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All mainstream Jews and Christians are historicists, since that is the approach we all take to Old Testament prophecy. While Wikipedia is not a definitive source by any means, in this case it can perhaps be constructive:
"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."
Jews and Christians understand Daniel's figures of "lion" "bear" and "leopard" kingdom "beasts", for example, were so well described they are nearly universally understood to be the ancient kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece, that came to pass in steady succession in Daniel's future, with his "fourth dreadful" beast being the Roman Empire.
Available evidence suggests that up until a couple hundred years ago, the church understood New Testament bible prophecy was in the process of being fulfilled, through the traditional historicist approach as well.
Matthew Henry: "VI. That this prophecy of those times, though sealed up now, would be of great use to those that should live then, v. 4. Daniel must now shut up the words and seal the book....
.....a treasure of great value, laid up for the ages to come, to whom it would be of great service.....
Then this hidden treasure shall be opened, and many shall search into it, and dig for the knowledge of it, as for silver.
Those that would have their knowledge increased must take pains, must not sit still in slothfulness and bare wishes but run to and fro, must make use of all the means of knowledge and improve all opportunities of getting their mistakes rectified, their doubts resolved....
Those things of God which are now dark and obscure will hereafter be made clear, and easy to be understood. Truth is the daughter of time. Scripture prophecies will be expounded by the accomplishment of them; therefore they are given, and for that explication they are reserved.
Isaac Newton: "This Prophecy is called the Revelation, with respect to the scripture of truth, which Daniel was commanded to shut up and seal, till the time of the end. Daniel sealed it until the time of the end; {Daniel 12:4, 9} and until that time comes, the Lamb is opening the seals:....
All which is as much as to say, that these Prophecies of Daniel and John should not be understood till the time of the end: .... But in the very end, the Prophecy should be so far interpreted as to convince many." (Part II. Observations Upon the Apocalypse of St. John. Chap 1)
Indeed the day-year language of prophecy that was recognized by the following (taken from a historicist site), requires the historicist approach.
Augustine (AD 430)
Nahawendi (Jewish) (AD 8-9th century)
Jehoram (AD 10th century)
Abraham bar Hiyya (Jewish) (AD 1136)
Arnold of Villanova AD (1292)
Tichonius (AD 380)
Joachim of Floris (AD 1202)
John Wycliffe (AD c.1379)
Nicholas of Cusa (AD c.1452)
Martin Luther (AD 1522)
Phillip Melanchthon (AD 1543)
Johan Funck (AD 1558)
James I of England (AD 1600)
Sir Isaac Newton (AD 1727)
However in the 19th century the eschatologies of preterism and futurism began to come into vogue, and by the last half of the 20th century had all but displaced the church tradition of historicism. Available evidence suggests that the presence of these approaches in the modern church can be credited to 15th and 16th century Roman church Jesuits who penned the eschatologies in apparent counter-reformation efforts. Indeed it was Jesuit Luis Alcazar's preterist eschatological scheme, that the Roman Church used in arguments against the Reformers. The Reformers didn't buy into it.
Lots of material available online.
Jesuit Luis Alcazar
Luis del Alcázar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jesuit Francisco Ribera
Francisco Ribera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Let's investigate what this has done to obscure what should otherwise be a clear view of Christian era history and the resulting realities of today. It's interesting to note that preterists and futurists must each believe the other to be virtually 100% in error, regarding their interpretations of the book of Revelation after chapter three, because a gulf of 1900 years separates the two views. Perterists believing that the book of Revelation was fulfilled by the end of the first century, while futurists believe that virtually none of the book of Revelation will be fulfilled until some seven-year period yet in the future. Thus both approaches to prophecy must essentially ignore 1900 years of Christian era history as well as present-day reality, regarding preterist expectation of the kingdoms of this world being fixed by fallen mankind even as John's "whole world" has already fallen to Islam, or futurist expectation of a "revived Roman Empire" even as we witness Europe falling to Islam:
Both futurism and preterism necessarily require "that man of sin", "the false prophet" and the "beast" for example, to be subjects that were either over and done with in the first century, or are to be fulfilled during some future someday. Perhaps even more interesting than each having to consider the other to be virtually 100% in error, is that both approaches to the book of Revelation necessarily preclude devotees from even considering that Muhammad could be THE false prophet, or his Islamic kingdom "beast" the final foe of God's people. This even though a billion and a half people - one quarter of mankind in the world today - deny the Son of God and reject His shed blood, as articles of faith in the false prophet Muhammad.
Yet the false prophet Muhammad proclaimed the exact opposite of the whole subject of the Gospel! He also commanded his followers to conquer all kingdoms and subjugate all people to DISbelieving the crucifixion of Christ, DENYING the Son of God, and REJECTING His shed blood, as articles of faith in Muhammad alone.
