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November 6, 2003 Guest Column by Pastor Brian Jones
The Secret Rapture—What is its Unbiblical Source?
The secret rapture theory was originated by Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) a Jesuit scholar, who expressed the position in his 1590 commentary on Revelation that the first three chapters of Revelation applied to ancient Rome in John's time, with the remaining prophetical parts indicating a literal three and a half years' reign of an infidel antichrist, who would brutally oppose God's people just before the second advent. He taught that antichrist would be a single individual, who would rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, abolish the Christian religion, be received by the Jews, pretend to be God, and conquer the world—all in the space of three and a half literal years. Interestingly enough, Ribera taught that the judgment depicted in Revelation 18 referred to God's punishment of Roman Catholicism for its having sinfully fallen away from papal authority at the end of time under the antichrist's reign, thus equating Babylon with last-day Catholicism!
Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) an Italian Cardinal, and renowned Jesuit scholar, centered his attack on the year for a day principle of Bible prophecy, and insisted that the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation concerning the antichrist tyranny bore no reference to the papal power. He also strenuously insisted that the antichrist was a single person who would appear at the end of time and prevail for three and a half literal years. Nonetheless his book Controversies was put in the Index of forbidden literature by Pope Sixtus V, because in his writings Bellarmine claimed that the pope had no temporal power but only spiritual power. But Sixtus died before his ban on Bellarmine's work could be put into effect. For the purposes of refutation, Bellarmine quoted extensively from Catholic and Protestant sources that identified the pope as antichrist.
It is clear that the theory of Futurism in the interpretation of Daniel and Revelation was thoroughly rooted in Jesuitical theology, specifically developed to deflect the glaring spotlight of prophecy from the Church of Rome.
Manuel de Lacunza (1731-1801), a Jesuit priest who held the Bible above the authority of the church, identified the Church of Rome as the harlot of Revelation 17. Nonetheless, he had a futuristic interpretation of many of the prophecies in Revelation. Under the pen name Rabbi Ben-Ezra, he expounded his views in a book, The Coming Messiah in Glory and Majesty, that reflected RiberaÕs interpretations.
Edward Irving in England, much influenced by Lacunza's futuristic views, translated and published his book in 1827, giving it wide distribution. One of his church members, in an experience of speaking in an unknown tongue, had a “revelation” on the secret rapture. This gave strong impulse to the promulgation of that theory, utterly lacking though it was in scriptural support.
In nineteenth century England, the Futurist concept was revived by Samuel Maitland, James Todd, William Burgh, and John Darby of the Plymouth Brethren. Their writings on this subject repudiated the Protestant Reformation and the historicist school of prophetic interpretation upheld by all the great Reformers from Wycliffe to Wesley. John Henry Newman, influenced especially by Maitland's writings, left the church of England to found the Oxford Movement, which disavowed the Reformation and exalted the Papacy. Newman became the Rector of the Catholic University in Dublin, and for his faithful services to Rome the pope crowned him cardinal in 1879. Newman wrote, “The question really lies between. . . . two alternatives, either the Church of Rome is the house of God, or the house of Satan; there is no middle ground between them.” Essays Critical and Historical, vol. 2, p. 16, London, 1871.
Darby spread his futurist views to late nineteenth-century America, where they were received with enthusiasm. C. I. Scofield, an American pastor, lecturer and author, picked up these views and based his Bible reference notes on futurism. The Scofield Reference Bible, published by the Oxford University Press in 1909, quickly gained a popularity that has steadily increased and set its pervasive impress on evangelical thought ever since.
In 1970 Hal Lindsey released a book based on dispensationalism and futurism, teaching that the antichrist was a godless “future fuehrer” and that there will be a pre-tribulation secret rapture (enabling Christians to escape the final persecution), after which the Jews will evangelize the world for 7 years, and then Christ will visibly return. This unbiblical melange of ideas gained extraordinary popularity, which has been given fresh impetus since 1995 by the authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins in their twelve-part series of novels Left Behind. Their presentation, while attractive to escapist feelings, overlooks some major Bible truths. These omissions open the door for Satan to bring in advanced delusions that will facilitate people's acceptance of the Antichrist, in the belief that he comes as a great spiritual restorer and deliverer. See 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10; Matthew 24:24. Only those whose minds are anchored in the word of God will escape this final religious deception soon to break upon the world. We need Scripture to understand these issues, rather than works of fiction. See 2 Timothy 4:1-4.
Joseph Tanner in his book Daniel and Revelation (1898) wrote: “It is a matter for deep regret that those who hold and advocate the Futurist system of the present day, Protestants as they are for the most part, are thus really playing into the hands of Rome, and helping to screen the papacy from detection as the Antichrist. It has been well said, “That ‘Futurism tends to obliterate the brand put by the Holy Spirit upon Popery.’ More especially is this to be deplored at a time when the Papal Antichrist seems to be making an expiring effort to regain his former hold on men's minds.”
Indeed, it was the insightful and morally courageous understanding of prophecy that added strength to the Reformation, leading the Reformers to separate from the established church of antichrist which sought to suppress the teaching Scripture and assert its position as the supreme authority in spiritual and earthly matters.
