The Pope of Prophecy Perversion Since the early 1930s the Scofield Reference Bible has been promoted as THE source for interpreting Revelation and the end times. Almost all the current Dispensationalism theology is derived from his teaching and his Reference Bible.
Following is a transcript of a speech about Cyrus I Scofield by Nord Davis. (Most grammar and spelling errors that may occur are most likely on the part of the transcriber so forgive it's form.)
Cyrus I. Scofield
By Nord Davis
I am going to talk about a certain man everybody knows. His name is Cyrus I. Scofield. The man who wrote the Scofield Bible. The Bible that Christian brethren read so frequently and with which they have made up their current doctrine. Which has changed the thrust of America since the middle 1800s.
This is going to be of controversial content and because it is controversial in content I will pick one of the Bibles most controversial characters to quote: The prophet Jeremiah. He preached, he warned, he exposed false preaching of his day and all to no avail. And he and his Israel people went right into captivity. The very captivity about which he had been warning.
He put that blame for that tragic collapse of his civilization right where it belonged. With the ministers, who taught error. He wrote:
�Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.� (Jeremiah 14:13-15)
Now that is an interesting part to start off with and we can understand that they are going to get what they deserve. But notice in the next verse: Jeremiah 14:13‑16,
"and the people to whom they prophesy will be cast into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword and they shall have none to bury them, not their wives, nor their sons nor their daughters for I will pour wickedness upon them."
Bad enough we had bad prophets. Bad enough we had false teachers and preachers. But apparently it seems to be just as bad to sit in the congregation of these people as it is to be the preacher. We recognize that brother Jeremiah did not project a very pretty picture for his people. Jeremiah did not blame the King, he did not accuse the court system, he did not accuse the political nor community leaders.
He laid none of the national problems on the prostitutes, homosexuals, drug addicts and we are sure that Israel had those in those days also. Here is the interesting point that God gave to Jeremiah: all the sins of the land were there because of the ministers. Who when they were not called, it was because of their preaching.
That wickedness not only abounded, but was permitted. The central theme of the last few messages we have given here is that you have truth and you hold a candle in your hand with a smoldering wick. You don't do much with it. As thousands know, we have been expounding the wickedness of these preachers for.
This is going to take light and salt right where it belongs. We are going to have to know who we are, and why we are, or we're not going to save America.� We am not going to zero in on a lot of men but only one man. One of the most famous ministers of the turn of the century: C.I. Scofield (A Jew).
You will learn how he defrauded his mother in law, out her life savings. And how he was convicted of forgery. In another case, was sent off to prisons. You will learn tonight how he openly carried on with other women, and abandoned his wife and family. Never sent them a dime of support. When his wife finally divorced him he married the woman with whom he was living. All the time he was writing the now infamous notes to the Scofield reference Bible.
As a Christian he was a disgrace. As a man he lacked ordinary chivalry of a gentlemen. He called himself "Dr." yet he never went to any college which could convey that degree. His life as a minister makes the recent escapades of some modern ministers pale into insignificance.
His financial support for the reference Bible came from Zionist and conspiratorial groups out of Boston Massachusetts. Chiefly known as the Secret Six . That group tied to the order of the illuminati. And some other orders some of you may know about.� Scofield was no Jeremiah. For certain he preached, but was not called.
God did not send him so you know who did send him. His false doctrines have spread across this land like a plague. Like a smoke in the nostrils of our Lord like a stench. And almost every Bible book store carries copies of Scofield's reference notes. The truth about Scofield and the men who worked with him at the time play a key role of that saga of the perpetual warfare between the people of the five pointed star and the people of the six pointed star. The truth that we are talking about is one common thread throughout the remainder of the Bible.
In the forefront of this Scriptural error you will find the teachings and Bible references of C. I. Scofield. And this talk is dedicated to the exposure of this man, the doctrines he preached and taught that have now taken over fundamentalist churches across the country.
Since the advent of conspiratorial� theologians such as C. I. Scofield, and some lesser known men before and after him, our brothers have never been weaned from the warm milk of the Word. They seem to be content to be coddled. As if the word had only a personal thrust. And they have arrived.
Oh! do they tell you they have arrived. Taught a dozen different ways, and by as many different denominations, including the Catholics and the Mormons. The other 85 percent of the Bible is either ignored or not understood and we are left with the darkness of a purely personal Gospel. (Ignoring it's national message)
You can understand here now we are talking to you as a warrior. A man to defend our country. Why would we be interested in Scofield from just that point of view? Because to promote this conspiracy to take over the country they must universalize the Bible, and make it apply to all men. So along comes some false preachers like C. I. Scofield who begin to weave into it certain Jewish fables.
Thousands of so called Fundamentalist ministers carry or study the reference notes of the Scofield Bible. Many Protestant Bible school students uses this Bible as their reference. They use it as their source as to what the scriptures really mean, as opposed to what they really say.
What these Christian people do not tell us is that their theological hero, C. I. Scofield, deserted his first wife, Leonteen Carry Scofield and his two young daughters Abigail and Helen. They ignore the fact that he never sent them any financial support even though he became very wealthy. They never got a dime. A woman in the 1880s did not have government welfare. And good paying jobs were not usually available in those days. He treated his wife and children as though they did not exist.
According to every reference we could find about him and his background in the areas from which he came we found that he was in love with two other women. Running with both at the same time. A young lady from the St. Louis Flower Mission, whose name we have not yet been able to discover, and a Helen Van Wark a woman he later married. After his wife, stayed abandoned for many years, she would not divorce him for Scriptural reasons. Finally, when she found out about his activities, she had no choice and divorced him. A copy of the divorce papers are in my files.
Finally Leonteen did sue for divorce, and that divorce is recorded December 8, 1883, in his home town Atchison Kansas. Remember now, this is a professing Christian, who wrote the most popular set of Bible reference notes in use today. The abandoned Leonteen never remarried, and died in 1936. She is buried in Mt. Calvary cemetery, Atchison Kansas. You know, every time you see a Scofield Bible, think about that lady.
As a Christian Mr. Scofield entered the legal and political career. After he was alleged to be saved he stole thousands of dollars from his Christian and secular friends. One of his financial scams was quite serious and he got convicted of forgery, and spent 6 months in the St. Louis Missouri jail. He defrauded his mother in law of 1,300 dollars in gold, and never paid her back even though his finances were such he could have done so.
If Ezekiel ever preached about a modern prophet who created a widow, or who was a deceiver of the elect, devouring the souls so they might not be admitted to the Kingdom of Heaven and the tree of life or who was out for dishonest gain, it had to be Cyrus Ingersoll Scofield. Why are you carrying a Scofield Bible my friend? Why do you attend a church that teaches the lies of this convicted criminal and fornicator? Why would you want to admit your ignorance in such a way hereafter?
By 1800 Harvard college had a Unitarian theology department which was the first chair in the United States for this "God Loves Every man" doctrine. This first happened at Harvard as chance would have it, the first theology college in the United States. The central idea is of course that God loves every man. All men are equal. There are no chosen people.
Up to this time the great Puritan Christian work ethic had made America great. The doctrines of Calvin and Luther which formed and forged the pilgrim and puritan doctrines, and those men who came over here as covenanters built up a great land they called the Kingdom. But the land they called the wilderness, was now beginning to fade. It was now beginning to be replaced by a "New Gospel" not taught by Jesus Christ and the political and social life began to change right along with it.