Surah 9.29 Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. 30 The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!
Indeed if a Muslim were to confess that Jesus is the Son of God, or even pray in Jesus name, he will have committed the most egregious, and only unforgivable sin in Islam. As compared to cold-blooded mass murder or raping a child, which are forgivable.
http://brotherpete.com/unforgivable_shirk.htm
Yet in the Gospel we read:
John 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
KJV Bible search - in my name
There is one mediator between God and men:
1Timothy 2:5 For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
According to Muhammad, his "Allah" may forgive all sins except "shirk".
Sura 4.48 Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed.
Yet: 1John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
As one Muslim member of a popular Christian forum finally replied regarding this Christian confession, and after being asked repeatedly as to whether "shirk" is a sin worse than child rape or murder:
"Enough of the condescension - OF COURSE I - and even you and anybody else making that 'confession' would be committing the one HEINOUS sin that God does not forgive."
I had to press pretty hard for that reply, as it seems this subject may be very convicting to followers of Muhammad, since even they may be able to recognize what an unjust god it would indicate that they serve. Others refuse to answer, but thus far, none have denied it. Thus a billion and a half people in the world today are antichrist as an article of their faith in Muhammad:
1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father:.....
Since Islam is antichrist - indeed is to Christianity as the negative is to a photograph - the only anti-a-specific-religion, cult, on earth - it should come as no surprise that each and every Muslim must reject the crucifixion of Christ and His shed blood as another article of their faith in the false prophet Muhammad:
Surah 4:157 That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-
Thus the enemy, Satan, through his prophet Muhammad fills his followers with complete resolve as to what to DISbelieve, DENY and REJECT.
Hebrews 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Since the enemy is the opposer of God, it should also not be a surprise to find that Muhammad's followers are commanded to fight, even the "People of the Book" - that is Jews and Christians - until all people on earth are bent into submission to Muhammad's followers. Indeed for 1400 years the followers of Muhammad have been commanded to conquer all kingdoms of the world, and subjugate all people, to denying the Son of God and rejecting His shed blood. It is the dar al Salaam (house of peace - Islam) at war against the dar al Harb (house of war - non-Muslims). While you may not be at war against Islam, if you are a non-Muslim Islam has been at war against you, for 1400 years.
From Islam's most highly respected Hadith collection: Bukhari, V1 B2 #24 Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives an property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."
"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."
Jews and Christians understand Daniel's figures of "lion" "bear" and "leopard" kingdom "beasts", for example, were so well described they are nearly universally understood to be the ancient kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece, that came to pass in steady succession in Daniel's future, with his "fourth dreadful" beast being the Roman Empire.
Available evidence suggests that up until a couple hundred years ago, the church understood New Testament bible prophecy was in the process of being fulfilled, through the traditional historicist approach as well.
Matthew Henry: "VI. That this prophecy of those times, though sealed up now, would be of great use to those that should live then, v. 4. Daniel must now shut up the words and seal the book....
.....a treasure of great value, laid up for the ages to come, to whom it would be of great service.....
Then this hidden treasure shall be opened, and many shall search into it, and dig for the knowledge of it, as for silver.
Those that would have their knowledge increased must take pains, must not sit still in slothfulness and bare wishes but run to and fro, must make use of all the means of knowledge and improve all opportunities of getting their mistakes rectified, their doubts resolved....
Those things of God which are now dark and obscure will hereafter be made clear, and easy to be understood. Truth is the daughter of time. Scripture prophecies will be expounded by the accomplishment of them; therefore they are given, and for that explication they are reserved.
Isaac Newton: "This Prophecy is called the Revelation, with respect to the scripture of truth, which Daniel was commanded to shut up and seal, till the time of the end. Daniel sealed it until the time of the end; {Daniel 12:4, 9} and until that time comes, the Lamb is opening the seals:....
All which is as much as to say, that these Prophecies of Daniel and John should not be understood till the time of the end: .... But in the very end, the Prophecy should be so far interpreted as to convince many." (Part II. Observations Upon the Apocalypse of St. John. Chap 1)
Indeed the day-year language of prophecy that was recognized by the following (taken from a historicist site), requires the historicist approach.
