For decades, the prevailing belief in the church regarding prophecy has been what has come to be known as the futurist view but, it was not always so. For centuries prior to the 1830's, the true church was able to discern the antichrist and his false church that had apostatized. How did this shift occur and who was the perpetrator? It was during the years of the Reformation that these events began to take place. Starting with Martin Luther, all the Reformers were united in their view that the Papacy was the predicted antichrist of Scripture. How did they reach this conclusion? They saw that he had fulfilled all the marks prophesied about him in the Word so that there was no need to look for another. They began to point the finger at him, much to his dismay. As the light began to shine on his darkness unmasking him as a wolf in sheeps clothing, the counter reformation was launched. This counter strike included the Council of Trent, to reaffirm their damnable heresies, and some new interpretations of the book of the Revelation in order to take the onus off the Pope. Two Catholic theologians wrote separate treatises regarding antichrist. The first names Nero as the antichrist and said the Revelation was fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. This is what's become known as Preterism. The second, written by a Jesuit named Francisco Ribera in 1585, said the antichrist was one man yet to be revealed at the end of time. Two hundred years later it all bore fruit as the group known as the Tractarians in translated a book by a Jesuit masquerading as a Jew. His name was Rabbi Ben Ezra and he wrote 'The Coming of the Messiah In Majesty And Glory.' It expounded the Jesuit Ribera's false claim, was embraced by these people, who popularized it How can one embrace a doctrine designed for the express purpose of throwing true believers off the track, that is, unmasking the identity if the antichrist? How can a doctrine so new to the church be true? Was the Lord not able to teach his church the truth prior to that? Should a doctrine that is generated from the camp of the enemy by ungodly men be believed? Unless you can answer these questions satisfactorily through your studies, you owe it to yourselves and to the Lord, to see what godly men in the church had believed for centuries. For starters you are welcome to visit our site and the links as well. ________________________________________________________________________ First response from Lambert Dolphin, Paraclete Forum Leader: Thank you for writing. You did not tell me how to reach your web site. I think I succeeded in finding it: http://www.iconbusters.com/iconbusters/ ?? I have enjoyed a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ for almost 40 years. This is given me lots of time to know the entire Bible well and to form my own Christian world view. Naturally I have developed a well-thought view of eschatology and I have read the writings of others on this subject. In spite of all the good the Reformers accomplished there were a good many issues they failed to address: There is a period of church history which is predominantly characterized by Sardis conditions. (Rev. 3:1-6) It extends from the last half of the 16th century, immediately following the Reformation, to about the middle of the 18th century, to the beginning of the Evangelical Awakening. The Reformation, of course, was a time when the church came out of death into life. When Luther discovered the great truth of justification by faith alone and began to preach throughout nations of Northern Europe. People realized afresh the greatness, the liberty of the gospel. All Europe was aflame with freedom....in Luther's day, the gospel spread like wildfire throughout that area and the cruel walls of spiritual bondage fell before the power of God's word. The Reformers preached again the truth about Jesus. They preached in the power of the Spirit. Martin Luther in Zwingli in all of them preached justification by faith; that Christ was the sufficient Savior of men and they needed to believe that and receive it individually. This good news spread quickly, but it only lasted a relatively short time. Anyone familiar with church history must wonder at the way the great fires of the Reformation began to cool so quickly after the Reformers had gone. A fatal error had been made. The churches began to fail even while the Reformers were still alive because they neglected large areas of theology and centered upon the way of salvation largely. Thus these men came to make a great and serious mistake. They began to link the oversight and leadership of the church with the government of the country in which they lived! Luther did it when he looked to the German princes for protection against the power of Rome. Zwingli did it in the government of the country and brought the churches under his oversight into a direct tie with the state. Calvin did it in Geneva when he sought to turn the city into a theocracy. Knox did it in practice proved to be a very dangerous and destructive error and it ultimately drained the gospel of its spiritual content. There was no longer life within the great words. The creed was right -- and these creeds remain to this day -- but in most places where this occurred the vitality of the churches has disappeared. (http://pbc.org/dp/stedman/revelation/4193.html) Another topic not adequately dealt with by the Reformers was eschatology. The Roman Catholic church had almost totally neglected this subject, as well as ignoring the future place of redemptive history--and To me it is clear that the apostate, false church of the end time, described in Revelation 17, 18 rides on the back of the beast (the revived Roman empire). Therefore the last Caesar (antichrist) can not be identical with the Pope. These two groups are, for a season, in league with one another, but they are not synonymous. I do not want to lessen