America's political and social life, whether we like it or not, is based upon the general theology and therefore the moral outcome of their people. When the theology is gone the politics soon follow. During this period from around 1800 to 1850, there was a movement called the "Age of Reason." It caught a lot of men who were otherwise smart. Including Thomas Paine. It contains a lot of the same ideas as to days new age movement.
Here is the general theme of it. The mind is everything. The absolutes of the Bible considered not relevant in this modern age. During this time such men as Thomas Paine, and a Kin of mine Ralph Waldo Emerson, up new England way, and Henry David Thoreau abandoned the Christian ideas and opted for this intellectual stimulating philosophy which can be distilled down to the phrase "The Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man." You have to determine� in your mind from the Scriptures if God is the father of all and all men are brothers or if God is the father of certain people and not the father of others.
All across this land fraternal lodges and various kinds of orders were set up which became the religion of the people. Into that area came the Esau‑Edomite Karl Marx, and the evolutionist Charles Darwin, inserting their anti‑Scriptural ideas into Americas mainstream. All of these were first political, and philosophical ideas, which when promoted through the published materials of the day became promoted enough and accepted enough by the normal people of those days to change the theology, the thought theology of our people.
The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man is a socialist scheme. It came out of the French Revolution. It came out of the same group that gave us the Statue of Liberty. That world government lady standing on an isle rising out of the Sea. With seven horns on her head.
Oh! I'm hurting your feelings. How do you think that got there? It stands for the legislative democracy of Washington D. C. and old Uncle Sam stands for the republic of the 50 states.� It was a thought theology with the purpose of changing our Christian population before the greater conspiracy of world socialism could be implemented.
In order to refute Christ's words concerning Esau‑Edom and Jewry, that they were of their father the devil, this theology had to be changed so that God is the father of all men and all peoples and Satan is not the father of any of them. Do you see how all that works?
The second part of this theology is the idea that all men are brothers which is intended to refute the Scriptural teaching and truth that all men are not brothers. And that God has a chosen people, above all the people, on the face of the earth. This dichotomy you are going to have to sort out in your mind and choose God's Word or man's.
If you think about it the concept of the Fatherhood� of God and the brotherhood of man is the central theme of socialism and communism. Christianity if you think of it apart from merely a church function, is a thought theology of government, commerce and economics. The fruits of which is a nation of liberty. and individual responsibility.
So about a hundred and fifty years ago in Massachusetts, especially the small town around Boston, began to be a spawning ground of this brotherhood of man, Fatherhood of God idea. It even got so popular it was expressed in Lincoln's' Gettysburg address. It was so important in the minds of these conspirators that every public school child, had to be able recite that quote, "all men are created equal." Isn't that interesting?
Isn't it loving? Isn't that a great humanist idea? Without apology that is not a scriptural idea. Anyone with an ounce of Scriptural understanding knows it just isn't so. Out of this Massachusetts society came a man born in Middleton in 1833 named John J. Ingalls. He was a graduate of Williams College. Then well endowed with Esau and his clan, he became a lawyer. He was a spokesman for a Boston Group known as the "Secret Six."
Isn't it interesting they picked six? Mr. Ingalls was sent to Atchison Kansas, and it is enough to say right here that he associated himself with a young lawyer Cyrus I Scofield.
Actually Scofield never attended any college even for one day as a student. Scofield however fancied himself as a lawyer. He assumed all sorts of phony credentials. From that of a minister to that of a Bible scholar, to that of a lawyer, Nothing seemed to hinder him. And of course he was not admitted to the bar as he could not pass the examination. However through the influences of the Secret Six men in Kansas Scofield was admitted to the Bar.
Thought he had never attended any school, and with no formal training whatever, he gave himself a theological doctorate degree, in the same way. Scofield, went on with the help of the Secret Six, to be appointed United States Attorney for Kansas, only to be forced to resign after six months when he and his friend Ingalls were caught trying to blackmail the railroads out of some money.
What is important here is that the Boston Secret Six, assigned C. I. Scofield, the task of translating the fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man concept into a system of Bible teaching.� It was in those long days and nights when he was in prison for forgery that Scofield began studying the theological philosophy of a born loser named J. N. Darby, J. N. Darby was a scatterbrained Englishman, we would call a hippie today. He never washed, never cleaned himself up, but he became a great scholar.
J.N. Darby was already doing in England what the Secret six had assigned Scofield to do in the United States. He brought the Brotherhood of man and Fatherhood of God into a new denomination; the Brethren movement.
The Secret six were not stupid. They had done their homework. They reasoned quite correctly, that America could not be converted from a republic to international Socialist Democracy until the vast majority of American churches could be taught that the church is not militant regarding the affairs of state. And that Gods Laws, Statutes and Judgments were not valid as a means of governing a nation. This didn't begin yesterday. They have been after this for a hundred years.
It was necessary to subvert the first amendment of the constitution that the church was to offer no suggestion and be silent regarding the affairs of state. The effect of that was vital to every Christian in his way of life. It was quite a project for Mr. Scofield, since God thought so much of righteous government that he devoted 80 percent or more of Holy Writ to that subject. And made government one of the Holy Spirits special gifts.
People ask us. Do you have the gift of the Holy Spirit? And by that we suppose they mean that gift of speaking in tongues. No, we got the first gift skipped the second, got the third, fourth, fifth and sixth, What gifts do you have?
Two for sure: the gift of government and gifts of health. Do you know the gift of government and gift of health are the only two Paul applied to every man? Does every man preach? No. Does every man evangelize? No. He didn't say that about Government and health. Because every man who is a Christian is supposed to do both. Look it up some time you will find it interesting.
Now with the Secret Six, Scofield, and some of his associates, such as Dwight L. Moody, things were going to change. On July 23, 1901, Scofield confided in his friends the he intended to develop a reference Bible that would bring about "this new beginning and new testimony."
Of course such tremendous efforts takes a lot of money, and a lot of time. Scofield had the time and he needed the money. While he was talking like a Christian out of one side of his mouth he was taking money and doing the bidding of his socialist communist friends of the secret six.
In 1901 the alleged offers of the Scofield reference notes which were not entirely written by him was admitted to the Lotus club in New York much to the embarrassment of his holier than thou Christian friends. It was restricted to "a social intercourse between journalists, artists, musicians, friends of literature, science, fine arts etc."
Scofield was at this time no more than a Kansas con man. With no background in these particular fields, and a man with some highly placed friends. His reference notes had not been written yet. Much less published. So his qualifications for entrance into this group was of particular interest. Here it is. This clubs literature committee which passed on "Dr. Scofield" was no other than Samuel Untermeier ‑ who was at that time the notorious criminal lawyer.
Untermeier was, as his name suggests, one of those kinfolk of Esau‑Edom and his accomplishments on behalf of the Socialist communists in America takes up two columns in Whose Who in America. Untermeier thought theology as one might suppose would be far removed from that of a fundamental Bible believer.
No, my friend Scofield was no such believer. It was directed by the Secret Six. to the Lotus club and their associate Samuel Untermeier, who saw to it he was admitted without credentials. Scofield was just a casual member they say, but listed it as his residence for 20 years while his wife languished in Kansas without any support.
The purpose of Samuel Untermeier, and those associated with him was to find a way to get fundamental Christians to have an interest in and support for the international Zionist cause. Which had been one of Untermeiers life long projects. Samuel Untermeier died in 1941 but records I have in my office proves beyond a shadow of a doubt he was a dedicated communist all the time.
