AND THERE WAS WAR IN HEAVEN: MICHAEL AND HIS ANGELS FOUGHT AGAINST THE DRAGON; AND THE DRAGON FOUGHT AND HIS ANGELS, AND PREVAILED NOT;  NEITHER WAS THEIR PLACE FOUND ANY MORE IN HEAVEN.  AND THE GREAT DRAGON WAS CAST OUT, THAT OLD SERPENT, CALLED THE DEVIL, AND SATAN, WHICH DECEIVETH THE WHOLE WORLD: HE WAS CAST INTO THE EARTH, AND HIS ANGELS WERE CAST WITH HIM.
REV  12:8-9

AND WHEN THE DRAGON SAW THAT HE WAS CAST UNTO THE EARTH, HE PERSECUTED THE WOMAN WHICH BROUGHT FORTH THE MAN CHILD.
REV 12:13 

AND TO THE WOMAN WERE GIVEN TWO GREAT WINGS OF AN EAGLE, THAT SHE MIGHT FLY INTO THE WILDERNESS, INTO HER PLACE, WHERE SHE IS NOURISHED FOR A TIME, TIMES AND HALF A TIME, FROM THE FACE OF THE SERPENT.
REV 12:14

AND THE WOMAN FLED INTO THE WILDERNESS, WHERE SHE HATH A PLACE PREPARED OF GOD,  THAT THEY SHOULD FEED HER THERE A THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND THREESCORE DAYS.
REV 12:6 

AND THE DRAGON WAS WROTH WITH THE WOMAN, AND WENT TO MAKE WAR WITH THE REMNANT OF HER SEED, WHO KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD AND HAVE THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST.
REV 12:17

AND THE SERPENT CAST OUT OF HIS MOUTH WATER AS A FLOOD AFTER THE WOMAN, THAT HE MIGHT CAUSE HER TO BE CARRIED AWAY OF THE FLOOD.
REV 1215

AND THE EARTH HELPED THE WOMAN, AND THE EARTH OPENED HER MOUTH, AND SWALLOWED UP THE FLOOD WHICH THE DRAGON CAST OUT OF HIS MOUTH. =====>
REV 12:16

THAT THE PAPACY WAS THE PREDICTED 'MAN OF SIN' AND 'ANTI-CHRIST' WAS THE CONVICTION OF PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS FOR CENTURIES.  THE REFORMERS HELD THIS TRUTH AS SELF EVIDENT; THAT THE PAPACY WAS TO OPPRESS THE TRUE CHURCH OF GOD AND DRIVE IT INTO A 'WILDERNESS' CONDITION FOR 1260 YEARS.  THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, NOT WANTING THIS TRUTH TO BE MADE KNOWN, ATTEMPTED TO SILENCE THE PROTESTANT REFORMERS BY SHEER FORCE.  HOWEVER, GOD'S CLOCK WOULD PROCEED ON SCHEDULE.  IN 1799 THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE BEGAN TO COLLAPSE, AND WITH IT THE INFLUENCE OF THE PAPACY; AT LEAST TEMPORARILY.

HOWEVER, AS EARLY AS THE 16TH CENTURY, AT THE VERY START OF THE REFORMATION, THE CHURCH OF ROME HAD RECOGNIZED THE DANGER OF ALLOWING ITSELF TO BE REVEALED AS THE 'ANTICHRIST.  IT HAD DECIDED ON A TWO-FRONTED ASSAULT ON THE FLEDGLING PROTESTANT MOVEMENT.  ONE, AS MENTIONED ABOVE WOULD BE TO ATTEMPT TO CRUSH THE REFORMATION BY SHEER FORCE - THE HORRIFIC SLAUGHTER OF UNTOLD THOUSANDS OF 'HERETICS'.  THE SECOND FRONT WOULD BE MORE SUBTLE; TO PROMOTE AN ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION TO THE BOOK OF REVELATION AND THUS 'PROVE' THAT IT COULD NOT BE THE PREDICTED 'MAN OF SIN' AND 'ANTI-CHRIST'.

IN 1590, A JESUIT PRIEST NAMED RIBERA PUBLISHED THIS ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION.  IN HIS WORK, HE CLAIMED THAT REVELATION 12 HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS DURING THE MIDDLE AGES, BUT WOULD BE FULFILLED IN THE DISTANT FUTURE.  ADDITIONALLY HE SET FORTH THE IDEA THAT THE ANTICHRIST COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE FULFILLED BY THE PAPACY AS A SYSTEM, BUT THAT IT WOULD BE A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL IN THE FUTURE WHO WOULD UNITE THE WORLD UNDER ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT.  THIS VIEW OF PROPHETICAL INTERPRETATION IS KNOWN AS THE FUTURIST SCHOOL.

