Prophecy Light

The Church - Between the Rock and a Hard Place

2012-01-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

Upon This Rock I Will Build My Church
When Jesus asked the disciples who He was Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God". Jesus went on to say, "Upon this rock I will build my church". Did Jesus mean to indicate that His church would be built upon Peter and affiliation to Peter - through apostolic succession. Or, did Jesus mean to indicate that His church would be built on the foundational truth that Jesus is the Christ - the Son of the living God?

The difference between these two rocks is stark. The correct answer could make the difference between salvation or damnation. What is more - from the second century forward there began to be a difference between what the Bible teaches and what was being taught by the mega church leaders (the bishops).

The Old and New Testaments confirm that salvation comes by believing in, and calling on, the name of the Lord. Nowhere in the Bible are we told that salvation comes by affiliation to Peter. In fact, both Jesus and Paul point out that salvation is not merely by affiliation. Jesus said that God could raise up stones to be proper worshipers; and Paul said, not all that are called Israel are actually children of Israel.

The Stone that the Builders Rejected

But history does repeat itself. During the second and third centuries powerful church leaders began to assert that no one could be saved apart from "the church". This is true - but in an indirect manner. The real church is made up by those who have been saved by faith; so that, the church consists of those who are saved - those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. But this is not to say that a person cannot place saving faith in Jesus without first establishing an affiliation with Peter through his appointees.

But once the church was united with the state during the reign of Constantine, church membership (and salvation) began to be equated with citizenship. Once the importance of personal faith was diminished, the control of the church went to the city that claimed the name of Peter. Rome ruled by fear of damnation from the sixth century until the Reformation.

Thanks to the printing press, the common people began to read the Bible and soon discovered that salvation comes by faith in the Son of God - not from their connection to one of His disciples. But the Bible itself warned that a false type of Christ would come - an Antichrist - acting in the place of Christ.

The Protestant Reformers saw that the Antichrist was the false Rock - the one that had become synonymous with Roman Catholicism. When the Protestants brought this charge against Rome - the Catholics struck back by killing the Reformers as heretics. The more Rome shed the blood of the saints, the more she resembled the Antichrist. The pope actually called himself the Vicar of the Son of God - meaning Christ Himself on the earth vicariously!

That's when, in 1589, Francisco de Ribera came up with a scheme to repel the Protestants' accusations. He claimed that Revelation should be interpreted as sealed prophecy - only to become applicable at some distance future time. His theory of Futurism held that their current day pope could not be the Antichrist because the time of the end hadn't started yet. -- IT WORKED. Four hundred years later the Protestants even teach it themselves in their own seminaries! Now that the Left Behind theory has become lodged in Protestant theology (even in some statements of faith right along with the Apostles' Creed) the Protestant Church is truly between the Rock and a hard place. The church has been silenced from identifying the Antichrist because the Catholics have convinced her that the Church and the Antichrist will not exist on the earth at the same time.

But now we have a weapon even greater than the printing press to once again expose the works of the devil. Now with the Internet this great cover-up can be broadcast into every corner of the world. The true Rock was hidden for over 1,000 years before the Protestant Reformation. Don't let the evil one continue to operate in secret. The Reformers were right about salvation by faith - and they were right about the Antichrist. Now it's time for the "Protestant Information".

Interpreting Prophecy by the Rules

2012-01-07T11:10:00.000-08:00

Playing by the Rules
Paul instructed Timothy in 2nd Tim 2:5 - "And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules". When it comes to interpreting Revelation we don't have many rules; but we are told that Revelation should not be treated as sealed prophecy. "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book" (Rev 22:10).

False Start
In American football, a play must be started over and any yardage forfeited upon the charge by the referees - "false start". In a track race, getting disqualified off of the starting blocks demands that the race be rerun. So it is with any interpretation of the Revelation prophecies which would presume to began with the perspective of sealed scripture. It is simply against the rules.