They prove he worked for communist causes all of his adult life. In the 20 years of membership in the Lotus club Scofield had a long association with him. And had to know about his un American activities and his synagogue of Satan. Each of you need to always keep in mind the Brotherhood of God, the Brethren Movement, and its kindred of thought theology of Scofield Dispensationalism, was and still is, a class movement as thought of from the communist point of view. Not a religious movement as you might think.
One of the Roman Catholic counterparts also supported by the Esau‑Edomite kindred, is the Jesuit and Maryknoll liberation theology now sweeping Central America. So when I talk about Oliver North and his hard core Jesuit background and hard core Zionist background where he speaks at Zionist meetings where only the flag of Israel flies, and flag of Israel is on every table, and he stands there and salutes Israel before the cameras, I can say without any hesitation he's not one of ours. At this point in his life.
This is the very reason for the special and unusual association between Scofield and Samuel Untermeier. THEY KNEW THAT SCOFIELD�S �ANY MOMENT NOW� RAPTURE DOCTRINE, WHICH HE STOLE FROM J. N. DARBY, AND DARBY STOLE IT FROM A FEMALE PENTECOSTAL PREACHER IN SCOTLAND, NAMED MARTHA McDONALD, WHO IN TURN STOLE IT FROM A SPANISH JEW JESUIT PRIEST EMANUEL LaCONSTA WHO MADE IT UP AND THEN PUBLISHED IT FIRST IN SPANISH UNDER THE PEN NAME RABBI BEN EZRA.
The works of Rabbi Ben Ezra are still sold openly in Christian book stores. So you can see it all ties together. THIS (The Rapture Doctrine, and the Brotherhood of Man) WAS AN IDEA THEY HAD TO KEEP THE LOWER AND MIDDLE CLASS CHRISTIANS IN LINE, THEY SAID, WHY WOULD CHRISTIANS BECOME CONCERNED IF THE COMMUNISTS TOOK OVER THE WORLD; OR THE SO-CALLED NEW WORLD ORDER TOOK EFFECT?; IF THEY BELIEVED THE RAPTURE COULD HAPPEN AT ANY TIME NOW? WHY WOULD THEY BECOME WORRIED WITH THOUSANDS OF PROBLEMS OF THE TOTALITARIANISM, SOCIALISM, WORLD BANKING, NATIONAL DEBT, AIDS, IF �THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME,� OF C. I. SCOFIELD�S FALSE DOCTRINES. (Scofield has many adherents, men who are false prophets, false teachers, deceivers, perverts, Queers, liars, and traitors to the God they profess to represent; they are those whom Christ will say in that day: �Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.� {Matthew 7:22-23; 25:41; Luke 13:27}
Men such as the following and many more too numerous to list: Binny Hinn; Bill Bright; Billy Graham; Brother Stair; David Lankford; Hal Lindsey (Jew); Jack van Impe; James Robison; James Dobson; Jerry Falwell (A so-called Christian Zionist); Jim Bakker (Jew); Jimmy Swaggart; John Hagee; Joyce Meyers; Kenneth Copelan; Kenny� Hagin; Marilyn Hickey; Marlin Maddoux; Mike Evans; Oral Roberts; Pat Robertson; Paul Crouch; Robert Schuler; Dr. Wolf (A Jew)).
Why do patriotic activities when the kingdom is a warm beating in your heart as you come to love Jesus. See how that works? Proverbs 3:36 says;
"Add thou not to his words lest he reprove you and you be found a liar."
Well Mr. Scofield you have been found a liar. Some of us have done homework on you. With the many ministers of the 1920 and 1930s around preaching Scofield's Dispensationalism; in his words, the "new testimony," became common but was not heard of 100 years ago. The push was on in the late 1930s to get the Scofield reference Bible into the hands of Protestant denominations.
Scofield notes stating right on the pages of King James Bible that "the Jews are all of Israel" was to set the stage for the theft of Palestine from the Palestinian people and give it by United Nations decree to a mixed multitude most of whose forebearers never set foot in the land for a thousand years, if ever. For those reasons alone, Scofield's notes were worth every penny That Samuel Untermeier and his Secret Six friends paid for them.� It is not so much that Scofield preached another Gospel which I differ with that makes me so angry. He is not the only man to have done so, and students of the Bible can quickly point out their false doctrines as I have done. With "every man can be saved" Scofield doctrine I resent Scofield using God's Word as an active and willing subversive to cause the American liberty to fall.
His doctrines and� reference notes, prepared with Jewish funding, has neutralized the church to where they are indifferent to what is happening in America. Some of you have yet to outgrow that indifference to where you take an active stand and do something about it.
As I have written time and time again, over the past 20 years, the more Churches we get in America the more wicked and socialist the nation becomes. Scofield's "new testimony" has been the leading cause for the fall of the American civilization.
It has altered THE CHRISTIAN and his theology to the point of indifference to what is happening in his country. He IS NOT CONCERNED ABOUT BUT GENERALLY APPROVES OF THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN IDEAS PROMOTED BY THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF TELEVISION ENTERTAINMENT AND PROGRAMMING. HE IS HAPPY TO WATCH BIRACIAL SITUATION COMEDIES AND MOVIE SPECIALS PROMOTING INTERRACIAL MARRIAGES WHICH GOD HAS FORBIDDEN.
So when you see to days state of Israel, you'll note that it is not the fulfillment of prophesy as you Scofield minister, your Jesuit priest, or your Mormon elder has taught you. That nation sets forth none of the conditions set forth in Gods word or in prophecy. That nation of Bible prophecy among all the criteria set forth in Scripture is to be Christian, and not antichrist Jewish.
What then is the prophesy about the present state of Israel and the antichrist Esau‑Edom people? There are a number of them but I will end this talk, with that statement from Christ himself regarding the present nation of Israel.
"For I say unto you, that not unto every one that shall have given, and from him that hath not, even that shall be taken from him. But those mine enemies, (Esau‑Edom) which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me." (Luke 19:27‑28)
And even now, that prophesy is being fulfilled. The great loss we have is that many of our Christian people will not be party to the victory that Christ's kingdom extends to us. So when you see Scofield and his Bible being carried by someone you want to ask them,
"Why are you carrying the Bible of a convicted felon, thief and fornicator who left his wife behind and went off with other women? Can a wicked tree bring forth good fruit? It can not."� In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ we rebuke Cyrus Ingersoll Scofield in the name of our Father and Kingdom. (For further reading on Scofield we recommend the book: "The Incredible Scofield and His Book,� by Joseph M. Canfield; Available from: Ross House Books, PO Box 67, Vallecito, CA 95251)
THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM IN THE MID EAST, Part II WHY MOST CHRISTIAN EVANGELICALS FAVOR WAR By C. E. Carlson
The French author, Alexis de Tocqueville, wrote Democracy in America when he traveled here in the first third of the 19th Century. In ringing tones he sang the praises of America's invulnerable strength and spirit. He attributed its greatness to its citizens' sense of morality... even with the abundant church attendances he observed in the churches of America. De Tocqueville wrote in French and is credited with this familiar quote: AMERICA IS GREAT BECAUSE SHE IS GOOD, AND IF AMERICA EVER CEASES TO BE GOOD, SHE WILL CEASE TO BE GREAT.