at all the evils of this false church, "...in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth." Please read http://pbc.org/dp/stedman/revelation/4208.html regarding the relationship between the harlot church and the Roman state which supported her in the end time, for a short season. I believe there are two great evil world leaders at the end of the age (see Romans 13, http://pbc.org/dp/stedman/revelation/4205.html) Leader #1 will be a military-political leader in Europe (he is "the beast out of the sea"). The second beast ("out of the land"), is Lord, "I have come in my Father's name and you would not receive me. Another will come in his own name, him you will receive." (Actually the second beast, in one who comes in place of the true messiah--the false Christ). I have been referencing the Commentary on Revelation by my mentor, the late Ray C. Stedman. May I commend this book to you for your interest? http://pbc.org/dp/stedman/reveleaiton I believe we do agree on many areas of truth. Like you I am an iconoclast, so I hope you will allow me to disagree with you in some the details of your belief system. I am not negating your call and ministry. May I encourage you to dig a bit deeper on some of these topics? Sincerely, Lambert Dolphin ________________________________________________________________________ My first response to Lambert Dolphin: Dear Paraclete Forum Administrators: As the Lord would have it, He directed me to your article, Is the Pope the Antichrist? Before tonight I did not know your forum existed. I did not write the letter you ascribe to this ministry. To my knowledge, neither did my co-minister, James. Be that as it may, the author of the letter told you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, whoever he or she may be. In reading the response from the unknown Paraclete editor, I was immediately struck by the fact that person neglected to address the topic of the letter. Rather, an Anabaptist bias immediately arose, as the subject was switched to that of the efficacy and biblical warrant of a Christian state on planet Earth. The question of the Christian state was not the subject of the letter. Thus, the subject of the letter, the papal Antichrist and the numerous proofs brought forth by the Reformers, was dismissed, the editor referring the author to Ray Stedman's commentary on the Revelation. This present writer reviewed key elements in Stedman's commentary. I was neither shocked nor disappointed to find Dispensational Futurism propagated, the seeds of which were sown by the Jesuits to counter the Protestant Pre-Reformers and Reformers correct interpretation of prophecy identifying the Pope as the Antichrist, Beast, Man of Sin, as well as the abomination of desolation. Dispensational Futurism is that false teaching which arises as smoke from the abyss, whose keys are held by the Destroyer. Nowhere in Stedman's commentary is witness given to the tens of thousands of martyrs who testified against the papal Antichrist, sealing their true testimony with their shed blood. In other words, Stedman's belief system makes no allowance for their testimony, no matter how truthful and compelling. In fact, Stedman has glowing words of praise for popes and their deceived minions who send millions to Hell: "It would be simplistic to say this describes the Roman Catholic Church and that church alone. We must remember, first of all, that there are many true saints within the Roman Catholic Church. There have been godly popes, bishops, priests and nuns through the centuries. I have met some of them; so, perhaps, have you." On the contrary, it would be supreme ignorance to dismiss the Church which claims to rule Christendom from Rome, by its infallible, supreme Vicar of Christ - anti-Christ - in the Greek, against whom the saints and martyrs battled head to head for 1,000 years. Furthermore, if there are saved popes in the 2nd millennium, then Christ is the liar and salvation is of works + faith + submission to the Pope and through the 7 sacraments of the Church of Rome, outside of which no one may be saved. I care not how long Mr. Stedman or the editors of the Paraclete Forum have studied the Word of God. If they do not understand the way of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as taught in the Word alone, they are not of Christ. While Stedman and those of his ilk look for a future unknown Antichrist, a rebuilt Temple, a 'secret' Rapture escape, a future tribulation, and the coming of a re-incarnated Elijah and Moses, those of us who HAVE been given wisdom battle the Antichrist presently in our midst, believe Christ who declares the Temple, once destroyed, will NEVER be rebuilt, look for no escape from tribulation as did not one of the millions of martyrs look for one, and do not believe in the literal re-incarnation of Elijah and Moses, as it is written that we are once to live and die in the flesh, after which will then be followed by the judgment. We look for those who have been given the spirit of the prophets, warning the Body, judging the false prophets, and pointing out the arch-enemy of the Lord and His people, the papal Antichrist and his supporters, of whom this present writer can only conclude, Stedman was one. Repent, Paraclete Forum. As self-proclaimed teachers in Christ's Church, you will be judged that much harsher. Rand Winburn ________________________________________________________________________ Second response from Lambert Dolphin: Dear Mr. Rand Windburn, Thank you for writing us. However, the harshness, and naivete of your email pretty much disqualifies you from having anything useful to say to us. Had you bothered to look a bit further you would have discovered that the late Ray C. Stedman was a well-known and highly regarded Bible scholar and expositor who served the Lord for more than 40 years before his home going in 1992. You can find his collected works on