 304.
  65. ^ R. Allen Anderson, Unfolding the Revelation, p. 137.
  66. ^ a b c d Reinarius Saccho, Of the Sects of the Modern Heretics 1254. e-text of this list of Waldensian beliefs
  67. ^ See On The Twenty Five Articles and English Historical reprints p.25
  68. ^ Marvin Harris. Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches. p. 196. 
  69. ^ Taken from J. H. Merle D'aubigne's History of the Reformation of the Sixteen Century, book vi, chapter xii, p. 215.
  70. ^ Taken from The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, by LeRoy Froom. Vol. 2., pg. 121.
  71. ^ Taken from Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin.
  72. ^ The Zurich Letters, by John Knox, pg. 199.
  73. ^ Works by Cranmer, Vol. 1, pp. 6-7.
  74. ^ The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, by Froom, Vol. 3, pg. 52.
  75. ^ Taken from Philip Schaff's, The Creeds of Christendom, With a History and Critical Notes, III, p. 658, 659, ch. 25, sec. 6.
  76. ^ Taken from The Fall of Babylon by Cotton Mather in Froom's book, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 3, pg. 113.
  77. ^ Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms, by John Wesley, pg. 110.
  78. ^ Taken from All Roads Lead to Rome, by Michael de Semlyen. Dorchestor House Publications, p. 205. 1991.
  79. ^ See Building Unity, edited by Burgess and Gross
  80. ^ Smalcald Articles, Article 4 in the Triglot translation of the Book of Concord
  81. ^ Treatise on the Power and in the Triglot translation of the Book of Concord
  82. ^ The Confession of Faith of Scotland, or The National Covenant
  83. ^ Col. 1:18; Matt. 28:18-20; Eph. 4:11-12; 2 Thess. 2:2-9
  84. ^ See Section 3 - Our Doctrinal Standards and General Rules
  85. ^ See section of the book commentating on the Book of Revelation on the United Methodist Church website, or Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, p.715 from Google Books
  86. ^ "Of the Antichrist". Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. 1932. http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=579. 
  87. ^ "Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod". Concordia Publishing House. 1932. http://www.lcrusa.org/brief_statement.htm. 
  88. ^ "Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod in the By-Gone Days of Its Orthodoxy". 1932. http://www.concordialutheranconf.com/doctrine/brief_1932.cfm. 
  89. ^ "A Brief Statement of our Doctrinal Position". 1932. http://clclutheran.org/library/BriefStatement.html. 
  90. ^ "Doctrinal Position". http://www.illinoislutheranconference.org/our-solid-foundation/doctrinal-position-of-the-ilc.lwp/odyframe.htm. 
  91. ^ "Statement on the Antichrist". http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?2617&collectionID=795&contentID=4441&shortcutID=5297. 
  92. ^ 666 Truth
  93. ^ a b Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, 223
  94. ^ Uriah Smith, The United States in the Light of Prophecy. Battle Creek, Michigan: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association (1884), 4th edition, p.224.
  95. ^ The Three Angels of Revelation XIV. 6-12, p.109. 1877 reprint. Cited from Adventist Bible Commentary
  96. ^ Decree of Paul VI elevating the Prefecture Apostolic of Bafia, Cameroon, to a Diocese: Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Commentarium Officiale, vol. LX (1968), n. 6, pp. 317-319. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. ISBN 8820960680, 9788820960681.
  97. ^ http://www.adventistarchives.org/docs/AAR/AAR19751027-V80-43__C.pdf#view=fit
  98. ^ http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/et_145.htm
  99. ^ http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/et_146.htm
  100. ^ Pate, J. Daniel Hays, J. Scott Duvall, C. Marvin (2009). Dictionary of Biblical Prophecy and End Times. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan. ISBN 9780310571049. 

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] External links

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