Good Beginnings
Many great theologians have made honest attempts to identify the fulfillment of Revelation. These legitimate interpretations include associations between:

The fall of Jerusalem and the beast of Rome
The fall of the Roman Empire with a force which had been restraining
The Papal system with the False Prophet (Antichrist)
The persecution of more than 50 Million Christians and most of Judaism as the time of persecution and death known as the Holocaust

And I suggest in my book, "Come out of her, My people" that the time has now arrived for the destruction of the Great Harlot and one-third of the planet.

Freeze Frame
Over the last four hundred years a movement known as Futurism has been growing and attempting to interpret Revelation by its own rules. Rule number One - start from the perspective that Revelation is a sealed prophecy which will not begin until a future "trigger" sets Revelation off and running. Learn what the Protestant Reformers beleived about Revelation and why the Roman Catholic Church would break the rules and seal the Revelation prophecies to protect their pope.

Sealing Revelation - the Great Wager

2012-01-01T09:25:00.000-08:00

Pascal's Wager
Blaise Pascal, a mathematician and philosopher during the seventeenth century, proposed that a reasonable person would choose to believe in God. He argued that if God did not exist, and one believed in Him anyway, the believer would still end up living an honorable life even if there were no eternal reward. Pascal's alternative point was that if God does exist, and one lived their life denying God and living out an ungodly lifestyle, they would have lived a miserable and selfish life. The conclusion is that one might as well wager that God exists and receive the immediate and eternal blessings, instead of denying God and then facing eternal condemnation if God is real indeed.

Another great wager is on the table
The Book of Revelation may be interpreted as sealed prophecy - inapplicable until a future time or event;
or, Revelation may be interpreted as live and active prophecy which demands continual review in order to identify possible fulfillment at any moment.

What are the risks associated with this wager?
On my part - if my interpretation of Revelation anticipates the destruction of Mystery Babylon before the resurrection of the dead and the following rapture (1st Thess 4); and, if I am wrong, then some might flee from a wicked nation unnecessarily in obedience to the command, "Come out of her, My people" (Rev 18:4)

On the other hand - if people are taught to expect the resurrection of the dead and subsequent rapture prior to the plagues, persecutions and trials of Revelation; then might some of these people be stumbled if tribulations like the ones foretold in Revelation began to occur while the Church is still on the earth? Might a dozen little ones be stumbled? A thousand. Tens of Thousands? And, what is the great benefit to those who have been so taught. If a rapture came upon them completely unexpectedly ( due to a lack in instruction) how would they have been damaged by their prior ignorance of that event?

The consequences of this wager are staggering indeed. How will you respond to the instruction:
"Do not seal the words of the prophecies of this book" (Rev. 22:10)

When the Flashing Sentinels Fall

2011-12-27T13:52:00.000-08:00

Guardians of the Faith
When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, God set a flaming sword at the garden's gate to prohibit man's reentry. God has also set sentinels in His Word to keep men from violating His doctrinal truths.
The creeds, which were established from Scripture during the first centuries of the Church, were set up as foundational truths. These basic doctrines set boundaries to prevent the perversion of sound doctrine.

The Galatians Guardian Against New Gospels
Paul set a sentinel in the first chapter Galatians to guard against the proposal of alternative gospel messages. "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." (Gal 1:6-9)

There actually have been some religious leaders who have claimed that an angel came and spoke to them a different gospel. Those familiar with God's Word would immediately reject such an experience - based on God's forewarning. But, astonishingly, thousands of people have trusted in Joseph Smith's gospel which was purportedly revealed to him by an angel.

God's Sentinel Verse Against Sealing Revelation
God also gave specific instruction regarding the Book of Revelation. Most Bible students agree that Revelation can be difficult to interpret. The prudent course of action when dealing with uncertainty is to fall back on the things that are known. What is plain and obvious from reading Revelation is that the prophecies were not to be sealed up until a future time. "And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. (Rev 22:10) This sentinel truth gives us a starting point to began to piece together the aspects of Revelation that are not clearly stated.