his web site, http://pbc.org/dp/stedman/. Please note how well-rounded and broad Mr. Stedman's teaching was--he had a pastor's heart for people, though his greater gift was prophetic. His knowledge of the Scriptures was profound. His life-long study habits were thorough. His expositions of Scripture are beyond reproach for their accuracy and soundness. The Paraclete Forum is a team of a dozen men and women of evangelical persuasion (from several churches) who answer email and help people sort through a myriad of doctrinal and personal issues. We are a diverse team. For you to call us to repent without knowing anything about us is laughable. I think we would all admit our constant need for repentance--but very likely it does not concern the debatable point as to whether or not the Pope is the Antichrist. Speaking for myself, I believe that the evils of the world are indeed chargeable to the account of the great harlot of Babylon who will be focused in the years ahead in the apostate church. I am sure I can agree with you concerning the many great evils that have sprung from the Roman Church over and over again for many centuries now. The final antichrist can not possibly be the pope, however. This is clear from many passages. For example, Revelation 13 describes two beasts--the first will be a great military-political Caesar in Europe and the second a false Jewish messiah in Jerusalem in league with him. (Either or both of these men is identified with Paul's "man of sin," -- the final Antichrist. The false church of the end time is indeed supported by the first beast--but only for a short season as Revelation 17-18 makes clear. Dr. Stedman's excellent commentary on the Book of the Revelation should have clarified this for you, http://pbc.org/dp/stedmran/evelation. I am a retired physicist and have known our Lord Jesus Christ for 40 years now. I can assure you that I know the Bible well--as do my dear friends in the Paraclete Forum. Three years ago a friend and I, Ron Graf, put together a free online book on eschatology, because we saw so much confusion on these issues among God's people. If you want to discuss eschatology further with me, please first take a look at "Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done..." (http://ldolphin.org/kingdom). Mr. Winburn, why are you so vitriolic, judgmental, and opinionated towards others who follow the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we not your brothers and sisters in the Lord? You wrote, "I care not how long Mr. Stedman or the editors of the Paraclete Forum have studied the Word of God. If they do not understand the way of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone..." Of course we believe this--it is kindergarten truth for all of us. All of us have long since moved beyond that entry-level teaching --as Hebrews 6 admonishes every follower of Christ to do. Is there some root of bitterness in your heart that we should help you deal with? If the Lord directed you to us, as you have said, perhaps it was in order that He might help you grow towards the maturity, humility, holiness and wisdom which we all need to enter the eternal kingdom of our Lord Jesus? Sincerely, Lambert Dolphin lambert@ldolphin.org http://ldolphin.org/
My second response to Lambert Dolphin: Dear Lambert: Although your first name is the last name of one of the great early Protestant Reformers, Francis Lambert, the similarity ends there. I have no doubts you have not a clue as to who this man was because the fight he fought is of no interest to religious men, such as yourself and Ray Stedman. The fight Lambert of Avignon fought was that same fight fought by the Lord Jesus 1,500 years earlier. Like Jesus, Francis battled the religious hierarchy of his day. The issue was the true church vs. the false church. The true Gospel vs. the false Gospel. The true God vs. the false God. The true way of salvation vs. the false way. "Thank you for writing us." My response: It is my duty to warn those who superficially claim Christ, yet through doctrine and teaching deny Him. "However, the harshness, and naivete of your email pretty much disqualifies you from having anything useful to say to us." My response: A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. That would include ears to hear and eyes to see. Jesus purposefully bypassed the University and Seminary when choosing His disciples. So please, Lambert, do not boast of your degree in Physics. Your lack of understanding concerning fundamental biblical issues despite your education witnesses against you. Had the Lord Jesus spoken less harshly to the Pharisees He would have escaped crucifixion. Had He preached God's universal love for all, He would never have been nailed to the cross. "Had you bothered to look a bit further you would have discovered that the late Ray C. Stedman was a well-known and highly regarded Bible scholar and expositor who served the Lord for more than 40 years before his home going in 1992." My response: I have seen Stedman's books in the ecumenical 'Christian' Bible bookstores. I have read his praises by men. However, in reading key passages of his Revelation commentary, it became immediately apparent that he lacked the essential ingredient to being a bonified Bible teacher -- the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. His commentary read like processed cheese, dull, tasteless and uninspired. Recently, a brother from West Virginia sent me his commentary on the Revelation. Though he has not the accolades of men nor a huge ministry, his commentary was food for the soul, anointed of God. "Please note how well-rounded and broad Mr. Stedman's teaching was--he had a pastor's heart for people, though his greater gift was prophetic. His knowledge of the Scriptures was profound. His life-long study habits were thorough. His expositions of Scripture are beyond reproach for their accuracy and soundness."
