Preterism, Futurism, Historicism 3 Schools of Interpretation

[ChristRoseFromTheDead]

"The day of the lord" in the OT is a mistranslation because there is no definite article "the" in any occurrence in the Hebrew. It is simply "day of the lord", or "a day of the lord"

 

[Hakawaka]

Historicism is whack. The day to year principle in Revelation just doesn't work. Imagine giving Christ 1000 years and the beast 1260 years.

Not to mention, as I have quoted before, these guys read a verse about the people who have the mark of the beast having sores on them and interpret it as the french revolution. What a joke.

With that type of interpretation I may as well say it was the plague in Europe that cut the population in half, would be a much better fit atleast, but still unbiblical and out of touch, as all the other vials have to be poured out within that 42 month period as well.

 

[GaryA]

Historicism is whack. The day to year principle in Revelation just doesn't work. Imagine giving Christ 1000 years and the beast 1260 years.

Not to mention, as I have quoted before, these guys read a verse about the people who have the mark of the beast having sores on them and interpret it as the french revolution. What a joke.

With that type of interpretation I may as well say it was the plague in Europe that cut the population in half, would be a much better fit atleast, but still unbiblical and out of touch, as all the other vials have to be poured out within that 42 month period as well.

The 1260 days in Revelation are counted as actual days - and, are future. However, the 42 months are year-for-a-day and are past history.

The vials (aka [the] 'Wrath of God') are "poured out" after the 1260 days (which is during the time of the Trumpet events).

 

[GaryA]

The only way to stop Satan and his demons from deceiving people for the 1000 years is to seperate him from them.

By casting him into the bottomless pit.

Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

He has no access to any human during the 1000 years.

While he is confined in/to the bottomless pit.

Rev 20:7-8
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

The unsaved are raised for judgement and Satan uses the opportunity to decieve them again.

The second resurrection occurs after Satan is loosed and goes out to deceive the nations - the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

 

[GaryA]

This is an unfortunate misconception. There have been many days of the lord. The Hebrew phrase "the day of the lord" does not appear in OT prophecy; it always says "a day of the lord".

The phrase “the day of the Lord” is used often in the Old Testament (e.g. Isaiah 2:12; 13:6, 9; Ezekiel 13:5, 30:3; Joel 1:15, 2:1,11,31; 3:14; Amos 5:18,20; Obadiah 15; Zephaniah 1:7,14; Zechariah 14:1; Malachi 4:5) and several times in the New Testament (e.g. Acts 2:20; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Peter 3:10). It is also alluded to in other passages (Revelation 6:17; 16:14).

The Old Testament passages dealing with the day of the Lord often convey a sense of imminence, nearness, and expectation: “Wail, for the day of the Lord is near!” (Isaiah 13:6); “For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near” (Ezekiel 30:3); “Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand” (Joel 2:1); “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14); “Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near” (Zephaniah 1:7). This is because the Old Testament passages referring to the day of the Lord often speak of both a near and a far fulfillment, as does much of Old Testament prophecy. Some Old Testament passages that refer to the day of the Lord describe historical judgments that have already been fulfilled in some sense (Isaiah 13:6-22; Ezekiel 30:2-19; Joel 1:15, 3:14; Amos 5:18-20; Zephaniah 1:14-18), while others refers to divine judgments that will take place toward the end of the age (Joel 2:30-32; Zechariah 14:1; Malachi 4:1, 5).

"The day of the lord" in the OT is a mistranslation because there is no definite article "the" in any occurrence in the Hebrew. It is simply "day of the lord", or "a day of the lord"

Nonetheless, I suggest that all of the verses listed on the chart on this web page make reference to the future 'event' that is the Second Coming of Christ:

http://mywebsite.us/BibleStudy/Second_Coming.html

 

[GaryA]

Not to mention, as I have quoted before, these guys read a verse about the people who have the mark of the beast having sores on them and interpret it as the french revolution. What a joke.

BTW - the people who have the mark of the beast having sores on them sounds right (Revelation 16:2); however, I do not agree with the french revolution interpretation.

 

[GaryA]

The day to year principle in Revelation just doesn't work.

It does when applied to the things that are not literal days.

When the word 'days' is used in the time frame description - and, preceded by a number - it is literal days. All other time frame descriptions that do not include the word 'days' are based on year-for-a-day.

 

[GaryA]

Actual days:

Revelation 2:10
Revelation 11:3,9,11
Revelation 12:6

Year-for-a-day:

Revelation 11:2
Revelation 12:14
Revelation 13:5

"General" time-period reference:

Revelation 2:13
Revelation 9:6
Revelation 10:7
Revelation 11:6

The 'five months' in Revelation 9 is a literal five months.

The 'thousand years' in Revelation 20 is a literal thousand years.

 

[GaryA]

The previous two posts are representative of my current understanding of the book of Revelation from my study of it over many years.

I have learned that you must look at it "from God's time frame" - neither has it all been fulfilled nor none of it fulfilled - it is not all past - it is not all future - it represents a time frame of ~2000 years.

 

[GaryA]

it represents a time frame of ~2000 years

Well - 3000 if you include the millennium - and, do not include the unknown amount of time involved with the GWTJ - which will no doubt be quite a large amount of time.

 

[GaryA]

I said '~2000' in post #209 because I was thinking about the prophetic time frame(s) before the Second Coming of Christ. I believe that the time frame of everything after that is pretty well understood by most folks.

Sorry for any confusion...

 

[GaryA]

I have learned that you must look at it "from God's time frame"

For example:

Revelation 13:7 is referring to something that is past history.

Revelation 13:8 is referring to something that is in our future.

You must look at it "from God's time frame" to see why this is the case.