The sentinel which stood against the sealing of Revelation has fallen over the course of the last four centuries. Francisco de Ribera proposed sealing Revelation in 1589 as a means of obscuring the Roman Catholic Church from its resemblance to the Antichrist. Rome was shedding the blood of the saints (the real saints), and placing a man in the place of Christ over the Church (the pope). The Catholics wanted to convince the Protestants that Revelation's prophecies were not applicable until some mysterious time at the end of the age. And so, for thousands of believers, Revelation is a sealed book of prophecy awaiting application for a time in the future.

Left Behind - the Penalty for adding to Revelation

2011-12-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

St John on Patmos by Nicolas Poussin

The Curse of Addition and Subtraction

St John gave stern warnings to anyone who would manipulate the Book of Revelation. -- Please understand that it is not my heart or my desire that anyone would suffer the plagues of the Tribulation, or be left out of the book of life. I'm primarily concerned that God's patience with those who have meddled with Revelation in the past is not mistaken for His acceptance.

"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. " (Revelation 22:18-19)

Adding to the Book

What about oral Traditions? Like Revelation 3:23. (Rev Ch 3 actual ends with verse 22) The unwritten verse 23 goes something like this: "The Church has now been raptured." And then verse 23b,c,d,e,f. . . usually contains anywhere from a few sentences to a full-blown sermon explaining why the Church is gone. Did anyone ever wonder why God left verse 23 out; and how the Church might interpret Revelation if verse 23 weren't added?

The most curious consideration is the fact that those who add to Revelation will be the very ones stuck with enduring the plagues that the worthy ones will escape. Look again; "God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book". According to John's curse, even if the Church does escape the Great Tribulation, those who add to the book will either be left behind, or, like the rich man in the story of Lazarus, they will experience those plagues after this life.

Subtracting from the Book
Several verses in Revelation indicate that the Patmos Revelation will begin to be fulfilled immediately; like:

Rev 1:1a. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. . ."

Rev 22:6 "And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done."

Rev 22:10 "And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. "

Have you heard any sermons on these verses lately? Probably not. If the result of omission is being omitted from the book of life, you'd think there would be whole bookshelves filled with discussion of these verses. Or at least equal time and weight with those "added" verses.

Why is there such a push for Francisco de Ribera's Futurism (sealing Revelation after Chapter 3) that men would risk their mortal and eternal well being to stand up for it? The boldness by Ribera and his followers to add their own spin on Revelation came during a time when very few people had access to the scriptures. Futurism expanded during the nineteenth century when critics were spreading doubt as to the veracity of the Bible. Today, Futurism almost rolls off of the tongue by second nature - as accepted truth. May God's grace abound toward those who have grown up under the influence of Ribera's delusion.

NEW RELEASE: The Last Enemy of Christ - by CW Steinle

2011-11-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

THE LAST ENEMY OF CHRIST

This book is destined to change the way Christians view end-times prophecy. Instead of just trying to recognize the order of end-time events mentioned in Paul's Epistles, this work seeks to locate the Old Testament framework upon which Paul's observations hang. Time and again the Apostle Paul states detailed information about the sequence of end-times events. Because Paul was, in his own words, a Pharisee of Pharisees: he would have been schooled in the intricacies O.T. prophecy. Paul's precision explanations of the End are not illusive; rather, they find a firm basis in a few obvious Old Testament citations.

Paul's acute knowledge of the End appears to be based on three key sections of the Old Testament. These ancient prophecies reveal a hypothetical framework that is capable of supporting Paul's many references to the Lord's second coming and the end of the age. After reviewing the foundational scriptures, the framework is put to the test by examining Paul's Epistles. The resulting conclusions are proved to be consistent with Paul's writings.

The fact that death will be Christ's last enemy is the kingpin of Paul's eschatology. The second postulate of Paul's chronology is based on the definite duration associated with Christ's term at the right hand of power, namely - "Until Your enemies are made Your footstool". Other fundamental facts are pieced together to form a sequential structure that agrees with Paul's time line.

As more baby-boomer Christians approach the end of their lives, the assurance of a resurrection from the dead will become an increasing source of comfort. Now it is time to revisit Paul's counsel to recognized the true object of God's comfort. CW Steinle sets aside the canned views on eschatology and examines just what the Bible clearly declares. Anyone interested in end-times prophecy will be rewarded by reading this little book.

