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As some of my readers can probably imagine, Israel's current war against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and Iran which is supporting both organizations, is drawing the Futurists out of the woodwork like a magnet. Because they misunderstand Bible prophecy, they are again shouting "Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming!".

For those of you who may not know what Futurism is, in the simplest of terms, it is a doctrine and belief system which takes ancient, already-fulfilled prophecies, and places them in our current time, as if they have not been fulfilled yet. One of the most popular beliefs behind Futurism is that the return of Jesus Christ will occur in the very near future. But there are many different points of view within Futurism. As a result, when someone says that Jesus will return soon, it's wise to inquire of such an individual exactly what they mean, because for some of them, "soon" is a matter of days, while for others, it could mean weeks, months or even years.

But concerning all of these "Jesus is coming soon!" people, sadly, it is really just wash, rinse and repeat with them. In fact, I fully expect that the current misguided talk will probably soon be followed by claims of what is happening in the Middle East right now is the beginning of the Battle of Armageddon. Some people could possibly already be saying it.

For years now, ever since I personally came to the knowledge of the truth regarding this issue concerning the true timing of the return of Jesus Christ, I have repeatedly endeavored to point my Christian brethren to Scriptural truth. However, it is indeed a tragedy that most of them have resisted what I have endeavored to share with them, preferring instead to believe the popular preachers and the church doctrines which repeatedly tell them that Jesus is coming soon.

Some of these folks even insist that it will be any day now. Or else they will say that we are now in the middle of the Great Tribulation, or that the Great Tribulation is about to begin. Of course, for the Pre-Tribbers, that translates into the belief that Christians will soon be taking a bullet train to Heaven.

Well, sadly, even though they more than likely don't realize it right now, I believe that they're all headed for a rather rude awakening. As the years slowly move forward and nothing happens, hopefully, they will finally begin to realize that they have been majorly deceived, and have been the victims of doctrinal error.

But in case you are not aware of it, that is the way it has been since the early 1800s when a man named William Miller, along with his followers who were known as the Millerites, declared that Jesus would return in 1844. Miller solidified his belief regarding Christ's return in 1818, believing that Jesus would return in 1843-1844. However, it was not until 1822 that he publicized his beliefs. Then, when Jesus failed to appear in the sky in the prophesied year, Miller's failed prediction became known as the Great Disappointment, and some people fell away from the faith because of it. The Millerites eventually evolved into the Seventh Day Adventists, who to this very day continue to adhere to the misguided teachings of their false prophetess, Ellen G. White.

Of course, William Miller was not alone in promoting what would eventually become known as Futurism. While he was busy promoting his doctrine in America, over in Great Britain, a fellow by the name of John Nelson Darby was doing something very similar. In short, Miller and Darby were contemporaries. Miller was born eighteen years before Darby in 1782 and died in 1849, while Darby was born in 1800 and lived until 1882. So basically, Miller's Millerites -- or Millerism -- in the United States, and Darby's Plymouth Brethren -- later known as the Darbyite Brethren -- in Great Britain, developed at pretty much the same time.

Now here is where the difference lies, and why it might seem confusing. In contrast, John Darby didn't begin publicizing his beliefs -- Dispensationalism and Pre-Tribulation Rapture -- in Britain until the early 1830s, or about twenty years after Miller publicized his beliefs. While Miller focused primarily on Christ's return in 1843-1844 -- which obviously failed to happen -- John Darby pushed his predictions a lot further into the future. It is for this reason that Darby is generally regarded as the so-called "father" of Futurism and the Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine.

On a side note, the basic tenet of Dispensationalism is that God has divided the history of the Earth into different ages or stages, and that during each age, He has certain goals He wishes to accomplish which work towards the Salvation of men.

It is also important to point out that while William Miller's long-term influence was more or less limited to the doctrines of Adventism, John Nelson Darby has had a much greater impact on modern Christianity. In fact, it's very far-reaching. As an example, it is in large part due to Darby's teachings that we have Christian Zionism -- including John Hagee and CUFI -- and the misguided Scofield Reference Bible, the Dallas Theological Seminary, Hal Lindsey's well-known book "The Late Great Planet Earth", Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins' popular "Left Behind" book series and movie franchise, etc. All of these promote the doctrines of John Nelson Darby, including Futurism.

As I point out in my series "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?", to say the least, Futurism is a very powerful and a very influential belief system which has overshadowed other theological perspectives. Many Christians are not even aware of the fact that not all Christians embrace Futurism. It is precisely because of Futurism's powerful influence that so many modern Christians have become deceived by it, aside from the fact that many of them simply do not take the time to study the Bible for themselves. As I have explained on many occasions, they depend on the famous preachers to tell them the truth, but what those preachers are telling them is NOT always the truth. It is the misguided doctrines of men. Concerning the importance of studying God's Word ourselves, please consider the following group of Bible verses:

"THY WORD HAVE I HID IN MINE HEART, that I might not sin against thee."


"SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."


"STUDY TO SHEW THYSELF APPROVED UNTO GOD, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."


"And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES DAILY, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few."


"And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, IT IS NOT REASON THAT WE SHOULD LEAVE THE WORD OF GOD, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. BUT WE WILL GIVE OURSELVES CONTINUALLY TO PRAYER, AND TO THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD."


"Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who LABOUR IN THE WORD AND DOCTRINE."


Continuing our discussion, one other important name from that very same time period which is worth mentioning is Margaret MacDonald. She was another contemporary of William Miller and John Nelson Darby. While Mr. Miller was of Anglo-Irish descent, MacDonald was of Scottish stock. In fact, Margaret MacDonald was born in the same year that William Miller arrived at his conclusions concerning his misguided 1844 prediction centering on the Lord's return. We could say that Margaret MacDonald was to some degree responsible for the creation of the charismatic movement, because she was at the forefront of a movement that was associated with speaking in tongues, miraculous healing, the gift of prophecy, and having visions.

But there is an interesting twist to this story. John Nelson Darby and another fellow were sent by the Plymouth Brethren to investigate what was going on with Edward Irving's church in London where these manifestations were occurring. Darby concluded that it was really demonic activity and not of God whatsoever. Incidentally, it is worth mentioning that similar to William Miller and Margaret MacDonald, Edward Irving also believed in the soon return of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, his church -- which strongly believed in spiritual gifts -- was the forerunner of the Catholic Apostolic Church, and is also known as the Irvingian Church, or the Irvingite Church.

But there is more. There is contention over who really began the Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine. Was it really Darby, or was it MacDonald? You see, in the aforementioned church where these things were happening, Margaret MacDonald gave what has been referred to as a charismatic utterance. While speaking, she described Christ's return and the so-called rapture. Some people have been arguing about this issue ever since then. Was Margaret MacDonald the first to promote the doctrine, and did John Nelson Darby later borrow the idea from her? Some people say that John Darby had already formulated his Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine by 1827, which was three years before Margaret MacDonald had her 1830 vision concerning Christ's return.

Regardless of what the truth of the matter may be -- it is of no importance to me personally -- what I find very intriguing is the fact that if we consider just the predictions of these three individuals alone from the early to mid 1800s -- not to mention the many other date setters and rapture promoters who have appeared on the scene since then -- amazingly, it has been a full two hundred years since these kinds of misguided predictions first began being made. Furthermore, in spite of the fact that they have ALL miserably failed to materialize, these misguided Christians STILL just don't seem to get it. They remain willfully blind to the Scriptural truth by their very own choice, as I explained earlier.

As I mention in articles such as "Facebook False Prophets and Misguided Teachers", there are STILL famous preachers -- not to mention all of the false wannabe "prophets" on the social networks -- who continue to promote this deceptive nonsense. I encounter it all the time. You would think that after two hundred years of one failed prediction after another, these misguided Christians would start thinking to themselves "Hmmm . . . Something is not right here. Have we gotten something wrong?" But sadly, they don't. And now, with the situation in the Middle East really starting to explode, as I said before, the "any minute now" folks are at it once again. Tsk, tsk!

Before concluding this article, I am going to add a personal note for those of my readers who can receive it. I realize that there are some Christians who have serious doubts about my particular perspective and understanding, as outlined in the aforementioned series called "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?". Some of you even think that I am majorly deceived, that I am a misguided teacher, and perhaps even a false prophet, even though I have never prophesied anything in my life. That being the case, let me state the following for your personal consideration.

Aside from the fact that over a dozen years ago in 2011 and 2012 I took a renewed, serious look at the Scriptures with regard to the Second Coming doctrine -- which resulted in my making a complete U-turn in my understanding concerning the return of Jesus Christ -- I also have the advantage of having time on my side. Stated another way, unlike a lot of younger Christians -- younger in both a physical and spiritual sense -- I have personally observed as these misguided doctrines, questionable predictions and failed prophecies have been given birth, developed, grown, become quite ubiquitous and ultimately come to no fruition.

I have watched these developments for over fifty years now. In fact, as I explain in "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?", I myself was deceived by the false belief in the future return of Jesus Christ for forty-two years of my adult Christian life. I had the same expectations as everyone else. I had the same beliefs as everyone. I was a solid Futurist who in fact preached Futurism quite fervently. And then God woke me up.

