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Well, it made a lot of money.

Has anyone read Scofield's interpretation of the End Times?

Many groups have adopted it without much modification. 2 Thess. is usually where the theory starts. The Anti-Christ is supposed to arrive before  the Lord. A great falling away from the faith is expected and the Anti-Christ appears. Scofield takes a passage from Daniel to show that, in the beginning, the Anti-Christ is a great flatterer, and is a man of intrigues.

From there, Scofield recalls a type of Anti-Christ, Antiochus Ephinenaeus, who, during the Intertestamental period, was the abomination of desolation and defiled the Jewish temple by eating a pig. See Daniel 8. BTW, he was the king of Syria and annexed Judah to his country in 198 AD.

The theory goes on, but please tell me what you think so far.

I have read it and have several copies of it, including reissues of the original. 

I was a Scofield sort of Dispensational, meaning I was Partial Dispensational (see Chafer, Stam and others for more on the Full Dispensational view) for many years.

The only reason that there "must" be a pre-tribulational rapture is if the seven years of tribulation is literal and it is for God to again deal with Israel and to deal primarily, if not exclusively.   Many Christians believe that after the rapture there is no hope of any Gentile being saved and that the tribulation period is exclusively for God to deal with Israel.  While I recognized Scofield as a Zionist who believed that Israel would receive her earthly promise of a restored homeland and a glorious age,  I did not see him as one who promoted separate covenants and separate eternal destinies for Israel and Gentiles.   

BTW, this isn't Schofield's.


 As the story goes:

The false pre-tribulation rapture was invented by a Jesuit priest named Francisco Ribera (1537-1591). Ribera was commanded to create a new eschatological doctrine that would combat the historical Protestant view that the Catholic church was one of the beasts written of in the book of Revelation.

 A second Jesuit priest, Manuel De Lacunza, wrote a book supporting Ribera’s Futurist doctrine under the pen name “Juan Josafa (Rabbi) Ben Ezra” in 1791. Lacunza took on a fake name in order to mislead Christian people into thinking the book was written by a Jew and not a Jesuit. If the Protestants knew a Jesuit was behind this new doctrine they would have never accepted it.

 A third Jesuit priest, Luis De Alcazar, wrote a commentary titled “The Investigation of the Hidden Sense of the Apocalypse” which put forth a second false doctrine, its purpose was to contradict the historical Protestant view. This new doctrine was called “Preterism” and basically espoused that the Emperor Nero was the Antichrist and that the prophecies in book of Revelation were fulfilled by 70 A.D.

 Both new doctrines, Futurism and Preterism, were created by the Jesuits in order to deceive Protestant Christians and to obfuscate the prophecies of Revelation. Both the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation clearly define the Catholic church to be loyal to Satan and not to God. We’re talking about the Elite hierarchy of the Catholic Church (The Pope and most of his cardinals) not the everyday catholic who goes to church every Sunday.

 The Jesuits passed their doctrine onto Edward Irving (1792-1834), a Scottish Presbyterian and forerunner of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. Irving translated Lacunza’s work from Spanish into English in a book titled “The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty,” published in London in 1827 by L.B. Seeley and Sons.

 Edward Irving was a Charismatic preacher from Scotland and had a small congregation. A young girl (15-years old) by the name of Margaret McDonald had a series of visions in the early 1830s. These visions supported a pre-tribulation rapture of the saints as established in the writings of Francisco Ribera. She wrote a letter to Irving concerning her visions and Irving brought her revelations to a prophecy conference in Dublin Ireland in 1830 which was held at Powerscourt Castle. Edward Irving aggressively promoted Futurism, the Jesuit created rapture doctrine based on Ribera’s lies.

 From England and Scotland the Jesuit created Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine grew and then spread to America. It was John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) who also attended the prophecy conference at Powerscourt Castle who was the first American preacher to zealously spread the Jesuit inspired false doctrine.

 Next came the infamous American, Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921). Cyrus Scofield was heavily influenced by the writings of John Darby. Scofield interwove Futurism into the notes of his Scofield Reference Bible.The Scofield Reference Bible was published by Oxford press in 1909. By 1930 over one million copies were in circulation and the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine known as futurism was well on its way to becoming a ubiquitous part of mainstream American Christianity."

BTW, this isn't Schofield's.


