Futurism (Christianity)

Futurism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets portions of the Book of Revelation and the Book of Daniel as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context.

By comparison, other Christian eschatological views interpret these passages as past events in a symbolic, historic context (Preterism and Historicism), or as present-day events in a non-literal and spiritual context (Idealism). Futurist beliefs usually have a close association with Premillennialism and Dispensationalism.

Some elements of the futurist interpretation of Revelation and Daniel can be found in some of earliest centuries of the Christian Church. Irenaeus of Lyon, for instance, was of the view that Daniel's 70th week awaited a future fulfillment. During the Middle Ages and before the Protestant Reformation futurist interpretations were virtually non-existent.

The futurist view was proposed by two Catholic Jesuit writers, Manuel Lacunza and Francisco Ribera. Lacunza wrote under the pen name "Ben-Ezra", and his work was banned by the Catholic Church. It has grown in popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries, so that today it is probably most readily recognized.

The futurist view assigns all or most of the prophecy to the future, shortly before the Second Coming; especially when interpreted in conjunction with Daniel, Isaiah 2:11-22, 1 Thessalonians 4:15–5:11, and other eschatological sections of the Bible.

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