Changes

Certain prophecies that the author of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] and other prophets (including [[Daniel]], [[Isaiah (prophet)|Isaiah]], [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]], [[Zechariah (prophet)|Zechariah]], and [[Malachi (prophet)|Malachi]]) wrote down, did not come to pass within the time frame of the Bible. Some say that they ''still'' have not come to pass, and herein lies perhaps the most bitter of the disputes among prophecy students:

Certain prophecies that the author of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] and other prophets (including [[Daniel]], [[Isaiah (prophet)|Isaiah]], [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]], [[Zechariah (prophet)|Zechariah]], and [[Malachi (prophet)|Malachi]]) wrote down, did not come to pass within the time frame of the Bible. Some say that they ''still'' have not come to pass, and herein lies perhaps the most bitter of the disputes among prophecy students:

# [[Futurism]] holds that these prophecies have not yet come to pass, and still remain to come to pass. Futurists closely follow current events for signs that these prophecies are about to come to pass in the present day. A key concern of futurists is the baleful prophecy that in the last seven years before Jesus' return to earth, a totalitarian dictatorship will arise that will exceed by several orders of magnitude the power, the scope, and the atrocity of [[Nazi]] Germany during [[World War II]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=13|verses=1-18|version=KJV}}</ref> This concern has led many of them to express great fear that the [[United Nations]], or alternatively a possible reinvention of the [[Baghdad Caliphate]], will be that dictatorship, or its progenitor.

1. [[Futurism]] holds that these prophecies have not yet come to pass, and still remain to come to pass. Futurists closely follow current events for signs that these prophecies are about to come to pass in the present day. A key concern of futurists is the baleful prophecy that in the last seven years before Jesus' return to earth, a totalitarian dictatorship will arise that will exceed by several orders of magnitude the power, the scope, and the atrocity of [[Nazi]] Germany during [[World War II]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=13|verses=1-18|version=KJV}}</ref> This concern has led many of them to express great fear that the [[United Nations]], or alternatively a possible reinvention of the [[Baghdad Caliphate]], will be that dictatorship, or its progenitor.

# [[Historicism]] holds that the specific prophecies mentioned in Revelation chapters 6 through 16 actually reflect world history as it has unfolded since the destruction of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]] in 70 AD.<ref>[http://www.historicism.com/ Historicism.com]</ref> Historicists fear no future dictatorship because any such dictatorship has already risen and fallen.

2. [[Historicism]] holds that the specific prophecies mentioned in Revelation chapters 6 through 16 actually reflect world history as it has unfolded since the destruction of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]] in 70 AD.<ref>[http://www.historicism.com/ Historicism.com]</ref> Historicists fear no future dictatorship because any such dictatorship has already risen and fallen.

# [[Preterism]] holds that everything mentioned in Revelation, took place long ago and culminated in that same destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple mentioned above.<ref>[http://www.preteristarchive.com/index.html The Preterist Archive] online</ref> The dictatorship mentioned in Revelation chapter 13 is identified as Imperial [[Rome]] under the emperorship of [[Nero]]. The key support for this theory is the assertion, which not all prophecy students or Biblical scholars accept, that Revelation was written during the Principate of [[Claudius I]] and ''not'', as futurists insist, during the Principate of [[Domitian]].

3. [[Preterism]] holds that everything mentioned in Revelation, took place long ago and culminated in that same destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple mentioned above.<ref>[http://www.preteristarchive.com/index.html The Preterist Archive] online</ref> The dictatorship mentioned in Revelation chapter 13 is identified as Imperial [[Rome]] under the emperorship of [[Nero]]. The key support for this theory is the assertion, which not all prophecy students or Biblical scholars accept, that Revelation was written during the Principate of [[Claudius I]] and ''not'', as futurists insist, during the Principate of [[Domitian]].

# [[Idealism]] (also called ''Spiritualism'', but not to be confused with the popular "faith" in communion with the dead) holds that the prophecies of Revelation and elsewhere, rich as they are in the symbolic language of [[Hebrew]] poetry, are just that: symbols of non-literal truths. No literal dictatorship producing "trouble not equaled before and never to be equaled again" actually exists or existed.

4. [[Idealism]] (also called ''Spiritualism'', but not to be confused with the popular "faith" in communion with the dead) holds that the prophecies of Revelation and elsewhere, rich as they are in the symbolic language of [[Hebrew]] poetry, are just that: symbols of non-literal truths. No literal dictatorship producing "trouble not equaled before and never to be equaled again" actually exists or existed.

=== A Synoptic Representation ===

=== A Synoptic Representation ===