The origin of the Scofield Myth and how it evolved (2009 to Candace Owens)
The first instance of the myth that Scofield was funded by the Rothschild family
to "enslave Christians to Israel" appeared in 2009.
How can we know this?'
These are the Google search results for the period of 1/1/1900 to 12/31/2008.
[Image Description: Google Search Results]
A desktop web browser window in dark mode displays Google Search results
filtered under a custom date range spanning from January 1, 1900, to
December 31, 2008.
The view slowly scrolls downward across multiple search pages, showing
scholarly, historical, and archival links. Visible entries include academic
papers from Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Core) discussing Christian
Zionism and dispensational history, articles from The Guardian referencing
critiques of Christian Zionism by Stephen Sizer, National Institutes of Health /
PubMed Central records discussing post-tribulation rapture theology, references
from The Times archives, research portal entries from the University of
Birmingham, and theological articles published by Andrews University. Throughout
all results from this 108-year time bracket, mentions of C.I. Scofield relate
strictly to conventional church history, dispensational theology, and the
publication history of his Reference Bible; there is not a single mention
connecting Scofield to Rothschild funding or secret plots to enslave Christians.
[I have looked at the PDF. It does not contain this claim; I will link it in the
description.]
These are the Yandex results for the keywords "Scofield," "Rothschild," and
"Oxford," and “2008.”
[Image Description: Yandex Search Results]
A web browser in dark mode displays the search interface of Yandex, showing the
red Cyrillic logo "Я" alongside an exact-term search query: "Scofield"
"Rothschild" "Oxford" "2008".
The page scrolls continuously down through the search results. The top entries
highlight forum posts, conspiracy blogs, and article reposts carrying titles
such as "The Scofield Reference Bible, Oxford Publishing and The House of
Rothschild," "How Scofield Duped Millions into Adopting Christian Zionism,"
"Rewriting History: How Biblical Archaeology Was Weaponized," and "SCOFIELD
BIBLE — Written by CYRUS SCOFIELD & Oxford..." As the screen scrolls, each entry
reveals snippets and publication metadata demonstrating that every result
matching this exact combination of conspiratorial keywords originates from
March 2009 or later (with "2008" appearing only as incidental text within later
posts), proving the claim did not exist online prior to early 2009.
The results prove a March 2009 origin.
This lie originated with a man named Robert Singer, who described himself in his
own words:
[Quotation / Bio]
"Robert Singer is a retired information technology professional and an
environmental activist living in Southern California. In 1997 he and his cousin
Adam D. Singer founded IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc., where he served as
chief technology officer. Today the company manages more than 130 practice
groups, providing care in more than 300 medical facilities in 18 states. Prior
to that he was president of Lodist Software, a developer and publisher of
financial and consumer software for the personal computing industry."
March 2009
[Quotation: Robert Singer, March 2009]
"Rothschild was well aware of Jewish history and knew, according to Christian
New Testament, government and crucified Jesus Christ and most of his early
followers; American traditional churches in the 19th Century would never stand
for a brutal occupation of their homeland.
Rothschild financed Samuel Untermyer (1858) and a/c/year Cyrus Scofield went out
to change American and its religion convictions to the use of the Scofield
Reference Bible from Oxford University Press.
Scofield, after being released from prison was introduced to Samuel Untermyer,
the President of the Keren Hayesod, and the Problem movement in America.
Untermyer, an attorney, was instrumental in preparing the Federal Reserve
Training Act in 1914, and the financing of Scofield’s Reference bible.
The Scofield bible has hundreds of easy-to-read footnotes in the margins and at
the bottom of the pages that maliciously weave parts of the Old and New
Testaments together, as though the same people wrote them at the same time. The
most convincing evidence of Rothchian influence on Scofield are the notes
themselves, below are examples taken from the revised 1967 Edition:
For a nation to commit the sin of anti-semitism brings inevitable judgment
God sends an unconditional promise of blessings through Abram's seed to the
nation of Israel to inherit a specific territory forever."
Notice Singer never proves, only asserts.
Untermeyer did not finance it or invited Scofield to the Lotos club.