"We are a diverse team. For you to call us to repent without knowing anything about us is laughable." My response: The Lake of Fire is anything but laughable, sir. To slander the saints and martyrs of Christ's Body is no laughing matter either. To hate the Body is to hate the Head, despite an outward verbal profession of love for the Head. Christ calls this behavior giving 'lip service,' which He hates. In perusing your website, I was immediately drawn to your article, The Content of the Gospel. In it you make several damnable errors which comes as no surprise. Your Gospel is no Good News, Lambert, for the following reasons: (1) You state, "The central announcement of the gospel is a proclamation, an announcement of the love of God for all of mankind. John 3:16 is one well-known statement of God's love for the world, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever would believe in Him should not perish, but might have eternal life." Lambert, it may come as a shock to you, but the Lord does not love all mankind. This hard truth Paul explained in Romans 9. Jesus taught it in several different ways, not the least of which is Matt. 7:23. The Lord did not love Judas Iscariot, a devil, nor does He love false prophets and false Christs. Those He condemns on that Great Day are those He did not love, including Esau. Christ unhesitatingly declares hatred for teachers of false doctrine. The Nicolaitines were high on His hate list in John's era. This may
sound quite strange to you, Lambert, but Christ's love cannot fail to
save one person. (Romans 8: 35-39). That few are saved is the testimony
of Scriptures. That Christ loved few enough to save them is foreshadowed
in the OT judgment of Sodom, as well as the Great Flood.
It is seen in the NT through
God's judgment on (2) "Some Christians believe that Jesus died for only the Elect. I am among those who believe that Jesus died for all persons who have ever lived or are yet to be born, whether or not they choose to accept Him into their lives." Your belief in an ineffective atonement might please you, Lambert, but it rings as blasphemy in the ears of our holy God. You stand side by side with the Antichrist in your teaching of an atonement which desires to save all, but fails miserably to achieve its purpose. Not having read Stedman on this issue, I would be willing to bet the farm he stands united with you. Arminianism and Dispensational Futurism all go hand in hand. They are the religion of Antichrist. How the teachers of a universal atonement hate the precious blood of Christ! How they hate the God who dares declare, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. (3) "In regard to the complex and paradoxical issue of Election and Predestination, I believe it may have been the late Donald Grey Barnhouse, who served as Pastor for many years at Philadelphia's Tenth Presbyterian Church, who once gave this simple illustration: A group of people are all standing in a room which has several doors. Above one door is a sign which reads "All who will may enter." Those who choose to enter the door find on the back side of the door a sign which reads, "Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world." The truth of Predestination of the Elect contingent on nothing in the Elect is fundamental, foundational Christianity, Lambert. That you call it paradoxical is further proof the Teacher has yet to teach you. (4) "St. Francis of Assisi once said, "Preach
the gospel at all times and if necessary use words." "Mr. Winburn, why are you so vitriolic, judgmental, and opinionated towards others who follow the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we not your brothers and sisters in the Lord?" My response: Christians are commanded to believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Lambert, you, (as well as Ray Stedman), are most likely a delightful fellow, courteous to others, pleasant to be around most of the time, not easily roused to anger, an all-around 'nice guy.' Unfortunately, as admirable as those traits may be, they are not sufficient to prove your Christianity to me, nor are they sufficient to enter the presence of the Lord. Your disdain for the truth, salvific and prophetic, your contempt for the blood of Christ, your hostility toward centuries of witnesses and teachers, your ignorance of elementary Bible truths and your arrogance at 'laughing' at one warning you and your comrades to repent is proof enough for me that you are far from the true Christ and His Body. As such, I call you to heed the words of the Lord Jesus: He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. I beseech you and Paraclete to leave behind your old lives of damnable heresies which do great despite unto the Spirit of grace. Rand Winburn |