Augustine (AD 430)
Nahawendi (Jewish) (AD 8-9th century)
Jehoram (AD 10th century)
Abraham bar Hiyya (Jewish) (AD 1136)
Arnold of Villanova AD (1292)
Tichonius (AD 380)
Joachim of Floris (AD 1202)
John Wycliffe (AD c.1379)
Nicholas of Cusa (AD c.1452)
Martin Luther (AD 1522)
Phillip Melanchthon (AD 1543)
Johan Funck (AD 1558)
James I of England (AD 1600)
Sir Isaac Newton (AD 1727)
However in the 19th century the eschatologies of preterism and futurism began to come into vogue, and by the last half of the 20th century had all but displaced the church tradition of historicism. Available evidence suggests that the presence of these approaches in the modern church can be credited to 15th and 16th century Roman church Jesuits who penned the eschatologies in apparent counter-reformation efforts. Indeed it was Jesuit Luis Alcazar's preterist eschatological scheme, that the Roman Church used in arguments against the Reformers. The Reformers didn't buy into it.
Lots of material available online.
Jesuit Luis Alcazar
Luis del Alcázar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jesuit Francisco Ribera
Francisco Ribera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Let's investigate what this has done to obscure what should otherwise be a clear view of Christian era history and the resulting realities of today. It's interesting to note that preterists and futurists must each believe the other to be virtually 100% in error, regarding their interpretations of the book of Revelation after chapter three, because a gulf of 1900 years separates the two views. Perterists believing that the book of Revelation was fulfilled by the end of the first century, while futurists believe that virtually none of the book of Revelation will be fulfilled until some seven-year period yet in the future. Thus both approaches to prophecy must essentially ignore 1900 years of Christian era history as well as present-day reality, regarding preterist expectation of the kingdoms of this world being fixed by fallen mankind even as John's "whole world" has already fallen to Islam, or futurist expectation of a "revived Roman Empire" even as we witness Europe falling to Islam:
Both futurism and preterism necessarily require "that man of sin", "the false prophet" and the "beast" for example, to be subjects that were either over and done with in the first century, or are to be fulfilled during some future someday. Perhaps even more interesting than each having to consider the other to be virtually 100% in error, is that both approaches to the book of Revelation necessarily preclude devotees from even considering that Muhammad could be THE false prophet, or his Islamic kingdom "beast" the final foe of God's people. This even though a billion and a half people - one quarter of mankind in the world today - deny the Son of God and reject His shed blood, as articles of faith in the false prophet Muhammad.
Yet the false prophet Muhammad proclaimed the exact opposite of the whole subject of the Gospel! He also commanded his followers to conquer all kingdoms and subjugate all people to DISbelieving the crucifixion of Christ, DENYING the Son of God, and REJECTING His shed blood, as articles of faith in Muhammad alone.
Surah 9.29 Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. 30 The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!
Indeed if a Muslim were to confess that Jesus is the Son of God, or even pray in Jesus name, he will have committed the most egregious, and only unforgivable sin in Islam. As compared to cold-blooded mass murder or raping a child, which are forgivable.
http://brotherpete.com/unforgivable_shirk.htm
Yet in the Gospel we read:
John 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
KJV Bible search - in my name
There is one mediator between God and men:
1Timothy 2:5 For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
According to Muhammad, his "Allah" may forgive all sins except "shirk".
Sura 4.48 Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed.
Yet: 1John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
As one Muslim member of a popular Christian forum finally replied regarding this Christian confession, and after being asked repeatedly as to whether "shirk" is a sin worse than child rape or murder:
"Enough of the condescension - OF COURSE I - and even you and anybody else making that 'confession' would be committing the one HEINOUS sin that God does not forgive."
I had to press pretty hard for that reply, as it seems this subject may be very convicting to followers of Muhammad, since even they may be able to recognize what an unjust god it would indicate that they serve. Others refuse to answer, but thus far, none have denied it. Thus a billion and a half people in the world today are antichrist as an article of their faith in Muhammad:
1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father:.....
Since Islam is antichrist - indeed is to Christianity as the negative is to a photograph - the only anti-a-specific-religion, cult, on earth - it should come as no surprise that each and every Muslim must reject the crucifixion of Christ and His shed blood as another article of their faith in the false prophet Muhammad:
Surah 4:157 That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-
Thus the enemy, Satan, through his prophet Muhammad fills his followers with complete resolve as to what to DISbelieve, DENY and REJECT.
Hebrews 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Since the enemy is the opposer of God, it should also not be a surprise to find that Muhammad's followers are commanded to fight, even the "People of the Book" - that is Jews and Christians - until all people on earth are bent into submission to Muhammad's followers. Indeed for 1400 years the followers of Muhammad have been commanded to conquer all kingdoms of the world, and subjugate all people, to denying the Son of God and rejecting His shed blood. It is the dar al Salaam (house of peace - Islam) at war against the dar al Harb (house of war - non-Muslims). While you may not be at war against Islam, if you are a non-Muslim Islam has been at war against you, for 1400 years.
From Islam's most highly respected Hadith collection: Bukhari, V1 B2 #24 Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives an property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."
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