Read a Non-Reproducible PDF - Free Online

Free for Amazon Prime and KDP Select

Who is the Restrainer? - a Biblical approach

2011-10-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

Who restrains the lawless one? Rome?, the Church?

2nd Thessalonians 2:7-8 "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains [literally holds - kataxon, from the Greek word echo] will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming."

The personal pronouns are not capitalized in the original texts; so no guidance is given by them as to who the one restraining, or the one taken out of the way, might be. Some Bibles capitalize the pronouns to agree with John Nelson Darby's presumptions about the Church. But until the twentieth century most Protestants believed that Rome was the restrainer. (see original Protestant eschatology)

Two prophecies, one from Daniel and the other from Revelation, give the most straightforward identity of the restrainer. Daniel is told by Gabriel that the heavenly force which tipped the balance toward victory over Satan was Michael the Archangel.

Daniel 10:13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia."

Daniel 10:21b "No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince."
(The Septuagint of Paul's day read "There is no one holding with me. . ." The root of the Greek word used here is echo - to hold.)

Now, in Chapter 12 below, Michael is linked with a time of trouble - and a time of the resurrection of the dead.

Daniel 12:1-2a "At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt."

Revelation 12:7-12 shows how Michael "standing up" results in the "time of trouble":

"And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.""

It would appear that the son of perdition could not fully be revealed (although the mystery of lawlessness had already commenced) until Satan, his spiritual counterpart, was thrown down from heaven (taken out of the way) - stay with me here for a moment -. This evil one will not be fully manifested on earth until he is fully ejected from heaven. Michael's victory also fulfills the condition of Jesus' delay - "Until Your enemies are made Your footstool".

Paul stated earlier in this chapter that something needed to happen before Jesus would return. "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition." If it were necessary, in Paul's theology, for Jesus' victory over His enemies to be accomplished prior to His return; and if Paul, like St. John, understood that Satan's fall would result in the earthly manifestation of the son of perdition; then it would be logical to expect the appearance of this man of sin before Jesus' return. And this is exactly what Paul has stated.

Perhaps the things that Paul had told the Thessalonians when he was with them were similar to the things which he wrote to the Corinthians concerning Christ's coming and the resurrection of the dead:
"But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For "He has put all things under His feet."" (1 Corinthians 15:20-27)

In Paul's chronology, the last of Jesus' enemies (death) would be overcome as the dead were raised at His coming. Since death is the last enemy to be overcome before Christ returns, the next-to-the-last enemy (that is Satan) would need to be overcome prior to this last enemy. This places Satan's ejection from heaven (and the simultaneous revelation of the lawless one) just before the dead are raised. And so Paul states, "for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed".

If the two uses of "he" in verse 7 identify two different beings then Michael the Archangel would be the obvious restrainer, and Satan would be the one finally taken out of heaven. When Paul writes that he will be revealed "in his own time" it probably denotes that both of these enemies of Christ will not be dealt with at the same moment, but that there will be a space of time distinguishing the two events - that is between the revelation of the man of sin and the resurrection of the dead. Learn more about Paul's end-time chronology - read a free online copy of "THE LAST ENEMY OF CHRIST" by CW Steinle at: http://www.comeoutofhermypeople.com/lastenemy.php

Do Angels Make Mistakes?

2011-09-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

The popular "Left Behind" theory on End Times treats Revelation as sealed prophecy. The term sealed is defined by its use in the Book of Daniel, verses four and nine of chapter twelve: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." Futurism (the basis for the Left Behind scenario) equates the prophecies of Revelation with the words that had been given to Daniel.

The Protestant reformers were not familiar with the Left Behind concept. One of the greatest motivations for dying as martyrs was their conviction that the Roman Catholic Church was Mystery Babylon, and that the papal system was the Antichrist of Revelation. They believed they were living in the time of the 12th and 13th chapters of John's Apocalypse. (read what the Reformers wrote about eschatology) They were obedient to John's warning to "keep the words of the prophecies of this book".