[Image Description: D. Jean Rushing Biographical Study, Pages 92–95]
Scanned academic book pages (pages 92 through 95) from D. Jean Rushing’s
biographical thesis on C.I. Scofield are displayed on screen, with a bold white
label in the upper right reading "92–95."
- Page 92: The page recounts the actual historical origins of the Scofield
Reference Bible. It describes a late-night stroll between Scofield and
evangelist Arno C. Gaebelein in late 1901 or early 1902, where Scofield
shared his vision for a study Bible with explanatory marginal notes but
admitted he lacked financial backing. Gaebelein offered to make inquiries.
The text notes that Scofield gave principal financial credit to Christian
businessman John T. Pirie, alongside Alwyn Ball, Jr., and Walter Fitch—not
Samuel Untermyer.
- Page 93: The text documents Scofield’s admission to the prestigious Lotos
Club in New York City in early 1901. It explains that the club was intended
for writers, journalists, and artists. Primary records from the Lotos Club
archive confirm that on March 19, 1901, architect Thomas E. Fraser proposed
Scofield for nonresident membership, seconded by John B. Simpson.
- Pages 94–95: The author explicitly addresses and debunks modern conspiracy
theories, stating: "Dr. Scofield’s detractors have seized on his Lotos Club
membership as proof of a Zionist plot to subvert American Christians... It
appears from club records that Samuel Untermyer played no role in Scofield’s
club membership and the conspiracy charge seems unwarranted without
considerably more information."
The 1967 Revision was published 45 years after C.I. Scofield died in 1921.
[Image Description: Search Summary Card]
A cropped digital snippet against a dark background reading:
C. I. Scofield / Died
July 24, 1921 (age 77 years), New York, NY
1967 - 45 = 1921.
45 years, 5 months, 8 days
545 months, 8 days
1,433,980,800 seconds
23,899,680 minutes
398,328 hours
16,597 days
2371 weeks
Furthermore, the universally recognized successor to C.I. Scofield (within
Dispensationalist spheres), Dr. Ruckman, denounced the 1967 Reference Bible.
[Image & Audio: Cassette Tape of Dr. Peter S. Ruckman]
A photograph of a white audio cassette tape with a green-and-white paper label
centered against a solid black background.
The label reads:
1b DR. PETER S. RUCKMAN
New Scofield Bible
MINISTRIES OF FAITH
1444 Meadow Moor Drive — Xenia, Ohio 45385
Bibles, Books, Tapes — Write for Free Catalog
In the upper-right corner of the video frame, a digital counter marks the
runtime (1:21). As the audio plays, Dr. Ruckman speaks with a harsh, fervent
Southern preaching cadence:
Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:
"Now, in this we're going to go in—we're going to go into detail here and show
the Christian, the born-again child of God, the true Bible-believer, why he
should never be fooled for a minute by such godless, depraved publications as
the New American Standard Version, or its sister, the American Standard
Version 1901, or this, uh, watered-down, anemic edition I have in my lap called
the New Scofield Reference Bible.
Now, we have a number of very good reasons for rejecting this Bible. These
reasons are not fanatical. They're not the reasons of a right-wing extremist.
They're not the reasons given by somebody who's critical and negative, although
that will be the comment that'll be made by you negative, critical people who
bitterly resent the word of God.
I'm very used to this type of accusation because, uh, the people who attack the
word of God never like to have said about them what they say about the Book. And
I'm just dumb enough to say it. But the reasons I'm going to give are going to
be all very cool, very clear, very objective, and they'll be the kind of reasons
that a man could prove in a court of law."
Singer is using a 1967 revision that is:
A. Published nearly half a century after Scofield's death.
B. Rejected by its own target audience.
C. Denounced by Scofield's universally recognized successor (within
Dispensationalist spheres), Dr. Peter Ruckman.
Robert Singer’s 2009 text does these four things:
A. Claims Untermeyer financed the Bible (False: financiers were Pirie, Ball, and
Fitch).
B. Claims Untermeyer invited him to the Lotos Club (False: Fraser proposed him;
Untermeyer played no role).