 As the story goes:

The false pre-tribulation rapture was invented by a Jesuit priest named Francisco Ribera (1537-1591). Ribera was commanded to create a new eschatological doctrine that would combat the historical Protestant view that the Catholic church was one of the beasts written of in the book of Revelation.

 A second Jesuit priest, Manuel De Lacunza, wrote a book supporting Ribera’s Futurist doctrine under the pen name “Juan Josafa (Rabbi) Ben Ezra” in 1791. Lacunza took on a fake name in order to mislead Christian people into thinking the book was written by a Jew and not a Jesuit. If the Protestants knew a Jesuit was behind this new doctrine they would have never accepted it.

 A third Jesuit priest, Luis De Alcazar, wrote a commentary titled “The Investigation of the Hidden Sense of the Apocalypse” which put forth a second false doctrine, its purpose was to contradict the historical Protestant view. This new doctrine was called “Preterism” and basically espoused that the Emperor Nero was the Antichrist and that the prophecies in book of Revelation were fulfilled by 70 A.D.

 Both new doctrines, Futurism and Preterism, were created by the Jesuits in order to deceive Protestant Christians and to obfuscate the prophecies of Revelation. Both the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation clearly define the Catholic church to be loyal to Satan and not to God. We’re talking about the Elite hierarchy of the Catholic Church (The Pope and most of his cardinals) not the everyday catholic who goes to church every Sunday.

 The Jesuits passed their doctrine onto Edward Irving (1792-1834), a Scottish Presbyterian and forerunner of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. Irving translated Lacunza’s work from Spanish into English in a book titled “The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty,” published in London in 1827 by L.B. Seeley and Sons.

 Edward Irving was a Charismatic preacher from Scotland and had a small congregation. A young girl (15-years old) by the name of Margaret McDonald had a series of visions in the early 1830s. These visions supported a pre-tribulation rapture of the saints as established in the writings of Francisco Ribera. She wrote a letter to Irving concerning her visions and Irving brought her revelations to a prophecy conference in Dublin Ireland in 1830 which was held at Powerscourt Castle. Edward Irving aggressively promoted Futurism, the Jesuit created rapture doctrine based on Ribera’s lies.

 From England and Scotland the Jesuit created Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine grew and then spread to America. It was John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) who also attended the prophecy conference at Powerscourt Castle who was the first American preacher to zealously spread the Jesuit inspired false doctrine.

 Next came the infamous American, Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921). Cyrus Scofield was heavily influenced by the writings of John Darby. Scofield interwove Futurism into the notes of his Scofield Reference Bible.The Scofield Reference Bible was published by Oxford press in 1909. By 1930 over one million copies were in circulation and the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine known as futurism was well on its way to becoming a ubiquitous part of mainstream American Christianity."

I have read all of these comments many times.  As far as sources, the moderator is correct to ask for some, but I would say that the potential list would be enormous.   Hank Hanegraaff's Apocalypse Code covers much of this.   

I've been reading some claims against Scofield in Against Our Better Judgment, by Alison Weir, and in this she has documented (half of the book is documentation and most with direct quotes) claims of Scofield having made an agreement with certain associates and the claim is that he was paid to embellish the Bible with commentary which supports Zionism.   I think the truth is somewhere in the middle.   Some say he was a scoundrel and a drunk;  He admitted that but claimed that he reformed after he was saved.   His detractors say he never changed.   This is getting off track but the book by Alison Weir describes the evolution of Zionism beginning in the late 1800's.   Of particular note is Louis Brandeis.  There's a statue of him in the downtown of my home town and a Law School named after him to honor him for becoming a Supreme Court member.
 
This is just an opinion but I think that the Margaret McDonald story is just that, a story, a fabrication.   

If you ever read or hear that Dispensationalism was invented by a monk that is because Darby was an Anglican monk before he joined the Plymouth Brethren.   I've heard that stated many times before with Darby described as a monk and consequently it sometimes gets stated as though a Catholic monk was responsible.   If I have to document this I'm in trouble but I've heard teachers and preachers state these things over the past forty-plus years via radio and television and I've heard it so many times that I just know it.     

Has anyone read Scofield's interpretation of the End Times?

Many groups have adopted it without much modification. 2 Thess. is usually where the theory starts. The Anti-Christ is supposed to arrive before  the Lord. A great falling away from the faith is expected and the Anti-Christ appears. Scofield takes a passage from Daniel to show that, in the beginning, the Anti-Christ is a great flatterer, and is a man of intrigues.

