The Future Has Past

The second Catholic counter-interpretation of the end-time perspective was not end-time at all, but a complete replacement teaching that the end-times were not going to happen in the future because they had already happened in the past. “Nothin’ to worry about folks! The Jews, Jerusalem and the antichrist Nero, who persecuted the faithful, are all things of the past!” One would have to admit that was a pretty clever replacement. This is the preterist view. 

Preterist in Latin is praeter, which means past.

Jesuit Luis de Alcasar wrote Vestigio Arcani Sensus in Apocaplysi, which means, Investigation of the Hidden Sense of the Apocalypse. In a nut shell, the two primary books in the Bible that provide an architectural structure for end-time prophecy, that all other prophecies support, are the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. 

Knowing this, Jesuit Louie basically wrote a counter-interpretation saying that these books had no relevance because the Book of Daniel was fulfilled a century before Christ and the Book of Revelation was fulfilled a century after Christ. In doing so, he undermined the future relevance of these prophecies for his time and ours and attempted to completely dismantle the expectation of the end-times all together. He also taught that God judged the Jews once and for all and the new Israel was being realized through the Catholic Church. Once again, a complete departure and replacement from the truth and the Jews!

Neither Alcasar’s or Cavera’s counter-interpretations gained traction while they were alive. Our Reformist forefather’s motto being sola scriptura (only Scripture) were not about to trade the clear and pristine truth for any Catholic mumbo jumbo counter-interpretation. Freedom was far too costly and they had no intentions going back into the dark ages of religious oppression and corruption that was imposed upon them by keeping the Scriptures from the people. 

The fact of the matter is that these counter-interpretations could not get a foothold because of the zealous teaching and proclamation that was being heralded through the Protestants. This zealous guardian shield of truth was enjoyed for the last 500 years, until just about 70 years ago.

So what have we evolved from and changed into? Once the Scriptures were again in proxy to the people, the Protestant Church became supporters of Israel again – not so much with a defined banner, but simply because of their proxy to the Word. It was a very natural and organic coming home to our origins. Our origins began with Jews preaching and discipling us Gentiles in the Early Church. Our origin is in the One New Man, Jew and Gentile, as Paul taught in the Book of Ephesians. In our origin, we were natural supporters of Israel, because we were now a part of Israel ourselves! 

If you were to ask an average Evangelical why they support Israel, religiously and politically, they probably would look at you funny and say, “Well it’s just in the Bible,” not really knowing where or how to site the Scriptures. In tandem, the phenomenal miracle of Israel’s rebirth as a nation 1948, and the rebirth of Zionism amongst Jews and Biblical Zionism amongst Gentiles – supporting Israel is a very natural position to take, especially here at the close of the Age of the Gentiles.

 However, when the Western Church began to drift, by teaching thoughts, stories and concepts rather than the Biblical text itself, WE once again began drifting way from doctrinal purity and the support of Israel, all because of loosing our position in proxy to the Word of God.

As mentioned, these counter-interpretations are the two predominant eschatological views in the evolving Western Church today. 

We all know the pre-tribulation VIP club and how prevalent that teaching is among us, which separates the Gentiles believers from the one-echad Body of Christ we were grafted into – anddddd from the Jews who are to be re-engrafted at the close of the Age of the Gentiles. 

And we know the preterists with their entirely different emphasis which does not believe in any future prophetic fulfillment. Partial-preterists, do believe in the Second Coming of Jesus and the resurrection of dead, but they do not believe that there will be an antichrist who stirs up trouble in the end or that national Israel has any significance whatsoever. 

The preterists claim 60% of our young adults 30 years and younger – and regretfully, that number is growing. They lead the march of the now popular poo-poo condescending attitude that marginalizes end-time teaching as irrelevant for today. 

Well, now you know the source! Let’s keep in mind the counsel of the Apostle Peter,

But the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the Day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 2 Peter 3:10-12