De Tocqueville could see the power of America, but he could not have known in 1830 that she was soon to be under an attack aimed at its churches and the very sense of morality that he extolled.
First, there was a War Between the States, which scarred the powerful young nation in its strapping youth. A worse attack on America was to commence near the turn of the 20th century. This was an attack on American Christianity still in progress, and one from which survival of most churches is in doubt. The attack began with a small very wealthy and determined European contingent. They had a dream, and the American churches stood in their way.
The Zionists, as these Jewish founders called themselves, had plans to acquire a homeland for themselves, even though they were far from homeless. Not any land would do. They wanted a specific property that American Christians called "the Holy Land."
If these Zionists read "Democracy in America" or any of the journals of any of America's churches, which no doubt they did, they could not help but know that Jerusalem was not theirs to have. As self‑proclaimed Jews, they were, according to the Christian New Testament, the persecutors of Christ and most of his early followers, and the engineers of his crucifixion. America's churches in the 19th Century would never stand for a Jewish occupation of Jesus's homeland.
World Zionist leaders initiated a program to change America and its religious orientation. One of the tools used to accomplish this goal was an obscure and malleable Civil War veteran named Cyrus I. Scofield. A much larger tool was a venerable, world respected European book publisher‑‑The Oxford University Press.
The scheme was to alter the Christian view of Zionism by creating and promoting a pro‑ Zionist subculture of Christianity. Scofield's role was to re‑write the King James Version of the Bible by inserting Zionist‑friendly notes in the margins, between verses and chapters, and on the bottoms of the pages.
The Oxford University Press used Scofield, a pastor by then, as the Editor, probably because it needed such as man for a front. The revised bible was called the Scofield Reference Bible, and with limitless advertising and promotion, it became the best‑selling "bible" in America and has remained so for 90 years.
The Scofield Reference Bible, currently in its 5th Edition, was not to be just any Bible, but a revolutionary book that radically changed the context of the King James Version. It was to create a subculture around a new worship icon, the modern State of Israel, a state that did not yet exist, but which was already on the drawing boards of the committed, well‑funded authors of World Zionism.
Scofield's moral support came from a new and growing evangelical Christian movement in America, some of whom were listed on his editorial committee. Scofield imitated a chain of past heretics and rapturists, most of whom fizzled over their faulty prophesies. His mentor was one John Nelson Darby from Scotland, who though unsuccessful in Scotland, was mysteriously able to afford six or more trips to America.
The Oxford University Press owned "The Scofield Reference Bible" from the beginning, and Scofield received handsome royalties. Oxford's advertisers and promoters succeeded in making it a standard for interpreting scripture in evangelical churches, seminaries, and Bible study groups. It has been published in at least four editions since its introduction in 1908, and is one of the largest selling Bibles ever.
The Scofield Reference Bible and its several clones is all but worshiped in the ranks of celebrity Christians, beginning with the first media icon, evangelist Billy Graham. Of particular importance to the Zionist penetration of evangelical Christian churches has been the fast growth of national bible study organizations, such as Bible Study Fellowship and Precept Ministries. These draw millions of students from not only evangelical churches, but also from Catholic and mainline Protestant churches. These organized Bible studies usually teach forms of "Dispensationalism," which draw their theory, to various degrees, from the
notes in the Oxford Bible.
Among more traditional churches that encourage, and in some cases recommend, the use of the Scofield� Reference Bible, is the huge Southern Baptist Convention of America, whose capture is World Zionism's crowning achievement. Our report on Southern Baptist Zionism, entitled "The Cause of the Conflict: Fixing Blame."
Scofield, whose work is largely believed to be the product of Darby and others, wisely chose not to change the text of the King James Edition. Instead, he added hundreds of easy‑to‑read footnotes at the bottom of about half of the pages, and as the Old English grammar of the KJE becomes increasingly difficult for progressive generations of readers, they become increasingly dependent on the modern language footnotes.
Scofield's notes weave parts of the Old and New Testaments together as though they were written at the same time by the same people. This is a favorite device of modern dispensationalists who essentially weigh all scripture against the unspoken and preposterous theory that the older they are, the more authoritative they are. In many cases the Oxford references prove to be rabbit trails leading nowhere, simply diversions. Scofield's borrowed ideas were later popularized under the labels and definitions that have evolved into common usage today‑‑"pre‑millennialism," "Dispensationalism," "Judeo‑Christianity," and most recently "Christian Zionism."
Thanks to the work of a few dedicated researchers, much of the questionable personal history of Cyrus I. Scofield is available. It reveals he was not a Bible scholar as one might expect, but a political person with the charm and talent for self‑promotion of a Bill Clinton. Scofield's history reveals a criminal history, a wrecked family, and a penchant for self‑serving lies. He was exactly the sort of man the Zionists might hire to carry out their agenda‑‑a controllable man and, one capable of carrying the secret to his grave. (See The Incredible Scofield and His Book by Joseph Canfield).
Other researchers have examined Scofield's eschatology and exposed his original work as heretical of traditional Christian views. Among these is a massive work by Stephen Sizer entitled "Christian Zionism, Its History, Theology and Politics".
We Hold These Truths' examination of the Oxford Bible has gone in another direction, focusing not on what Scofield wrote, we will examine some of the many the additions and deletions The Oxford University Press has continued to make to Scofield's bible since his death in 1921.
These alterations have further radicalized the Scofield Bible into a manual for the Christian worship of the State of Israel. This un‑Christian anti‑Arab theology has permitted the theft of Palestine and 54 years of death and destruction against the Palestinians, with hardly a complaint from the evangelical churches.
It is no exaggeration to say that the 1967, Oxford 4th Edition, deifies the State of Israel, which did not even exist when Scofield wrote the original footnotes in 1908. This writer believes that, had it not been for the support of misguided anti‑Arab race hatred promoted by evangelical leaders everywhere, neither the Gulf War nor the Israeli war against the Palestinians would have occurred, and a million or more people who have perished would be alive today.
What proof does WHTT have in support of this accusation? For proof we offer the words themselves that were planted in the 1967 Edition, 18 years after the State of Israel was created in 1948, and 46 years after Scofield's death. Those who control the Oxford Press recreated a bible to misguide Christians and sell flaming Zionism in the churches of America.
There is little reason to believe that Scofield knew or cared much about the Zionist movement, but at some point, he became involved in a close and secret relationship with Samuel Untermeier, a New York lawyer whose firm still exists today and one of the wealthiest and most powerful Zionists in America.
Untermeier controlled the unbreakable thread that connected him with Scofield. They shared a password and a common watering hole‑‑and it appears Untermeier may have been the one who filled Scofield's enormous income gap. His lavish living in Europe for� four years as a bible editor without portfolio could only have been accomplished with financial aid and international influence.
This connection might have remained hidden, were it not for the work of William Canfield, the researcher who discovered clues to the thread in some family papers. But even had the threads connecting Scofield to Untermeier and Zionism never been exposed, it would still be obvious that that connection was there.
It is significant that Oxford, not Scofield, owned the book, and that after Scofield's death, Oxford continued making changes to it. Since the death of its original author and namesake, The Scofield Reference Bible has gone through several editions. Massive pro‑ Zionist notes were added to the 1967 edition, and some of Scofield's most significant notes from the original editions were removed where they apparently failed to further Zionist aims.