AT THE END OF THE 1335 YEARS SHOWN ABOVE, AND WITH THE PASSING OF THE PHILADELPHIA CHURCH AGE THE EXPECTATION OF CHRIST'S IMMINENT RETURN BEGAN TO WANE. MANY BEGAN TO REASON THAT THE HISTORICIST SCHOOL OF INTERPRETATION (THAT THE PAPACY WOULD RULE FOR 1260 YEARS FOLLOWED SHORTLY AFTER BY CHRIST'S RETURN) MUST HAVE BEEN WAY OFF. AS EARLY AS THE 1830'S A MAN NAMED JOHN NELSON DARBY BEGAN VIGOROUSLY PROMOTING THE FUTURIST SCHOOL OF INTERPRETATION, AS WELL AS THE IDEA OF A 'SECRET RAPTURE'; THE TEACHING THAT CHRISTIANS WOULD BE MIRACULOUSLY TAKEN OFF THE EARTH IN A SEPARATE EVENT SEVEN YEARS BEFORE THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.

AS THE PHILADELPHIA AGE PASSED AND THE NEW CENTURY DAWNED, THIS VIEWPOINT GAINED A STRONG FOOTHOLD AND BECAME WIDELY POPULAR WHEN PUBLISHED IN THE NOTES OF THE SCOFIELD REFERENCE BIBLE (1909).  MANY WERE NOT (AND TO THIS DAY ARE NOT) AWARE THAT THIS 'NEW' TEACHING WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A REWORKED VERSION OF WHAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAD PUBLISHED OVER 300 YEARS EARLIER TO SILENCE THE PROTESTANT REFORMERS.  WHAT THEY HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO BY SHEER FORCE AND PERSECUTION, THEY WERE ABLE TO DO BY INSIDIOUS FALSE TEACHING: A FALSE TEACHING WHICH IN OUR DAY HAS BECOME THE STANDARD PROPHETICAL SCHOOL OF INTERPRETATION FOR ALMOST ALL OF CHRISTENDOM.

NONE OF THE MAJOR 'CELEBRITY' PROPHECY TEACHERS OF OUR DAY BELIEVE THAT THE PAPACY IS THE 'ANTI-CHRIST'.  IN FACT, IT SEEMS THEY GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO HEAP PRAISE UPON THE CHURCH OF ROME WHENEVER THEY CAN. IN DOING SO THEY HAVE BETRAYED THE BLOOD OF THOUSANDS OF CHRISTIANS WHO WERE FOR CENTURIES SLAIN BY THIS BLASPHEMOUS, VILE, COUNTERFEIT OF CHRIST'S TRUE CHURCH.

HAVE YOU BEEN DECEIVED? THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN ONE FINAL FORM IS PROPHESIED TO RISE AGAIN IN THE LAST DAYS, AND ONCE AGAIN UNLEASH A WAVE OF PERSECUTION AGAINST THE TRUE CHURCH OF GOD; THIS TIME ONE THE LIKES OF WHICH THE WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN.  OUR PROPHECY TEACHERS HAVE ERRED GREATLY.  THEY HAVE US LOOKING FOR THE WRONG ANTICHRIST, AND FOR A RAPTURE WHICH IS NOWHERE FOUND IN SCRIPTURE.  NOTHING COULD BE MORE TRUE OF OUR GENERATION THAN THE WORDS OF OUR SAVIOR:
 

But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
MATT 24:48:51

LOOK CLOSELY AT THE ABOVE CHURCH AGES. UP UNTIL THE 1800'S WHEN SETTLERS FOUND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE NEW WORLD, NOT ONE GENERATION ESCAPED PERSECUTION.  THE TEACHING OF THE SECRET RAPTURE HAS HAD DEVASTATING EFFECTS UPON THE BODY OF CHRIST.  THE TEACHING BASICALLY IS THAT IT MAKES NO REAL DIFFERENCE HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE, YOU WILL ESCAPE THE COMING GREAT TRIBULATION BY BEING MIRACULOUSLY CAUGHT UP TO HEAVEN BEFORE IT BEGINS. BY ITS VERY DEFINITION IT CAUSES CHRISTIANS TO STOP LOOKING FOR THE RETURN OF CHRIST AND LOOK INSTEAD FOR THIS EVENT WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO PROCEED IT BY SEVEN YEARS. IT HAS, MORE THAN ANY OTHER DOCTRINE, LULLED THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST TO SLEEP AND HAS PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN CAUSING THE COMPLACENCY OF THE LAODICEAN CHURCH AGE.  WE DARE NOT FORGET THE HISTORY OF OUR BRETHREN AND THE CENTURIES OF PERSECUTION THEY ENDURED. BUT WE HAVE; COULD THERE BE ANY MORE DANGEROUS TEACHING?  LET US NOT BE DECEIVED. LET US NOT BETRAY THE BLOOD OF THOUSANDS OF OUR BRETHREN WHO WERE SLAIN BY THE GREAT WHORE OF BABYLON. LET US ONCE AGAIN WAKE UP AND LIVE IN EXPECTATION OF THE RETURN OF OUR SAVIOR LEST HE COME AND FIND US SLEEPING.