BEHOLD THE BEAST
home |
A LITTLE HISTORY
Following pasted with the permission of the author Ellis Skolfield.
You can open the printer frinedly PDF at the link here:
BIBLE PROPHECY IN HISTORY
From the early Church fathers until the Reformation, the generally
accepted view of Bible prophecy was "linear historic," that Revelation
was in the process of being fulfilled throughout the Christian Era. But in
the 16th and 17th centuries, two new views of Bible prophecy were
devised by Jesuit priests to stop the Reformers from teaching that the
Catholic Church hierarchy was probably the "whore of Babylon" of
Revelation 17:3-6.
(Jesuit No. 1) In 1591AD, the Jesuit Ribera invented the Futurist View.
He claimed that Revelation would not be fulfilled until the very end of the
Christian Era. Ribera taught a rebuilt Babylon, a rebuilt temple in
Jerusalem and an end-time Antichrist, etc., etc. Sound familiar? It should,
Ribera is the father of the prophetic views taught by such notables as Tim
LaHaye, Hal Lindsey, Jack Van Impe and Benny Hinn.
(Jesuit No. 2) The Reformers didn't buy Ribera's attempt at creative
theology so in 1614AD, the Jesuit Alcazar came up with an even more
dubious view. He claimed that the book of Revelation was fulfilled by
70AD with the fall of Jerusalem. Preterism, as the view is now called,
endorses Replacement Theology: a belief that God is totally finished with
the physical descendants of Abraham and that the Church is the true Israel
of the Christian Era. A cerebral doctrine, perhaps, but the new nation of
Israel in the Holy Land makes the view untenable.
BIBLE PROPHECY AND THE CHURCH
Obviously, those early Jesuits had a doctrinal axe to grind and the
Reformers knew it, so one wonders why so many Protestant churches now
endorse 400 year old Jesuit doctrines that don't fit today's realities. For
example, during the 80's, the Cold War was just inches from running hot
and the Church's prophetic leaders were trumpeting -- in unison -- that the
USSR was the final enemy of the Church. Supposedly, the Seven Year
Great Tribulation was just about to begin, and Antichrist? Oh, he was
lurking out there too, just itching to take over the world. As their story
went, Antichrist had to be the Pope or maybe one of those godless leaders
from the USSR.
Well guess what, those prophetic hobnobs soon discovered they were
wrong, but they clung to their faulty doctrines anyway, and still do.
Skolfield is the only Bible teacher we know of, who, because of Bible
prophecy, had the Islamic World on his radar screen in the late 70's.
BIBLE PROPHECY AND THE TRIBULATION
You see, something funny happened to Skolfield on his way to the Seven
Year Tribulation. Believe it or not, the Scriptures used to support Ribera's
views had just been fulfilled in the new nation of Israel! Bible prophecy
predicted the founding of new Israel in 1948! It predicted Jerusalem again
under Jewish control in 1967! It also predicted the coming of Islam right
to the year! Skolfield explained all this to over 150 pastors, only to be
told, "Oh no, you've got it all wrong, The Tribulation will be here soon
and so will the Antichrist. You'll see."
BIBLE PROPHECY AND THE TERRORISTS
Well, Skolfield never did see, and nothing they said was going to happen
ever happened. Instead, we see Israel and the rest of the Middle East now
centered on the world's stage just as the Bible predicted. 9/11 was our
wake-up call from hell and we can now see the final enemy of the Church
and Israel: It's Islam and the murderous terrorists that religion supports!
Many are beginning to see our coming conflict with the Islamic world, but
Skolfield has been warning us about it for over 25 years. Even today,
some claim his prophetic conclusions were ridiculous even though
everything he wrote about came true.
BIBLE PROPHECY AND PRETERISM
About Preterism, little more need be said. The existence of the new nation
of Israel is that false doctrine's death-knell. Some still defend the view
despite the irrefutable evidence of their own eyes: A new nation of Israel
chock full of Jews is in the Holy Land right now, no waiting. The star of
David flies over the battlements of Jerusalem once again, just like the
Please visit Fish House's home site: http://www.fish-house.com