Francisco Ribera (1537–1591) was a Spanish Jesuit theologian, identified with the

Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abo ...

Life

Ribera was born at Villacastín.Mal Crouch (editor), ''Dictionary of Premillennial Theology'' (1997), p. 378
Google Books
He joined the Society of Jesus in 1570, and taught at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is t ...

. He acted as confessor to

Teresa of Avila Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...

. He died in 1591 at the age of fifty-four, one year after the publication of his work ''In Sacrum Beati Ioannis Apostoli, & Evangelistiae Apocalypsin Commentarij''.David Brady, ''The contribution of British writers between 1560 and 1830 to the interpretation of Revelation 13.16-18'' (1983), p. 202
Google Books

Works

;Apocalypse commentary In the late Middle Ages and the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

, some commentators sought to identify the

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...

with the Pope, so that figures from the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

might not only be interpreted as representing figures in the past (such as the Emperor Nero) or in the future (in the Last Days), but also in the present. Ribera in 1585 began writing a 500-page commentary on the Book of Revelation, titled ''In Sacrum Beati Ioannis Apostoli, & Evangelistiae Apocalypsin Commentarii'', proposing that the first chapters of the Apocalypse applied to ancient pagan Rome, and the rest referred to a yet future period of 3½ literal years, immediately prior to the

second coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messian ...

. During that time, the Roman Catholic Church would have fallen away from the pope into

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that ...

. Then, he proposed, the

, a single individual, would: *Persecute and blaspheme the saints of God *Rebuild the temple in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

*Abolish the Christian religion *Deny

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

*Destroy Rome *Be received by the Jews *Pretend to be God *Kill the two witnesses of God *Conquer the world. To accomplish this, Ribera understood the 1260 days and 42 months and 3½ times of prophecy literally, rejecting an interpretation as 1260 years. ;Other works *''Vida de la madre Teresa de Jesús'' (1590), a work of hagiography. *''In epistolam B. Pauli apostoli ad Hebraeos commentarii'' (1600).

Futurism

In the context of interpreting eschatological writings, futurism is the position that the ''Book of Revelation'' refers not primarily to the ancient context in which it was written, or to events that have already passed, but rather predicts future events in a period immediately prior to the Second Coming. The ''Dictionary of Premillennial Theology'' (1997) states that Ribera was an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

amillennialist Amillennialism or amillenarism is a chillegoristic eschatological position in Christianity which holds that there will be no millennial reign of the righteous on Earth. This view contrasts with both postmillennial and, especially, with premil ...

, whose form of futurism proposed that only the introductory chapters of Revelation referred to ancient Rome, and the remainder referred to a literal three and half years at the end of time. His interpretation was then followed by

Robert Bellarmine Robert Bellarmine, SJ ( it, Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino; 4 October 1542 – 17 September 1621) was an Italian Jesuit and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was canonized a saint in 1930 and named Doctor of the Church, one of only 37. ...

and the Spanish Dominican

Thomas Malvenda Tomaso Malvenda (1566 – 7 May 1628) was a Spanish Dominican exegete and historical critic. Life Malvenda was born in Xàtiva, Valencia. He entered the Dominicans in his youth; at the age of thirty-five he seems to have already taught phil ...

. Thomas Brightman, in particular, writing in the early 17th century as an English Protestant, contested Ribera's views. He argued that the use of the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

invalidated Catholic commentary on the ''Book of Revelation'', and proposed an alternative

historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

point of view.Donald Burke, ''New England New Jerusalem: The millenarian dimension of transatlantic migration. A study in the theology of history'' (2006), p. 39;

References

*Ralph Thompson, ''Champions of Christianity in Search of Truth'', p. 91. *H. Grattan Guinness, ''History Unveiling Prophecy or Time as an Interpreter'', New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1905, p. 289. *Dave MacPherson, ''The Incredible Cover-Up: Exposing the Origins of Rapture Theories''. Omega Publications, Medford Oregon. 1980. *

Leroy Edwin Froom Le Roy Edwin Froom (October 16, 1890 – February 20, 1974) was a Seventh-day Adventist minister and historian whose writings and interpretations are a cause of much debate in the Adventist Church. He also was a central figure in the meetings w ...

, ''The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers: The Historical Development of Prophetic Interpretation'', Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1948, Vol. 2, pp. 486–493, Vol. 3, pp. 533, 655, 731, Vol. 4, 1195, 1196, 1204.

Notes

External links

''Francisci Riberae Villacastinensis, presbyteri Societatis Iesu, doctorisque theologi. In sacram beati Ioannis Apostoli, & euangelistae Apocalypsin commentarij''
Lugduni 1592 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ribera, Francisco 1537 births 16th-century Spanish Jesuits Christian hagiographers 1591 deaths 16th-century Spanish Roman Catholic theologians University of Salamanca alumni