Yet this edition retains the title, "The New Scofield Reference Bible, Holy Bible, Editor C.I. Scofield." It's anti‑Arab, Christian subculture theology has made an enormous contribution to war, turning Christians into
participants in genocide against Arabs in the latter half of the 20th century.
But the most convincing evidence of the unseen Zionist hand is the content of the notes themselves, for only Zionists could have written them. These notes are the subject of this paper.
Oxford edited the 1967 edition at the time of the Six Day War when Israel occupied Palestine. Oxford created new footnotes granting the State of Israel the rights to the Palestinians' land and specifically denying the Arab Palestinians any such rights. One of the most brazen and outrageous of these NEWLY INSERTED footnotes states this:
"(2) FOR A NATION TO COMMIT THE SIN OF ANTI‑SEMITISM BRINGS INEVITABLE JUDGMENT." (page 19, footnote (3) Genesis 15:1‑7.) (our emphasis added)
This statement sounds like something from Ariel Sharon, or the Chief Rabbi in Tel Aviv, or Theodore Herzl, the founder of Modern Zionism. But these exact words are found between the covers of an Oxford Bible edition that is followed by millions of American evangelicals and used by their leaders as the source of their preaching.
There is no word for "anti‑Semitism" in the New Testament, nor is it found among the Ten Commandments. "Sin," this writer was taught, is a personal concept. It is something done by individuals in conflict with God's words, not by "nations." Even Sodom did not sin‑‑its people did. The word "judgment" in the Bible always refers to God's action. In the Christian New
Testament, Jesus promises both judgment and salvation for believing individuals, not for "nations."
There was no "State of Israel" when Scofield wrote his original notes in his concocted Scofield Reference Bible in 1908. All references to Israel as a state were added AFTER 1947, when Israel was granted statehood by edict of the United Nations.
The Oxford University Press simply rewrote its version of the Christian Bible to make antipathy toward the "State of Israel" a "sin" ‑ Israel is made a god to be worshiped, not merely a "state". David Ben‑Gurion could not have written it better. Perhaps he did write it!
The Oxford 1967 Edition continues on page 19:
"(3) GOD MADE AN UNCONDITIONAL PROMISE OF BLESSINGS TO ABRAM'S SEED TO THE NATION� OF ISRAEL TO INHERIT A SPECIFIC TERRITORY FOREVER" (footnote (2) Genesis 12:1),
This bequeath is joined to an Oxford prophesy that never occurs in the Bible itself:
"IT HAS INVARIABLY FARED ILL WITH THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE PERSECUTED THE JEW, WELL WITH� THOSE WHO HAVE PROTECTED HIM. THE FUTURE WILL STILL MORE REMARKABLY PROVE THIS PRINCIPLE." (footnote (2) Genesis 12:1)
None of these notes appeared in the original Scofield Reference Bible or in the 1917 or 1945 editions. The state of Israel DID NOT EXIST in 1945, and according to the best dictionaries of the time, the word "Israel" only referred to a particular man and an ancient tribe. (See "Israel," Webster's New International Dictionary 2nd (1950) Edition.
All of this language, including the prophecy about the future being really bad for those who "persecute the Jews," reflects and furthers the goals of the Anti‑ Defamation League, which has a stated goal of� creating an environment where opposing the State of Israel is considered "anti‑Semitism," and "anti‑ Semitism" is a "hate crime" punishable by law. Their dream has become a reality in the Christian Zionist churches of America. Only someone with these goals could have written this footnote.
The State of Israel's legal claims to Arab lands are based on the United Nations Partitioning Agreement of 1947, which gave the Jews only a fraction of the land they have since occupied by force. But when this author went to Israel and asked various Israelis where they got the right to occupy Palestine, each invariably said words to the effect that "God gave it to us."
This interpretation of Hebrew scripture is primarily found in the book of Genesis and is called the "Abrahamic Covenant." It begins with God's promise to a man called Abraham who was eventually to become the grandfather of a man called "Israel:"
"[2] AND I WILL MAKE OF THEE A GREAT NATION, AND I WILL BLESS THEE, AND MAKE THY NAME GREAT; AND THOU SHALL BE A BLESSING:"
"[3] AND I WILL BLESS THEM THAT BLESS THEE, AND CURSE HIM THAT CURSETH THEE: AND IN THEE SHALL ALL FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED." Genesis 12:3, King James Edition.
It is on this promise to a single person that Israelis base their claims to what amounts to the entire� Mid‑East. Its logic is roughly the equivalent of someone claiming to be the heir to the John Paul Getty estate because the great man had once sent a letter to someone's cousin seven times removed containing the salutation "wishing you my very best."
In "Sherry's War," We Hold These Truths provided a common sense discussion of the Abrahamic Covenant and how it is misunderstood by evangelical Christians. This paper is available at our website.
It is tempting to engage in academic arguments to show readers the lack of logic in Scofield's theology which led believers so far astray. It seems all too easy to refute the various Bible references given in support of Scofield's strange writings. But we will resist the temptation to do this, because others have already done it quite well, and more importantly because it leads us
off our course.
It is also inviting to dig into Scofield's sordid past as Canfield has done, revealing him to be a convicted felon and probable pathological liar, but we leave that to Canfield and others, because our interest is not in Scofield's life, but in saving the lives of millions of innocent people who are threatened by the continuing Zionist push for perpetual war.
Instead, we will examine the words on their face. The words in these 1967 footnotes are Zionist propaganda that has been tacked onto the text of a Christian Bible. Most of them make no sense, except to support the Zionist State of Israel in its war against the Palestinians and any other wars it may enter into.
In this purpose, Zionism has completely succeeded. American Judeo‑Christians, or Christian Zionists, have remained mute during wars upon Israel's enemies in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and elsewhere. It is past time to stop the spilling of more blood, some of it Christian blood.
Now let us examine some Scofield's notes that have been altered or removed by Oxford after his death. In 1908 Scofield wrote in:
"THE CONTRAST, 'I KNOW THAT YE ARE ABRAHAM'S SEED' ‑ 'IF YE WERE ABRAHAM'S CHILDREN' IS THAT BETWEEN THE NATURAL AND THE SPIRITUAL POSTERITY OF ABRAHAM. THE ISRAELITISH PEOPLE AND ISHMAELITISH PEOPLE ARE THE FORMER; ALL WHO ARE 'OF THE PRECIOUS FAITH WITH ABRAHAM,' WHETHER JEWS OR GENTILES, ARE THE LATTER (ROM 9, 6‑8; GAL, 4‑14. SEE 'ABRAHAMIC COVENANT' GEN 15, 18, NOTE)." ( Scofield's note to John 8:39 from 1945 SSB3, Cf. V 39.)
Compare that with the Oxford note substituted in the 1967 Edition:
"ALL JEWS ARE NATURAL DESCENDANTS OF� ABRAHAM, BUT ARE NOT NECESSARILY HIS SPIRITUAL POSTERITY, CP Rom 9‑6‑8, Gal 3: 16‑18. (Note SSB3, P1136, Jn 8:37.)"
How, pray tell, can "all Jews" be "natural descendants of Abraham," a Chaldean who lived some 3000 years ago? Persons of all races are Jews and new Jews are being converted every day from every race. One might as well say all Lutherans are the natural descendants of Martin Luther; or that all Baptists come from the loins of John the Baptist. This note could only have been written by an Israeli patriot. No one else would care!