C. Denies the Inerrancy of Scripture. (“weave parts of the Old and New
Testaments together as though the same people wrote them at the same time.”)
D. Acts as if Scofield was alive in 1967.
A God-denying environmentalist who cannot get basic dates right serves as the
"foundation" for Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson’s claims.
These are the same people who say the modern nation of Israel cannot be Biblical
Israel as Herzl was an atheist.
The lie mutated again in April 2009 via the Idaho Observer:
[Quotation: The Idaho Observer, April 2009]
"Darby coined the J. R. second-secret-after the civil war and, according to Van
Biema, 'was pastored here by Cyrus I. Scofield (1843-1921), a Congregationalist
minister with a checkered reputation. It was through Darby's rapturist theory
was so tenuous that he had lingering doubts about it as late as 1897.
In 1897 he introduced American Christians to this radical new concept, positioning it at the very beginning of the Tribulation,' opening 'trust behavior' the mid-term hiatus left in ambidextrous and the decisively misled."
The Idaho Observer writer cites David Van Biema’s 2002 Time article, but fails to demonstrate even 1st-grade level reading comprehension.
[Image Description: Time Magazine Excerpt (David Van Biema, 2002)]
A high-contrast rectangular snippet from David Van Biema’s July 2002 Time article ("The End: How It Got That Way") is set against a pure black background. The clean digital serif text reads:
"The man with the plan was an Anglican priest turned traveling evangelical preacher named John Nelson Darby, who arrived in the U.S. in 1862 for the first of seven visits, bearing a radical new eschatology. Darby and minister Cyrus Scofield, who would expand the evangelist's ideas in the vastly influential Scofield Reference Bible, divided God's relationship with man into seven ages (the current sixth began with the death of Christ). Their vision grimly upended the previous wisdom. Far from getting ever better, things on earth would progressively
worsen, until the Antichrist, also known as the Beast, arose. A seven-year,
hell-like Tribulation would begin, survived by only a small human remnant. Not
until then would Christ return, defeat the Antichrist and commence his
Millennium. Much of Darby's scriptural synthesis had been suggested piecemeal by
earlier thinkers."
Nowhere in the Time article does it say Darby was "pastored" by Scofield. It
says they were separate men who shared a similar vision.
The conspiracy was "solidified" by people who cannot read a basic news article
without hallucinating a secret plot.
"Ashkenazi Jew Samuel Untermyer, the New York attorney who not only arranged for
the publication of the Scofield Bible with Rothschild, " - The Idaho Observer
(April 2009)
Untermyer did not do this. The publication was arranged between Scofield and
Henry Frowde, the head of Oxford University Press.
[Image Description: Charles G. Trumbull Biography, Pages 88–90]
Three consecutive scanned book pages from Charles Gallaudet Trumbull’s 1920
authorized biography, The Life Story of C. I. Scofield, are displayed against a
black background, documenting the real circumstances of the Bible's publication:
- Page 88 (Chapter VIII: "Drudgery and Genius"): Opens with an ornate drop-cap
'R'. The narrative describes Dr. and Mrs. Scofield traveling abroad to
England in 1904 for rest and research after withdrawing from pastoral work.
The text specifies that at this juncture, Scofield had given no thought to
finding a publisher. While staying in London, he visited Mr. Scott of the
evangelical publishing firm Morgan & Scott at his country residence in Penge
and shared his vision for a Reference Bible.
- Page 89: Continues the conversation between Scofield and Mr. Scott. When
Scott asked who would publish the work, Scofield admitted he had not
considered it yet. Scott insisted that although Morgan & Scott would gladly
take it, the Bible demanded worldwide reach and should only be issued by
Oxford University Press. When Scofield noted he had no contacts there, Scott
volunteered an introduction to Henry Frowde, the head of Oxford University
Press in Great Britain. Frowde consulted Mr. Armstrong, the head of Oxford’s
American branch in New York, who responded with immediate enthusiasm.