Unsealed prophecy requires diligence to watch for the fulfillment of God's Word. That is just what the Protestant Fathers were doing; and what we should be doing - that is, if Revelation is unsealed prophecy. What changed the Protestant Church's End Times doctrine? Was the angel who told John, "Do not seal the words of the prophecies of this book" mistaken?

The answer is shocking and scandalous. As the Roman Catholics tortured and slaughtered increasing numbers of the Protestant martyrs (shedding the blood of the saints) they looked even more like Revelation's villain. These martyrs saw the pope as the one sitting in the place of God on the earth; and the Roman Church had been ruling for roughly 1260 years. It was a perfect fit.

That's when, in 1589, a Jesuit theologian came up with the brilliant idea that John had only seen the immediate and distant future, but John was prevented from seeing any of the time in between - nearly 2,000 years to-date. Francisco Ribera tied Revelation to Daniel's sealed time at the end. This meant the the pope couldn't be the Antichrist because Revelation was sealed prophecy. He got the pope off the hook; even though it meant sealing Revelation in disobedience to the angel's instructions.
So how long did it take to sell this idea to the Protestant Church? About 300 years. A wonderful website to understand this process is: Left Behind by the Jesuits

The question Christians need to ask themselves today is, "What should we be doing with the Book of Revelation". Should we be reading novels based on Ribera's bogus premise; or, should we be looking for Revelation's fulfillment as though John's prophecies were not sealed up for some fantasy time in the future? "Come out of her, My people" -by CW Steinle is such an attempt to relate the signs and symbols of Revelation with the realities of our day.

Could America be The Great Harlot & Home of the Lawless One?

2011-09-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

The Mystery of Lawlessness
Lawlessness is sin according to John. "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." (1st John 3:4) But the sin of lawlessness conveys not only the breaking of God's law, but a complete disregard for God's law. The spirit of lawlessness would then be a general casting off of authority; both human and sacred. This spirit has certainly overtaken America. We see this manifested in the removal of the Ten Commandments, and in the libertarian lifestyles that are trampling down the walls of toleration and demanding full acceptance.

Jesus is noted in Hebrews 1:9 as having "loved righteousness and hated lawlessness". And because of this attitude we are told that the "oil of gladness" was poured upon Him. This is not about hating people; it is about having a righteous indignation toward the spirit that desires to cast off all authority. Under the guise of freedom, lawlessness is indeed abounding. Lawlessness is becoming synonymous with "rights".

Looking for the Lawless One
1st Thessalonians 2:1-12 "Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

The Fathers of the Protestant Faith were looking for the Lawless One. The suggestion that Revelation should be read as sealed prophecy was not proposed until the late 16th Century. Luther and Calvin believed they had clearly identified the pope as the one sitting in the place of God on the earth. The more the Roman Catholics shed the blood of the saints - the more certain the Reformers were in their conclusion. In their defense, the Catholics sealed Revelation with the theory of Futurism (the assumption that Revelation would not be applicable until a future mystical era at the end of the age).

Most Protestant denominations have given up the fight for condemning the papal system as the Antichrist; and astonishingly, they have even adopted the Catholic theory of Futurism. (Although the Seventh Day Adventists still continue in the original Protestant sentiments ) But few Christians have been interested in unraveling the 16th Century sealing that has made Revelation's prophecies irrelevant to our generation. "Come out of her, My people"-by CW Steinle, applies the same premise of unsealed prophecy used by the Reformers to examine our world. This would appear to be the proper biblical approach, given the angelic instruction, "Do not seal the words of the prophecies of this book" - Rev 22:10.