The original Scofield note was far out of line with traditional Christianity in 1908 and should have been treated as heresy then. Yet Scofield had failed to go far enough for the Zionists.
Scofield clearly recognized what the book of Genesis states, that the sons of Ishmael are co‑heirs to Abraham's ancient promise. Did not Scofield say said "THE ISRAELITISH PEOPLE AND ISHMAELITISH PEOPLE ARE...THE NATURAL POSTERITY OF ABRAHAM" The Oxford Press simply waited for Scofield to die and changed it as they wished. And what did Scofield say that did not satisfy the Zionists who rewrote the Oxford 1967 Edition?
The answer is an easy one. Most Arab scholars and all of Islam consider Arabs in general and the Prophet Mohamed in particular to be direct descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's grandson, and half‑brother of Jacob, who was later to become known as "Israel."
Arabs believe themselves to be sons of Ishmael, of Abraham's seed, and co‑heirs of to Abraham's promise, and they believe that present‑day Israelis have no biblical right to steal their land. Jewish Talmudic folklore also confirms this, so the Zionist had to change it to keep the Christians from siding with the Arabs over the land theft.
The Zionists solved this dilemma by giving the willing Christians a silly, senseless footnote in their� Scofield Reference Bible, which substitutes the word "Jews" for the words "The Israelitish people and Ishmaelitish people."
The Israelitish and Ishmaelitish people lived 3000 years ago, but the Zionists want to claim other people's birthright right now! Read it again; who would believe this? "All Jews are natural descendants of Abraham, but are not necessarily his spiritual posterity."
And there is more of such boondogglry in the Oxford bible. On the same page 1136 we find yet another brand new Zionist‑friendly note referring to the New Testament Book of John 8:37.
First we look at the verse Oxford is trying to soften, wherein Jesus said speaking directly to the Pharisees, who were the Jewish leaders of his day, and to no one else:
"YE ARE OF YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL, AND THE LUST OF YOUR FATHER YE WILL DO. HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING, AND ABODE NOT IN THE TRUTH, BECAUSE THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM. WHEN HE SPEAKEST A LIE, HE SPEAKEST OF HIS OWN; FOR HE IS A LIAR, AND THE FATHER
OF IT." John 8:44 SSB4
Those are plain words. No wonder the Zionists wanted to dilute what Jesus said. Not only did Oxford add a new footnote in 1967, but they inserted no less than four reference cues into the King James sacred text directing readers to their specious heretical footnotes. This can only be a Zionist interpretation that flagrantly misrepresents the Bible text. Read the note that Oxford wrote to soften the above quote from John 8:44:
"(2) 8:44 THAT THIS SATANIC FATHERHOOD CANNOT BE LIMITED TO THE PHARISEES IS MADE CLEAR IN 1 John 3:8‑10" (note SSB3, P1136, Jn 8:37)
It seems the Zionists cannot deny what Jesus said about them, but they do not want to bear the burden of being "sons of Satan" all by themselves. Now here's the text of the verse to which they refer in order to try to solve this problem:
"HE THAT COMMITETH SIN IS OF THE DEVIL, FOR THE DEVIL SINNETH FROM THE BEGINNING;� FOR THIS PURPOSE THE SON OF GOD WAS MANIFESTED, THAT HE MIGHT DESTROY THE WORK OF THE DEVIL." (1 John 3:8.)
This verse in no way supports the argument that Jesus was not talking directly to and about the Pharisee leaders, the Jews of his day, when he called them "Sons of Satan."
To find out to whom Jesus is talking you must read the rest of John 8, not something from another book. Furthermore, John 8:44 is only one of some 77 verses where Jesus confronted the Pharisees by name, and in many cases he addressed them as "satanic" and as "vipers." Oxford simply ignores most of these denunciations by Jesus, and the Judeo‑Christians, the Christian Zionists, go along with it without question.
These are a few examples of Zionist perversions of scripture that have shaped the doctrine of America's most politically powerful religious subculture, the "Christian Zionists" as Ariel Sharon calls them, or the dispensationalists as intellectual followers call themselves, or the Judeo‑Christians as our politically‑correct politicians describe themselves. Today's Mid‑East wars are not caused by the history of the Mid‑East peoples, but by the pandering to Jewish and Zionist interests carried out by this subculture, the most vocal being the celebrity Christian evangelists.
Reverend Stephen Sizer of Christ Church, England is perhaps the most dedicated new scholar writing about the Scofield Bible craze, popularly known as Christian Zionism.� He has quipped, "Judging Christianity by looking at the American Evangelists is kind of like judging the British by watching Benny Hill."
Reverend Sizer's remark brings to mind another Benny; his name is Benny Hinn, not a British comic, but an American evangelist spouting inflammatory hate‑filled words aimed at Muslims everywhere. Hinn was speaking to the applause of an aroused crowd of thousands in the American Airline Center in Dallas� when he shocked two Ft. Worth Star Telegram religious reporters covering the July 3d event by announcing, "We are on God's side," speaking of Palestine.
He shouted, "This is not a war between Jews and Arabs. It is a war between God and the Devil." Lest there be any doubt about it, Hinn was talking about a blood war in which the Israelis are "God" and the Palestinians are "the Devil."
Benny Hinn is one of hundreds of acknowledged Christian Zionists who have no problem spouting outright race hatred and who join in unconditional support for Israel without regard for which or how many of Israel's enemies are killed or crippled.
His boldness stems from his knowledge that the vast majority of Evangelicals from whom he seeks his lavish support, do not shrink at his words, because they have been conditioned to accept them, just as Roman citizens learned to accept Christian persecution, even burning alive, under Nero. Several evangelists in attendance affirmed their agreement with Hinn ‑ "the line between Christians and Muslims is the difference between good and evil."
An amazing number of evangelicals are in agreement with the fanatical likes of Hinn, including Gary Bauer, Ralph Reed, James Dobson and hundreds more. But Hinn's profit‑seeking fanaticism is not as shocking as that of men like Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention who occupy the highest positions in the area of conservative religious thought. Land may have stopped short of branding all Muslims as devils, but he attacked their leader and Prophet and stated that according to Baptist Bible interpretation, the Palestinian people have no legal rights to property in Palestine. (See our discussion of Southern Baptists entitled "The Cause of the Conflict: Fixing Blame."
The more politically conservative and libertarian the speaker expressing hatred for Islam, the more shocking the statement sounds. One example is Samuel Blumenfeld, a veteran textbook author and advocate of home education.
His attack on Islam in a story entitled "Religion and Satanism" in the April 2002 politically conservative Calvinist, Chalcedon Report, leaves little room for civil liberties and freedom of thought. He writes, "Islam is a religion ruled by Satan," and asks, "Can anyone under the influence of Satan be trusted? Blumenfeld shows poor judgment and a lack of morality when he uses phrases such as "willing agents of Satan".. "another manifestation of Satanism," and "the willingness of Muslims to believe blatant lies," to spill from his pen.
How can anyone interpret these words by Land, Hinn, Blumenfeld, and yes, our own President, as anything less than race hatred? Who would make such generalized and transparently false statements against any other minority except Muslims?
About 100 million American Christians need to recover their true faith in Christ Jesus, who never denounced any individual on account of his group. Jesus even tried to save the Pharisees, and only denounced them when they showed themselves to be deceivers. There is not a word in the New Testament that urges any follower of Jesus to murder one child in Iraq or condemn Palestine to death. Race hatred is a Zionist, not a Christian, strategy.
