The Purpose and Origins of Futurism Introduction

Today Christianity has largely forgotten the importance of the Protestant Reformation, which took place during the 1500s and very few understand the role futurism played in the Counter Reformation. The powerful impact that the Reformers made in identifying the Roman Catholic Church as the Antichrist can scarcely be imagined today. As millions of Christians joined the Reform movement, the Papal Roman Church used methodology that has proved successful for more than a thousand years in order to eliminate those whom it designated as heretics. With the exception of the isolated communities of faithful Christians (often hidden in the natural fortresses of the earth), the Church has been remarkably successful in its persecution. This success was achieved by the arm of the state, which ruthlessly eliminated millions that would not bow to the Churchs authority.

Historians cannot agree on the number of people who were martyred and tortured for their efforts to uphold Bible truth, but estimates range from 50,000,000 to 120,000,000 Christian Saints. These men, women and children lost their lives during the period of Papal domination. Almost all this persecuting was done at the hand of secular governments which subserved the designs of the Papal Church.

The period of the sixteenth century proved different however. Sickened by the corruptions and excesses of the Papacy, many rulers and monarchs embraced the Protestant Reformation and were no longer vassals of the Papacy obeying its commands; thus in a number of European countries, the arm of flesh was not available to carry out the Roman Churchs dictates. This situation naturally alarmed the Roman Catholic Church. The Papacy was not accustomed to this circumstance; therefore, it discerned that a new methodology had to be devised in order to counter the rapid spread of the Reformation engulfing Europe. Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Scandinavia, Britain and other countries all generally accepted the messages of the Reformers.

Europe had been ruled by the iron hand of Rome for almost a thousand years. Only a few Bibles existed then and Christianity was largely permeated with superstition. Faith in Jesus Christ, heartfelt appreciation for His love and a simple trust in His death on the cross was almost unknown. The New Testament truth about full forgiveness, grace and the free gift of eternal life to believers in the Son of God (Romans 6:23), had been buried under a mass of tradition. Then Martin Luther arose like a lion in Germany. After a period of tremendous personal struggle, Martin Luther began teaching justification by faith in Jesus Christ (being declared just by God), rather than through reliance on any human works (Romans 1:16; 3:26, 28; 5:1).

The Discovery of Luther Eventually, Martin Luther turned to the prophecies of the Bible. He read by candlelight about the beast, the little horn, and the man of sin and he was shocked as the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart. He finally saw the truth and said to himself, Why, these prophecies apply to the Roman Catholic Church! As he wrestled with this new insight, the voice of God echoed loudly in his soul, saying, Preach the word! (2 Timothy 4:2). So at the risk of losing his life, Martin Luther preached publicly and in print to an astonished people that Papal Rome was in fact the Antichrist of Bible prophecy. Because of this dual message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ apart from works and of Papal Rome being the Antichrist, the river of history literally changed its course. Hundreds of thousands of people in England and Europe left the Catholic Church.

There are two great truths that stand out in the preaching that brought about the Protestant Reformation, American Bible Commentator, Ralph Woodrow, reminds us, The just shall live by faith, not by the works of Romanism and the Papacy is the Antichrist of Scripture. It was a message for Christ and against Antichrist. The entire Reformation rests upon this twofold testimony. [2] It has been said that the Reformation first discovered Jesus Christ, and then, in the blazing light of Christ, it discovered the Antichrist. This mighty Spirit filled movement for Christ and against the Antichrist shook the world.

H. Grattan Guinness wrote these memorable words: From the first, and throughout, that movement [the Reformation] was energized and guided by the prophetic word. Luther never felt strong and free to war against the Papal apostasy till he recognized the pope as antichrist. It was then that he burned the Papal bull. Knoxs first sermon, the sermon that launched him on his mission as a reformer, was on the prophecies concerning the Papacy. The reformers embodied their interpretations of prophecy in their confessions of faith, and Calvin in his Institutes. All of the reformers were unanimous in the matter, even the mild and cautious Melanchthon was as assured of the antipapal meaning of these prophecies as was Luther himself. And their interpretation of these prophecies determined their reforming action. It led them to protest against Rome with extraordinary strength and undaunted courage. It nerved them to resist the claims of the apostate Church to the utmost. It made them martyrs; it sustained them at the stake. And the views of the Reformers were shared by thousands, by hundreds of thousands. They were adopted by princes and peoples. Under their influence nations abjured their allegiance to the false priest of Rome. In the reaction that followed, all the powers of hell seemed to be let loose upon the adherents of the Reformation. War followed war: tortures, burnings, and massacres were multiplied. Yet the Reformation stood undefeated and unconquerable. Gods word upheld it, and the energies of His Almighty Spirit. It was the work of Christ as truly as the founding of the Church eighteen centuries ago; and the revelation of the future which he gave from heaven, that prophetic book with which the Scripture closes, was one of the mightiest instruments employed in its accomplishment. [3]

The Counter Reformation The Catholic Church in 1545 convened one of its most famous councils in history, which took place north of Rome in a city called Trent. The Council of Trent actually continued for three sessions and ended in 1563. One of the main purposes of this Council was for Catholics to plan a counterattack against the Protestants and Martin Luther. Hence the Council of Trent became a centre for Romes Counter Reformation. Romes main method of attack up to this point had been largely frontal such as the open burning of heretics and Bibles. But this warfare only confirmed in the minds of Protestants the conviction that Papal Rome was indeed the Beast which would make war with the saints (Revelation 13:7). Therefore a new tactic was needed, something less obvious. This is where the Jesuits and futurism come in.

On August 15, 1534, Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish soldier, who had recovered from serious wounds sustained in war, established a new order of priests and brothers called The Society of Jesus, which is better known today as the Jesuits. Ignatius Loyola was born in 1491, just six years after Luther. After meditation in the famous monastery of Montserrat, in the north-eastern corner of Spain, he vowed to forsake his former ways and became "a soldier of God." He symbolized this vow by placing his weapons on the altar of the monastery.

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Futurist And Futurism Bible Prophecy