From there, Scofield recalls a type of Anti-Christ, Antiochus Ephinenaeus, who, during the Intertestamental period, was the abomination of desolation and defiled the Jewish temple by eating a pig. See Daniel 8. BTW, he was the king of Syria and annexed Judah to his country in 198 AD.

The theory goes on, but please tell me what you think so far.

What Antiochus Epiphanes did in 170-165 B.C. was conquer Jerusalem, went into the Jewish temple and sacrificed swine upon the altar, and then spread its broth around inside the temple, thus desolating the temple. He then placed an idol abomination to Zeus worship and demand all to bow to it (see this history per the Jewish historian Josephus who lived in 100 A.D.).

Antiochus IV serves as a blueprint for the coming Antichrist at the end of this world, simply because our Lord Jesus quoted Daniel about that "abomination of desolation" event around 200 years after Antiochus had already done that. So it means to look for another still to do that abomination of desolation.

Those who infer the "abomination of desolation" idea means destruction of the temple in Jerusalem don't know what they are talking about. In 70 A.D., the temple burned before the Romans could get control of it, so no "abomination of desolation" happened then (this per the Jewish historian Josephus).

The "abomination of desolation" is about an IDOL abomination that spiritually desolates the temple in Jerusalem and its people through false idol worship. That tempting is what Daniel and his fellows had to go through in his days while captive to Babylon for 70 years. For the end of this world, Babylon is coming to Jerusalem this next time; that's where it's going to happen again with the coming Antichrist.

One of the dangers with Cyrus Scofield is that he followed a doctrine of men that began in 1830's Great Britain called the Pre-tribulation secret Rapture theory which was first taught in there by John Nelson Darby and the Brethren movement. (Cyrus actually had a dark history if you look into it. He served some jail time for stealing some of one of his relative's inheritance. He claimed to have a Doctorate from university which he never had. He was a member of the Club of New York, a private club for NY bankers and lawyers. No doubt that's where he got the funds to publish his Scofield Reference Bible).

Darby at first claimed only those raptured would actually 'see' Christ coming in the clouds, and everyone else on earth would wonder where the saved suddenly disappeared to. So Darby actually preached a 'secret' rapture at the first. That idea was originally part of Pre-trib's teaching that Jesus could come "at any moment" and "as a thief in the night", etc., and to be 'ready' to go, etc. Thus it also became labeled the "Any Moment" doctrine.

Over the years, the Pre-trib school has changed its doctrines slightly. It stays away from Darby's original 'secret' rapture ideas. But it still uses Apostle Paul's "as a thief in the night" phrase from 1 Thess.5, which they misinterpret.

The reason it's wrong to use that "as a thief in the night" phrase to preach a rapture of the Church prior... to the tribulation of Antichrist is because, Apostles Paul and Peter hard-linked that phrase to the future "day of the Lord" event. That "day of the Lord" event only happens at the end of this present world, and that according to Paul, Peter, and the OT prophets (Isaiah 13 for one example; 2 Peter 3:10).

I have heard recently the Pre-trib school wrongly preach when that "day of the Lord" destruction happens. They try to move it to happen prior... to the tribulation, trying to do a force-fit that will match their theory on the rapture timing. A simple study of what Peter taught in 2 Peter 3:10 shows easily how they are in error, for Peter shows what is to occur on that "day of the Lord"; i.e., a burning of man's works off this earth (meaning of "elements" in the Greek). In other words, God is going to step in on that day and end the tribulation and all of man's works on this earth, burning them off by His consuming fire.

This destruction event on the "day of the Lord" Paul also explained in 1 Thess.5 when he said about those who will say, "Peace and safety", then "sudden destruction" will come upon them. Paul also was teaching about the final day of this world with the destruction that will come from The Almighty (Isaiah 13).

Both Paul and Peter said that "day of the Lord" will come "as a thief in the night"! Now do you see the problem with the Pre-trib school's wrong teaching of a rapture of the Church prior to the tribulation? By the way, in Revelation 16:15 Jesus is still speaking to His Church on earth, and says that He comes "as a thief". He warns that on the 6th Vial. Then on the 7th Vial He gathers the armies at Armageddon to battle, which is the event of His 2nd coming.

Thus there is actually only ONE... event of the coming return of our Lord Jesus Christ back to this earth, and it will be to end the tribulation on the "day of the Lord" which will come "as a thief in the night".