Christian Zionism may be the most shameful apostasy in the entire history of Christianity or any other� religion. Shame on its leaders, who are bringing the blood of millions of innocent people down upon the spires and prayer benches of America's churches.
WHTT asks every Christian to share this article with pastors and church leaders, especially lay leaders. We ask every Muslim and Jew who reads it to do the same. You might wish to suspend giving money to any organizations that preach Zionist race hatred in any form. And lastly, We Hold These Truths invites your informed comments and questions.
Listen to: "Kulture Klash II, How Oxford University Press and CI Scofield stole the Christian Bible" on WHTT Internet Talk Radio. You will need the Real player to hear the broadcast (also available on tape).
Copyright 2000, WHTT, may be reproduced in full with permission.
We Hold These Truths
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SCOFIELD ‑ THE MAN BEHIND THE MYTH
[Ed: Whilst FC normally tries to shy away from matters pertaining to theology and the like, as Scofield was� the man who Judaised the New testament, i.e. created the modern Christian ‑ typified in the American preachers who have nothing but praise for Israel regardless of the facts ‑ it's vital for all of us, Christian, non‑Christian, American, European and other to understand who this charlatan was who turned� around 2000 years of Christian heritage to create Judeo‑ Christianity]:
http://poweredbychrist.homestead.com/files/cyrus/scofield.htm This is a short biographical sketch revealing little known facts about the celebrated dispensationalist saint, Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, author of the Scofield
Reference Bible. We are grateful to Joseph Canfield for his book, The Incredible Scofield And His Book, and to author Dave MacPherson for providing a good portion of the documentation.
Generally speaking, dispensationalists tend to cherish his teachings without any concern whatsoever for what kind of man Scofield really was.
For some reason, his admirers consider it unethical or possibly even contemptible to expose embarrassing little known secrets about the man. Facts should not be buried because they make people feel uncomfortable.
Neither C.I. Scofield nor his work are above reproach and considering the impact he has had on Christendom, his life should be examined. The type of person that he really was will have a major influence on the theology that he taught.
Former Dallas Theological Seminary President and student of Scofield's theology John F. Walvoord, has written concerning the Scofield Reference Bible: ( typewritten copy of Scofield divorce decree ) Journal M, November Term, A.D. 1883, 8th day of December, 1883 Leontine Scofield Plaintiff Vs C. I. Scofield Defendant.
Now comes the plaintiff by her attorneys Tomlinson and Griffin and the defendant enters for appearance and files answer and makes no further appearance. And thereupon this cause came on for hearing upon the pleadings and testimony and was argued by counsel upon consideration whereof the Court does find that the defendant has been guilty of wilful abandonment of the plaintiff for more than� one year prior to the commencement of this action.
It is therefore adjudged and decreed by the Court here that the marriage relation heretofore existing between the said parties be and the same is hereby set aside and wholly annulled and the parties wholly released from the obligations of the same.
It is further ordered and decreed that the custody, nurture, education and care of the said minor children Abigal Scofield and Helen Scofield, be and the same, is hereby given to the said plaintiff and the said defendant is hereby forever enjoined from interfering with or disturbing the said plaintiff in the custody, care, nurture and education of the said above named children until the further order of this Court.
Cyrus Scofield had several other incidents of a downright dishonest nature after he supposedly became saved. The fact that in 1892 he began calling himself 'Doctor Scofield' without producing any� Doctorate degree from any Seminary or University is the least of his devious activities. Even the details he gave in his story of conversion are proven to be fabricated, including the time, place and other particularities, thereby placing doubt on the whole story.[iv]
He was a self‑promoter in every sense of the word, even lying about being able to comfort and calm the entire city of Belfast, Ireland with a sermon he delivered there the Sunday after the Titanic sunk. [v]
His behind‑ the‑scenes handlers [Untermeier, Gompers, Baruch, Schiff, etc.] saw to it that his swindles and schemes were swept under the rug and that only a positive image of him was promoted, especially an exaggeration of his Biblical knowledge and wisdom.� Men like George Bannerman Dealey owner of the Dallas Morning News and member of Scofield's church contributed greatly to the cause.
But occasionally, newspapers who weren't loyal to his cause would put out damaging information on him. Here is an excerpt from the Topeka newspaper The Daily Capital dated August 27, 1881:
"CYRUS I. SCOFIELD IN THE ROLE OF A CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER
"Cyrus I. Scofield, formerly of Kansas, late lawyer, politician and shyster generally, has come to the surface again, and promises once more to gather around himself that halo of notoriety that has made him so prominent in the past. The last personal knowledge that Kansans have had of this peer among scallywags, was when about four years ago, after a series of forgeries and confidence games he left the state and� a destitute family and took refuge in Canada.
For a time he kept undercover, nothing being heard of him until within the past two years when he turned up in St. Louis, where he had a wealthy widowed sister living who has generally come to the front and squared up Cyrus' little follies and foibles by paying good round sums of money.
Within the past year, however, Cyrus committed a series of St. Louis forgeries that could not be settled so easily, and the erratic young gentleman was compelled to linger in the St. Louis jail for a period of six months.
"Among the many malicious acts that characterized his career, was one peculiarly atrocious, that has come und er our personal notice. Shortly after he left Kansas, leaving his wife and two children dependent upon the bounty of his wife's mother, he wrote his wife that he could invest some $1,300 of her mother's� money, all she had, in a manner that would return big interest.
�After some correspondence he forwarded them a mortgage, signed and executed by one Chas. Best, purporting to convey valuable property in St. Louis. Upon this, the money was sent to him.
�Afterwards the mortgages were found to be base forgeries, no such person as Charles Best being in existence, and the property conveyed in the mortgage fictitious."[vi]
Scofield's work continues to be praised and utilized today by men with questionable motives. His closely guarded reputation remains intact and this information provided will only be useful to the truth‑seekers, which represents a relatively small percentage of� Christendom. At least two scriptures are applicable at this point:
"For there is no respecter of persons with God." � Romans 2:11 "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." ‑‑ Matthew 7:20 Scofield abandoned his wife and children and refused to support them. I Timothy 5:8 says "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." When his first wife Leontine originally filed for divorce in July 1881, she listed the following reasons: "
(he had) absented himself from his said wife and children, and had not been with them but abandoned them with the intention of not returning to them again. has been guilty of gross neglect of duty and has failed to support this plaintiff or her said children, or to contribute thereto, and has made no provision for them for food, clothing or a home, or in any manner performed his duty in the support of said family although he was able to do so." [iii]
This edition of the Bible [Scofield Reference Bible], which has had unprecedented circulation, has popularized premillennial teachings and provided ready helps of interpretation. It has probably done more to extend pre millennialism in the last half century than� any other volume.
This accounts for the many attempts to discredit this work. The reputation of the Scofield Bible is curious because each succeeding writer apparently believes that his predecessors have not succeeded in disposing of this work once and for all. This belief apparently is well‑founded, for the Scofield Bible continues to be issued year after year in greater numbers than any of its refuters. [i]
This is the general consensus among dispensationalist leaders that because his work is around in such great quantity it must be correct, so they plug it. These men, however, through their heavy promotion of Scofield� work, are largely responsible for the popularity of it (they exhibit circular reasoning). When giving the qualifications of a bishop, Paul states in 1 Timothy 3:2, 4: 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; Did Scofield meet the qualifications for a leader in the church?