- Page 90: Concludes the account by detailing that Armstrong strongly endorsed
the venture, leading to a prompt preliminary understanding and a mutually
advantageous publishing contract with Oxford University Press. The page
quotes Scofield rejoicing over the arrangement as divine providence,
referencing Isaiah 65:24 ("before they call, I will answer"), before he and
his wife departed London for Montreux, Switzerland, to continue his study
notes in quiet seclusion.
While the Idaho Observer attributed its article to
poweredbychrist.homestead.com, an analysis of that website's archives shows no
mention of Scofield in this context.
It then evolved once more into it's 2011 form.
The lie is about to enter its third permutation. However, it is important to
note that from Robert Singer's 2009 post until today, not one person has
provided a single piece of evidence that the Rothschilds funded or were involved
with the Scofield Reference Bible.
The 'strongest' evidence they offer is a set of notes found in a revision
published 46 years after Scofield died.
[Image Description: "The Scofield Factor" Post (2011)]
A horizontal, cropped widescreen digital capture of an online blog post titled
"The Scofield Factor" set against a dark grey background.
The text outlines the 2011 mutation of the conspiracy, linking Scofield’s
"Postponed Kingdom" theology directly to the emergence of political Zionism. It
alleges that Scofield caught the eye of wealthy Jewish power brokers and was
contacted by lawyer Samuel Untermyer (citing a blue Wikipedia hyperlink to
Untermyer's biographical article regarding his work on antitrust legislation and
the Federal Reserve Act). The text asserts, without citations or footnotes, that
Untermyer recognized Scofield's theological utility for Jewish national
ambitions, funded Scofield's "research" trips to Oxford, and secured him
membership and free living quarters at the Lotos Club in New York to write the
Bible.
[Quotation: "The Scofield Factor" (2011)]
"In the early years of Zionism, Scofield was preaching his doctrine of the Postponed Kingdom,
in which a Jewish Kingdom would rule the world. He had adopted John Darby’s idea
that Christ would rule from the old Jerusalem in a Jewish setting, and hence,
they believed it necessary for the Jews to establish a Jewish state in
Palestine. This caught the attention of certain 'power that Jews', and so
Scofield was contacted by Samuel Untermyer, a prominent Jewish lawyer who was
one of the framers of the Federal Reserve Act.
'He took an active part in preparing the Federal Reserve Bank voy, the Clayton
bill, the Federal Trade Commission bill, and other legislations curbing trusts.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Untermyer
Untermyer was, not a 'Christian,' but found Scofield to be very useful to the
Jewish plans for a state of Israel. He introduced Scofield to many friends and
financed 'research' trips to Oxford. As chairman of the Lotos Club in New York,
an exclusive club for journalists, Untermyer recommended that Scofield be
admitted as a member, and the secret club also provided him with free living
quarters to support his writing of the 'Scofield Bible'."
Scofield did not get his doctrines from Darby.
[Image Description: D. Jean Rushing Biographical Study, Page 81]
A scanned academic page from D. Jean Rushing’s biographical study is shown on
screen, examining the theological lineage between John Nelson Darby, Dr. James
H. Brookes, and C.I. Scofield:
The body text explains that while Darby, Brookes, and Scofield held comparable
dispensational views, both Brookes and Scofield consistently maintained that
their theological perspectives arose from direct, personal illumination while
studying the Scriptures rather than direct reliance on Darby. The text details
that Scofield primarily derived his dispensationalist framework through the
mentorship of James H. Brookes in St. Louis, his personal Bible study in Dallas,
and his active participation in the Niagara Bible Conferences. The lower portion
of the page notes Scofield’s involvement in conservative theological periodicals
(such as Brookes' The Truth and Arno C. Gaebelein’s Our Hope) and lists academic
footnotes citing Ernest R. Sandeen (The Roots of Fundamentalism), Charles G.
Trumbull, and Arno C. Gaebelein to establish that his theological roots
developed organically within American evangelical circles without external
manipulation.
Untermeyer is not mentioned a single time outside of D. Jean Rushing addressing
these false claims about Untermeyer, which I have already shown you.
In the two books about Scofield (From Confederate Deserter to Decorated Veteran
Bible Scholar: Exploring the Enigmatic Life of C.I. Scofield 1861-1921 by D.