America - Great Harlot and Lawless Beast
"Come out of Her, My people" reveals many of the characteristics of Mystery Babylon which find possible fulfillment in post-Christian America:

World's Policeman - "Who can make war with the beast?"
Trading Capitol - “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore."
Citizens live in Luxury - "and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.”
Given to Sinfulness - "For her sins have reachedto heaven"
Unfaithful to God - "with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication"
Unknown at John's writing - "Mystery Babylon the Great"

Although the details of Mystery Babylon's fall are given near the end of Revelation, the announcement of her fall comes before the Bowls of Wrath in Chapter 14. The celebration of Babylon's destruction is given immediately prior to Christ's return; upon which, according to 2nd Thessalonians (above) the Lawless One will also be judged. There would seem to be a union between the son of perdition and the Great Harlot. It would appear likely, given the current love of lawlessness abounding in America, that the Lawless One would have ties to the US.

Ignoring Prophecy - A Lesson from the Pharisees

2011-08-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

Blind Pharisees
"When Christ came, treading outside the guidelines established by the religious rulers of His day, those rulers were slow to yield, or completely unyielding. When the reality of Christ’s life ran contrary to their preconceived ideas, they concluded that He couldn’t be the Messiah." - quote from intro. of Come out of her, My people - by CW Steinle. The Pharisees expanded the Law and ignored the Word spoken through their contemporary prophets. Because of this blindness, the Jewish leaders overlooked the hundreds of prophecies being fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth.

Beware of the Yeast
Jesus warned His followers not to walk in the hypocritical ways of the Pharisees; who were out of touch with the Life of God and bound up in the deadness of their own rules. Today the Church suffers from similar restrictive, extra biblical rules of man. Many American seminaries are teaching things that they ought not to teach.

Thinking Outside the Books
Our seminaries have yielded to the temptation to "think beyond what is written". Doctrines so complex and obscure that they were never suggested before the late 16th Century have found their way into our Statements of Faith. Christian have been more than willing to retreat in dread from the living God, and instead to settle for a more comfortable life based on familiar legalism. But Hebrews 12:18-24 implies a peace that we now have through Christ, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit - with His gifts, are no longer to be dreaded by His dear children.

"For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.” And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.") But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel."

~~Houston~~, Dallas - We Have a Problem
One of the most profound, and curious, examples of prophetic blindness is the Dallas Theological Seminary stance on the gifts of the Spirit. As many other American seminaries now teach, Dallas teaches the cessation of the 'supernatural' gifts (those gifts of tongues, prophecy, and healing). Like the mountain burning with fire, they consider these gifts to be too hot to handle. It would appear that the actual presence and power of God brings these fearful professors the same discomfort of those who have never found peace through the blood of the cross.

The Cessation and the Sealing of Prophecy
The most curious aspect of Dallas' doctrine is the endorsement of the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church, which originated in Southern Scotland in the 1800's as a prophetic vision. As a teenager, Margaret McDonald was battling an illness when she was given a gift of spiritual vision, as the account is recorded. John Nelson Darby apparently incorporated Margaret's idea in his theory on Dispensationalism. The suggestion of a pre-trib rapture came at an opportune time. The 16th Century theory of Futurism (the sealing of the last 19 chapters of Revelation), had caused Christ's return to seem irrelevant. According to Futurism, Jesus would not return until the end of a mysterious fantasy time, squelching any anticipation of Christ's eminent return. McDonald's rapture filled the void created by Futurism.

Darby realized the compatibility of sealed prophecy and the theory of prophetic cessation. Harmonizing these two theories brought Christian doctrine back to the place of comfortable legalism; a body of information that could be systematically taught in seminary without the mysteries of the living God.

Do NOT seal the words of the prophecies of this book - Rev 22:10
The rest of the story. When the Reformers began to study the scriptures in their common languages it became obvious to them that the Roman Catholic Church was the one 'shedding the blood of the saints' and placing their pope in the place of Christ on the earth (Antichrist). At that time no theologian had suggested that Revelation was to be interpreted as sealed prophecy. In fact they thought Revelation was the history of the Church. (see original Protestant doctrines)

To protect the pope, a theologian by the name of Francisco Ribera developed the theory of Futurism in 1589. Ribera sealed Revelation as irrelevant knowledge until a future era at the end of the age. The Catholics adopted this theory as their official eschatology. Three centuries later, thanks to Darby and others, it has taken over the Protestants' doctrine as well.