His friends and colleagues have tried to hide the fact that he was married twice, had two daughters with his first wife and was divorced by her due to how he treated her and their daughters. Scofield began courting his future second wife Hettie van Wark before the divorce was finalized and they got married only three months after it was.[ii] His divorce was finalized at least four years after he became 'born again'. [end excerpts from web site]
http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles/CarlsonPremillenial.htm
"Left Behind" and the Corruption of Biblical
Interpretation
David Carlson Ph.D.
In this time of global uncertainty, terrorism, sniper attacks, and threats of war, one style of religious writing has catapulted to the top of best‑seller lists. Known as the Left Behind series, these fictional works proclaim that the end of the world as imminent. This apocalyptic view is "straight from the Bible," assert authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. They've sold over 34 million copies.
But is Left Behind "straight from the Bible?" Many critics say no. The series relies heavily on a doctrine known as premillennial Dispensationalism. And LaHaye and Jenkins are not the only proponents of the doctrine. It underlies some of the fundamentalist views of mid‑east politics as well.
Premillennial Dispensationalism as the Stepchild of Protestantism
Premillennial Dispensationalism is the creation of the nineteenth century fundamentalist C.I. Scofield (1843‑1921), known chiefly for his authorship of the Scofield Bible. Scofield codified and thus popularized the earlier ideas of J.N. Darby (1800‑82) who first introduced the doctrine.
Taking a broader view, premillennial Dispensationalism is a recent stepchild of the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther's protest against Rome championed the concept of sola scriptura (scripture alone) as a means for restoring apostolic authority over the claims of an increasingly autocratic Roman magisterium and other problems at the time.
Modern corruptions of sola‑scriptura reduce Luther's concept to mean that no reference to the past and thus no enduring Tradition is necessary for biblical interpretation. The claim that the Bible alone is sufficient for the Christian life asserts that every believer possesses the capacity to understand the correct meaning of the scriptures on his own.
A second characteristic of the Protestant Reformation was the bifurcation between grace vs. law, which led to the conflict between faith and works. Martin Luther interpreted the Apostle Paul's references to the law, particularly in Romans and Galatians, as pertaining to a cosmic moral law, rather than the Law of Moses.
As a result, the "works of the law" that were nullified by faith were understood to mean the works of moral effort rather than the works required by the Mosaic Law. Fundamentalist Protestantism has taken the Lutheran dichotomy to mean that man is completely passive in his salvation.
Premillennial Dispensationalism: Standing Scripture on its Head
Premillennial Dispensationalism embraced the two traits of Protestantism with a vengeance. Maintaining that the Scriptures reveal seven distinct dispensations (periods of time from creation to the end of the world and beyond), Scofield offered fundamentalism a new "tradition."
The scriptures are rearranged in a schema (his dispensationalist model wrenches verses from their native context) where verses from Daniel and Zechariah are juxtaposed with verses from 1 Thessalonians and Revelations.
Within this new tradition historical and literary context mean nothing. Today, bible bookstores even sell charts that purport to explain the mysterious ways of God from the beginning of history to its end.
Startling and troublesome claims arise when Scripture is dismembered according to the Scofield schema. Especially alarming is the conviction of premillennial dispensationalists that American foreign policy in the Middle East should be governed by this odd interpretation.
As early as 1916, Scofield claimed that Israel must be reestablished before the end times could begin. The emergence of Israel as a nation state in 1948 was taken as a fulfillment of this promise and proof that premillennial Dispensationalism was a valid interpretation.
The Israeli victory in 1967 according to end‑times author Hal Lindsay marks the beginning of the final generation of man on earth. The Israeli displacement of Palestinian villages (Christian and Muslim) is celebrated as a necessary part of God's plan.
Second, premillennial Dispensationalism maintains that wars and disasters will increase before the end. Since premillennial dispensationalists believe that we are in the last days, they argue that all current efforts for peace (especially in the Middle East) are pointless.
When asked about Jesus blessing the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) they respond that these words do not pertain to the "dispensation of the Church." Christians, it seems, are not expected to live by the Beatitudes.
The belief in the premillennial Dispensationalism can lead to extreme views. Todd Strandberg, webmaster of the Rapture Ready website (www.raptureready.com), stated that September 11 made him "joyful" that the end was near.
"A lot of prophetic commentators have what I consider a phony sadness over certain events. In their hearts they know it means them getting closer to their ultimate desire." (Time, July 1, 2002, p. 44).
An upside‑down Christianity emerges with premillennial Dispensationalism. It creates a skewed view of the Christian faith that welcomes war and disaster, while dismissing peace efforts in the Middle East and elsewhere�all in the name of Christ.
Third, premillennial Dispensationalism believes that Israel, not the Church, is the key player in salvation history. Based on a single comment in 1 Thessalonians, they believe that the Church will be "raptured" (taken up into heaven) out of history before the Great Tribulation (an extended period of suffering on earth, and the final battle of Armageddon. Christ will appear at the Second Coming as the Jewish Messiah and at which time the Jews will accept Him either voluntarily or by force.
How to Respond?
We ought not dismiss the dispensationalist view as marginal, as one that poses no threat to traditional Christian teaching. Time magazine reports that 59% of polled Americans believe the prophecies of the book of Revelation will come true, presumably in a literal fashion, while 36% of those polled support the present state of Israel because of their view of biblical prophecy.
In this view, not only are Palestinians of no value, but the sole reason for Jews to return to Israel is to hasten the slaughter that triggers the return of Christ.
Misinterpretation, however, is not a new phenomena. The Church Fathers faced it too. In his book, Bible, Church, Tradition: An Eastern Orthodox View, Professor Georges Florovsky recalls the image by the second century Bishop Irenaeus which bear an uncanny resemblance to our current "battle for the Bible."
St. Irenaeus described an artist who made a beautiful jeweled mosaic of a king. Another came along and took apart the pieces of this beautiful mosaic, rearranging the tiles to create an image of a fox. This second person then claimed that the image of the fox was the true one, as the mosaic pieces were all "authentic."
This is what heretics do to Scripture, St. Irenaeus maintained. They claim that because they use the words of Scripture, the doctrines they teach are true. But heretics ignore the design, the rule of faith; the Tradition, which the Church has always used to test interpretations of the Bible.
St. Irenaeus' words indict premillennial Dispensationalism. Without the Tradition, these fundamentalists pull the text apart and rearrange the verses to create a picture that is at odds with the received Tradition. Christ is replaced by a figure that celebrates the sorrows of our time and despises the efforts to create peace.
Professor Florovsky states,
"...the point which St. Irenaeus endeavored to make is obvious. Scripture had its own pattern or design, its internal structure and harmony. The heretics ignored this pattern, or rather substitute their own instead. In other words, they re‑arrange the Scriptural evidence on a pattern which is quite alien to the Scripture itself." (p. 78).
Isn't this precisely what premillennial Dispensationalism, with its pseudo‑biblicism, is doing in our day?
To rejoice in the sufferings of our age is to take Christ's name in vain. Christians are to see the face of Christ in the faces of all the suffering people in this world. We don't rejoice in suffering but are called to feed, visit, clothe, them and to seek peace.
Dr. David Carlson is Professor of Religious Studies at Franklin College, Franklin, Indiana, and a member of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Indianapolis, Indiana