Revealing Revelation - Don't Know What the Future Holds

Now that we have discussed the Historicist and Idealist interpretive method, we will now turn our attention to the most popular interpretive method, at least in modern American evangelicalism. This view has so consumed the evangelical world that it is infiltrated the secular world as well. The view has a view long historic pedigree, though the modern interpretation of the events themselves is significantly different than the more historic options. This, of course, is due to the powerful influence of Dispensationalism.

Futurism simply states that all events after Chapter three have yet to take place. There is also those within the futurist camp that state that the seven Churches are seven time periods throughout the Church Age and that at some point in history those Churches within the church Age would have been considered yet future.

• The primary view of Dispensationalist and Classical Premillennialist

• Sees all prophecies starting with Chapter 4 as yet future literal events

• The seven Churches are representative of the Church during different time periods

• Immediacy - futurist argue that the return of Christ can happen at any moment - this is more popular amongst the Dispensational futurist.

• The “rapture” takes place in Chapter 4 for Dispensationalist and Chapter 19 for Classical Premillennialist

• The seals possibly represent judgments against apostate Israel creating repentance during the first half of a “Seven Year Tribulation”

• The 144,000 are literal Jewish virgin missionaries

• The Beast is a future Antichrist that will rule the world after making a covenant with Israel

• The trumpets and bowls are literal plagues and events that will be inflicted upon the entire world

• The Church - raptured in Chapter 4 - returns with Christ in Chapter 19 to physically battle and set up a kingdom

• Jesus rules physically from Jerusalem in a geo-political kingdom

• Satan is loosed and leads a revolt

• God sends fire from Heaven, destroys the devil and judges mankind

There are several difficulties with this view that will be discussed here and later as we begin our overview of the book of Revelation.

But first it should be noted that critiquing the Futurist model can be difficult because it is a logical impossibility to prove the something that hasn’t happened yet won’t happen. This is the ultimate arguing from silence. But what the opponent can do is show the history of failed misapplication of the passages and show where those events were fulfilled. The latter can only be adequately performed by the following interpretive method, preterism.

But for those difficulties the first is that this view, more than any other, simply cannot account for the immediate expectation of fulfillment of the book itself. They are hard pressed to overcome the objections of the time limiting text of soon, now, at hand and that those who pierced His side would be witnesses to these events.

The futurist also must force a reformulation of historic events. this would include the necessity of the reestablished Roman Empire, rebuilt Temple and the reestablishment of the Old Testament Levitical Law. this is despite the clear reality of Christ and the witness of the book of Hebrews to the contrary.

Futurist also have the tendency to take current events and force them into passages that make no declaration of a far future fulfillment. They must, in these cases, allegorize the events to describe despite the insistence on a wooden literal hermeneutic.

Futurism also suffers from an inability to explain the urgency with which John is to deliver the letter to the seven churches. This includes the instruction not to even seal the letter.

There are more issues to be discussed and more frailties with this methods that will show themselves as we begin our overview and discussion of the Book of Revelation.