Jean Rushing from 2011, and The Life Story of C. I. Scofield by Charles
Gallaudet Trumbull from 1920), Untermeyer is only mentioned in Rushing's book
where she addresses these false claims.
Any connection to Untermeyer at all is incredibly overblown.
All coming from Robert Ecclesiastes 9:18
“Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one (singer) sinner destroyeth much
good.”
The 2011 mutation also did not provide any sources for Untermeyer being
malicious or influencing Scofield. It just stated it happened without any
evidence, like Singer or the Idaho Observer did.
The last mutation and the most long-lasting strain is the 2015.
Like the rest, it does not provide any evidence or sources for what it says. It
only asserts without evidence.
[Image Description: Mark Cleminson Book Excerpts (2015)]
Scanned pages from a 2015 self-published work by Mark Cleminson are presented
sequentially on screen against a dark background:
- Section "Dispensationalism" (Pages 80–81): The upper page argues that
dispensationalism corrupted evangelicalism and laid the groundwork for
Christian Zionism. Page 81 asserts that John Darby’s teachings were part of
an East India Company scheme (characterized as a "prototype of elite secret
societies") and claims the funding of the Scofield Reference Bible was
executed by "elite bankers." Footnotes at the bottom cite the antisemitic
forgery The Harold Wallace Rosenthal Interview ("The Hidden Tyranny", 1976)
and Cleminson’s own prior assertions.
- Section "C I Scofield" (Page 143): The text presents an escalated
biographical narrative filled with demonstrable historical inaccuracies. It
claims that upon leaving prison, Scofield abandoned his wife and children to
move directly to New York City, joined the "Lotus Club," and was introduced
to Samuel Untermyer. The passage alleges that Untermyer offered to finance
Scofield’s Reference Bible on the condition that Scofield endorse the
Zionist program, claimed Scofield lived in Untermyer's personal residence
for twenty years, and claimed Untermyer introduced Scofield to figures like
Bernard Baruch, Jacob Schiff, Samuel Gompers, and Fiorello LaGuardia. It
further claims Baruch personally bankrolled Scofield’s travels to Oxford and
arranged the publication through Oxford University Press, while Untermyer
supposedly blackmailed Woodrow Wilson into appointing Louis Brandeis to the
Supreme Court. The footnotes on the page cite anti-dispensational
polemicists (such as Joseph M. Canfield's The Incredible Scofield and His
Book) rather than primary historical documents.
I believe because of the rest of the video, I do not need to give examples of
why that is false. It should be re-noted he did not provide any evidence.
This all came from Singer with no evidence, and by its final evolution, it
remained with no evidence, just assertions.
Ecclesiastes 9:18
“Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner (singer) destroyeth much good.”
Cambridge DISPENSATIONALISM link
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/2a20b285-a1df-4e5e-b698-5d0f5a8c4038/download
March 2009
https://web.archive.org/web/20260000000000*/http://www.thirdgreatawakening.org/Scofield.htm
April 2009
https://web.archive.org/web/20091130214930/https://proliberty.com/observer/20090404.htm
https://time.com/archive/6666730/the-end-how-it-got-that-way/
https://web.archive.org/web/20110712215225/http://poweredbychrist.homestead.com/
[The article mentioning C.I isn't the one mentioned.]
2011
https://web.archive.org/web/20210423172026/https://godskingdom.org/blog/2011/10/the-scofield-factor-part-1/
2015
https://web.archive.org/web/20190119073607/https://www.understanding-ministries.com/docs/The%20depths%20of%20deception%20right%20now.pdf
Dr. Ruckman reference
Water in the Wilderness - The New Scofield Bible - Dr. Ruckman
https://youtu.be/uwuYtiET5iE?t=81
Scofield books
From Confederate Deserter to Decorated Veteran Bible Scholar: Exploring the Enigmatic Life of C.I. Scofield 1861-1921.
https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1380/
The life story of C.I. Scofield
https://archive.org/details/lifestoryofcisco0000trum/page/n5/mode/2up
