Historicist interpretations of the Book of Revelation information
Christian eschatology
Contrasting beliefs
Historicism
Interpretations of Revelation
Futurism
Dispensationalism
Preterism
Idealism
The Millennium
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Postmillennialism
Premillennialism
Prewrath rapture
Post-tribulation rapture
Dispensationalism
Biblical texts
Daniel
Seventy Weeks
Synoptic Gospels
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Mark 13
Matthew 24
Sheep and Goats
Pauline Epistles
2 Thessalonians
Johannine literature
Revelation (Events)
Pseudepigrapha
1 Enoch
2 Esdras
Key terms
Abomination of desolation
Antichrist
Apocalypse
Apocatastasis
Armageddon
The Beast
False prophet
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Gog and Magog
Great Apostasy
Great Tribulation
Katechon
Kingdom of God
Lake of fire
Last Judgment
Man of sin
New Earth
New Jerusalem
Number of the Beast
Rapture
Resurrection of the dead
Second Coming
Seven bowls
Seven seals
Son of perdition
Two witnesses
War in Heaven
Whore of Babylon
Woman of the Apocalypse
World to come
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Historicism is a method of interpretation in Christian eschatology which associates biblical prophecies with actual historical events and identifies symbolic beings with historical persons or societies; it has been applied to the Book of Revelation by many writers. The Historicist view follows a straight line of continuous fulfillment of prophecy which starts in Daniel's time and goes through John of Patmos' writing of the Book of Revelation all the way to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.[1]
One of the most influential aspects of the early Protestant historicist paradigm was the assertion that scriptural identifiers of the Antichrist were matched only by the institution of the Papacy. Particular significance and concern were the Papal claims of authority over the Church through Apostolic Succession, and the State through the Divine Right of Kings. When the Papacy aspires to exercise authority beyond its religious realm into civil affairs, on account of the Papal claim to be the Vicar of Christ, then the institution was fulfilling the more perilous biblical indicators of the Antichrist. Martin Luther wrote this view into the Smalcald Articles of 1537; this view was not novel and had been leveled at various popes throughout the centuries, even by Roman Catholic saints.[2] It was then widely popularized in the 16th century, via sermons, drama, books, and broadside publication.[3]
The alternate methods of prophetic interpretation, Futurism and Preterism were derived from Jesuit writings, whose counter-reformation efforts were aimed at opposing this interpretation[4][5][6][7] that the Antichrist was the Papacy or the power of the Roman Catholic Church.[8]
^History of the Church of God, pp. 252, 253 (1876)
^Burgess, Joseph A.; Gros, Jeffrey (1989). Building Unity: Ecumenical Dialogues with Roman Catholic Participation in the United States. Paulist Press. ISBN 9780809130405.
^Tinsley, Barbara Sher (1 January 1992). History and Polemics in the French Reformation: Florimond de Raemond, Defender of the Church. Susquehanna University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-945636-29-8.
^"Jesuit scholarship rallied to the Roman cause by providing two plausible alternatives to the historical interpretation of the Protestants. 1. Luis de Alcazar (1554-1630) of Seville, Spain, devised what became known as the 'preterist' system of prophetic interpretation. This theory proposed that the Revelation deals with events in the Pagan Roman Empire, that antichrist refers to Nero and that the prophecies were therefore fulfilled long before the time of the medieval church. Alcazar's preterist system has never made any impact on the conservative, or evangelical wing of the Protestant movement, although in the last one hundred years it has become popular among Protestant rationalists and liberals. 2. A far more successful attack was taken by Francisco Ribera (1537–1591) of Salamanca, Spain. He was the founder of the 'futurist' system of prophetic interpretation. Instead of placing antichrist way in the past as did Alcazar, Ribera argues that antichrist would appear way in the future. About 1590 Ribera published a five hundred page commentary on the Apocalypse, denying the Protestant application of antichrist to the church of Rome." M.L. Moser, Jr., An Apologetic of Premillennialism, p.27
^M.L. Moser, Jr., An Apologetic of Premillennialism, pp.26, 27.
^H. Grattan Guinness, Romanism and the Reformation From the Standpoint of Prophecy, p. 268 (1887)
^Rev. Joseph Tanner, Daniel and the Revelation, pp. 16, 17.
has been applied to theBookofRevelation by many writers. TheHistoricist view follows a straight line of continuous fulfillment of prophecy which starts...
writing oftheBookofRevelation all the way to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. One ofthe aspects ofthe Protestant historicist paradigm is the speculation...
interpretations. Historicistinterpretations see Revelation as containing a broad view of history while preterist interpretations treat Revelation as mostly...
The events ofRevelation are the events that occur in theBookofRevelationofthe New Testament. An outline follows below, chapter by chapter. The Revelation...
when the Millennium is believed to occur in relation to the Second Coming. Christian eschatology Eschatology HistoricistinterpretationsoftheBookof Revelation...
The Seven Seals of God from the Bible's BookofRevelation are the seven symbolic seals (Greek: σφραγῖδα, sphragida) that secure thebook or scroll that...
(Old English poem) Greek Apocalypse of Daniel HistoricistinterpretationsoftheBookof Daniel Jehoiakim: King of Judah 608–598 BC; his third year would...
Protestants of the time, Puritans based their eschatological views on an historicistinterpretationoftheBookofRevelation and theBookof Daniel. Protestant...
[clarification needed] The modern historicistinterpretations and eschatological views oftheBookof Daniel with theBookofRevelation closely resemble and continue...
In theBookofRevelation, the two witnesses (Ancient Greek: δύο μαρτύρων, romanized: duo martyron) are two prophets who are mentioned in Revelation 11:1-14...
reign on the earth. This rejection contrasts with premillennial and some postmillennial interpretationsof chapter 20 oftheBookofRevelation. The amillennial...
the Bible Conference Movement, starting in 1878 with the Niagara Bible Conference. These conferences, which were initially inclusive ofhistoricist and...
the seventh century BC until the first century AD, while seeing the prophecies oftheBookofRevelation, as well as Christ's predictions within the Olivet...
first century CE. TheHistoricist approach places Revelation within the context of history, identifying figures and passages in Revelation with major historical...
postmillenarianism, is an interpretationof chapter 20 oftheBookofRevelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring after (Latin post-) the "Millennium"...
purify the Catholic Church from opulence, riches and clergy. HistoricistinterpretationsofBookofRevelation usually included the identification of one...
argued that the use ofthe Vulgate invalidated Catholic commentary on theBookofRevelation, and proposed an alternative historicist point of view. Ralph...
that generation. The Historicist view applies Tribulation to the period known as "persecution ofthe saints" (Daniel 7, Revelation 13). This is believed...