When you realize these things, it begins to wake you up to the truth. You sense that something is just not right about what you are hearing, reading or seeing. So it is not just the fact of what the Scriptures actually say regarding the return of Jesus Christ, but it is likewise my own personal experiences over the past five decades which have helped to strengthen my personal convictions regarding this issue, and it is why I qm now so firmly opposed to Futurist doctrine.

Believe it or not, but over fifty years ago when I was still a teenager, and at a time when I first dedicated my life to the Lord, Futurism was not nearly as strong and pervasive as it is today. It was not nearly as dominant as it is now. Yes, it already existed, but there were still other options which one could consider.

For example, there were still some Christians who understood that the ancient prophecies which are found in the Books of the Prophets, in the Gospels, in the Epistles, and in the Book of Revelation, had already been fulfilled to a certain degree. Furthermore, to my recollection, nobody was jumping all over such Christians accusing them of being deceived, or being a misguided teacher who was teaching the doctrines of devils, or being a false prophet, such as we see occurring today.

As some of my readers will undoubtedly already realize, the social networks are quite notorious for this kind of shameful behavior, where our own brethren are viciously attacking each other in heated debates. The level of pride, ego, haughtiness and arrogance involved in some of these exchanges is a real tragedy.

But sadly, in our current day, the doctrine of Futurism has literally buried the opposition, and silenced them through a campaign of condemnation and intimidation. In fact, just the other day, I had a Christian brother -- who also came to the knowledge of the truth regarding the Second Coming a number of years ago -- tell me how difficult it has been for him to share this truth with other Christians. Exactly as I have experienced for years now, he finds himself confronted with a stiff wall of resistance from those Christians who prefer to cling to the false doctrines of popular preachers and organized religion.

This same brother asked me how I have dealt with the pressure for so many years, and more or less been a lone voice crying in the wilderness, although I am definitely by no means the first person to discover this truth regarding the true timing of the return of Christ. As I told him, you simply need to be like a duck and let all the negativity and criticism roll off your back. You need to be a thick-skinned Christian. But most importantly, as the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 14, you need to be fully persuaded in your own mind concerning what you believe, and then just firmly stand your ground, come what may. Consider the following group of verses as proof of this:

"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."


"Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle."


"Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."


"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;"


"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."


My friends, really think about it. What choice do we really have? Let's face it. The only alternative is to grow weak, compromise our personal convictions and beliefs, and yield to sickening political correctness. Who wants to do that? I most certainly don't. We need to stand firm, and not allow ourselves to be blown about by every wind of false doctrine and damnable heresies, even if everyone else opposes us and insists that we are wrong. Consider the following group of verses:

"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:"


"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."


Let me mention here that while I have entitled this article "Fight Against Futurism!", please understand that I am NOT instructing or encouraging anyone to go out and engage in doctrinal debates. As I point out in the article entitled "Should Christians Engage in Doctrinal Debates?", I'm quite opposed to such debates, and view them as both a waste of time, and a complete exercise in futility. Rarely do they ever bear any good fruit. You can argue with someone until you are blue in the face. You can throw verse after verse at them. But until they have an open mind and heart to receive the truth, you are really just wasting your time.

Now, what I do advocate is using whatever method the Lord shows you to meekly and humbly share the truth regarding the fallacies of Futurism. That is precisely what I do by way of my BBB articles, my poetry, my graphics and my KJV Bible Verse Lists. I simply present the Scriptural facts, and then I allow people to make up their own minds. I am reminded of the following verse:

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you WITH MEEKNESS AND FEAR:"


Now, for those of you who have seen the light and the truth regarding the fallacies of Futurism, I believe that as time moves forward and the years pass, and you continue to grow older and wiser in your faith, your convictions regarding all of this will grow stronger as well, because you will see with your own eyes, or hear, or read, how these predictions just keep on failing, even as one false prophet or misguided teacher arises one after the other. I hope you find some degree of consolation in my words.

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Abomination of Desolation: Explained!
Are You a Burning Ember for the Lord?
Christian Witnessing: Winning the Sheep and Waging the Warfare!
Do You Stand Up for Your Faith?
Facebook and the Battle for Our Youth
Facebook False Prophets and Misguided Teachers
Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word
Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?
Please Stop Misinterpreting the Scriptures
Should Christians Engage in Doctrinal Debates?
The Internet: Our Final Frontier; Your Last Chance?
This Little Light, Glory of the Lord and Our Bright Future
Understanding the Bible in Context

If you are interested in digging deeper into the previously discussed individuals and doctrines, following are a few links to pages on the Wikipedia website:

William Miller
John Nelson Darby
Futurism
Dispensationalism
Margaret MacDonald
Edward Irving
Catholic Apostolic Church

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Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.