The prophecy in Revelation unfolds over a long period of time and not a short one.

 

[Hakawaka]

BTW - the people who have the mark of the beast having sores on them sounds right (Revelation 16:2); however, I do not agree with the french revolution interpretation.

But thats the historicist view of it, look it up on biblehub.

 

[Hakawaka]

And based on what do you decide which is which?

Actual days:

Revelation 2:10
Revelation 11:3,9,11
Revelation 12:6

Year-for-a-day:

Revelation 11:2
Revelation 12:14
Revelation 13:5

"General" time-period reference:

Revelation 2:13
Revelation 9:6
Revelation 10:7
Revelation 11:6

The 'five months' in Revelation 9 is a literal five months.

The 'thousand years' in Revelation 20 is a literal thousand years.

 

[GaryA]

And based on what do you decide which is which?

Ultimately, it is a matter of context - what I believe each verse/passage is talking about - how it fits into the overall picture of things - based on what I have learned from scripture and history.

 

[rrcn]

I was reviewing this thread and noticed that preterism didn’t receive any endorsements, leaving only futurism and historicism. Futurism is a false interpretation of prophecy based on papal commissioned lies as part of the counter-reformation. The details have been posted.
The extent that Satan will bring about the delusions of another temple is not reverent. What does matter is that all these books and movies are keeping honest loyal Christians for searching for Jesus with all their hearts as they speculate on the fulfillment of Satanic delusions.
To expose the counterfeit study the truth.

These are hard words:
[2Th 2:1-12 KJV] 1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

 

[GWH]

These 3 (some say there is 4) methods of interpreting prophecy will determine which conclusions you come to.
The 3 distinct schools of Biblical prophetic interpretation make a huge difference in our understanding of truth.
A close examination as to the origins of these different views shall undoubtedly uncover which position is correct.

The next post will explain them in a little detail.

Perhaps the 4th school is the Paulinist eschatology found mainly in two passages:

1CR 15:50-57 says that the trumpet will sound and immediately the dead will be raised with immortal bodies and

1THS 4:14-5:3 says that Jesus will return from heaven with those who were saved and meet in the air those saints who are alive as they are raptured and immortalized. This event will occur unexpectedly, "like a thief in the night" (cf. MT 24:36-44).

 

[rrcn]

The Scofield Reference Bible’s Role in Futurism, Dispensationalism, and the Decline of Historicism

Cyrus I. Scofield’s Reference Bible (1909) didn’t merely annotate the biblical text—it reshaped how generations of Protestants view prophecy, divine covenants, and the flow of redemptive history.


1. From Darby’s Futurism to Scofield’s Popularization

• Futurism’s Roots
  Futurism began as a Jesuit counter-to-Reformation polemic (Francisco Ribera, late 1500s), conceived to deflect Protestant charges that the papacy fulfilled antichrist prophecies.
• Darby’s Systematization
  John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) wove futurism into a coherent dispensational framework, emphasizing a secret rapture and seven distinct “dispensations.”
• Scofield’s Amplification
  Scofield embedded Darby’s theology in the everyday Bible: in-text notes, charts, and cross-references gave futurism unprecedented reach. By 1917, over 350,000 copies circulated, cementing dispensational futurism in evangelical homes and schools.

2. The Seven Dispensations in Scofield’s Outline

1. Innocence (Creation to Fall)
2. Conscience (Fall to Flood)
3. Human Government (Flood to Babel)
4. Promise (Abraham to Sinai)
5. Law (Sinai to Calvary)
6. Grace (Church Age: Pentecost to Rapture)
7. Kingdom (Millennial Reign of Christ)

Each period is treated as a unique test of obedience, severed from one another in divine economy and revelation.


3. Key Futurist Doctrines Taught by Scofield

• Pre-Tribulation Rapture
  Believers are “caught up” before God’s final wrath on earth (1 Thess 4:16–17), ushering in a seven-year tribulation separate from church history.
• Literal Millennial Kingdom
  A future thousand-year reign in restored Israel, with resumed temple sacrifices and national promises uniquely for ethnic Israel.
• Sharp Israel–Church Distinction
  Old Testament promises apply to national Israel; the Church’s calling is a “mystery” revealed only to Paul (Eph 3:3–7).

4. Undermining Historicism

Historicism—championed by Reformers like Luther and Calvin—saw prophecy unfold through the broad sweep of church history, famously identifying the papacy as the Antichrist.

Scofield’s futurism displaced historicism by:

• Recasting the Antichrist as a single end-time figure instead of a centuries-long institution.
• Removing most New Testament prophecy (e.g., the Olivet Discourse, Revelation 4–19) from the church’s present to a future Jewish kingdom.
• Breaking the continuity of redemptive history into isolated dispensations rather than a single covenantal plan.

This shift muted prophetic critique of Rome, fragmented Protestant eschatology, and supplanted the Reformation’s historical lens with a withdrawn, future-focused outlook.

5. Legacy and Continuing Impact

• Evangelical Mainstay: Moody Bible Institute (1914 onward) and Dallas Theological Seminary (founded 1924) taught from Scofield’s notes, entrenching dispensationalism in North American fundamentalism.
• Popular Culture: Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth and the Left Behind novels drew directly on Scofieldian futurism to capture millions.
• Theological Backlash: Mid-20th-century covenant theologians and historicists (e.g., G. Campbell Morgan, A. W. Pink) criticized dispensationalism as a novel, unscriptural innovation.

By threading futurism through an annotated Bible, Scofield didn’t just explain Scripture—he rewove the fabric of Protestant eschatology, consigning the historicist vision of prophecy to the margins of evangelical imagination.