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Saturday 4 March 2017

Pretrib was NEW in the 1830s ! by Dave MacPherson

Those desiring evidence for this are invited to read the following:

     Spring of 1830: Margaret Macdonald's private handwritten account stated "I felt this [pre-Antichrist rapture] needed to be revealed."
     Fall of 1830: Rev. Edward Irving's journal was the first publication to publicly teach the new pretrib rapture idea.
     1833: British lawyer Robert Baxter revealed that "the [pretrib] delusion first appeared in Scotland" and was soon "adopted and upheld by Mr. Irving."
     1834: After seeing pretrib introduced in Irving's journal, a letter Plymouth Brethren leader John Darby wrote described the new escapist doctrine by stating that "the thoughts are new." He also advocated the subtle sneaking in of the new view into other (Brethren) groups when he wrote "ordinarily, it would not be well to have it so clear, as it frightens people [who have] been trained in most opposite habits."
     1842: Darby wrote that "There is much blessing in Switzerland, but a little commotion, because of the new [pretrib] wine, which does not suit well with the old bottles...."
     1843: In a letter Darby gloated that the Swiss Christians were rapidly accepting the pretrib rapture "without knowing whence it came or how it sprung up all of a sudden" - that is, not knowing how he had quietly stolen the idea from Irving and his followers!
     1861: Dr. Robert Norton (who had married Margaret in 1835) described her history-making 1830 pretrib revelation by writing "here we first see the distinction between that final stage of the Lord's coming, when every eye shall see Him, and His prior appearing in glory [before Antichrist's arrival] to them that look for Him."
     1864: British scholar S. P. Tregelles wrote that pretrib was "first brought forward...about the year 1832."
     1872: Thomas Croskery wrote that pretrib "was never heard of till it was proclaimed...in 1832."
     1918: E. P. Cachemaille traced the pretrib origin to someone in Irving's circle in the early 1830s, adding that "there has since been much scheming to give the doctrine a reputable origin, scheming by those who did not know the original facts"!
     1922: Canadian theologian Robert Cameron wrote that "the whole body of Christians, prior to the days of Edward Irving, were a unit in believing that the Church would not escape the Tribulation."
     1927: Philip Mauro wrote: "...'dispensational teaching' is modernistic in the strictest sense...it first came into existence within the memory of persons now living..."
     1936: Darby defender Napoleon Noel wrote that Darby "was first and foremost in teaching...the Rapture...."
     1937: Alexander Reese wrote that the " 'any-moment' view of Christ's return only originated about 1830."
     1957: In his book "The Rapture Question" (p. 162), top Darby defender John Walvoord, unable to find any pretrib teacher before the 1830s, described Darby as one of the "early pretribulationists"!
     When I began my pretrib origin research more than 45 years ago, historians had long traced pretrib back to John Darby and the 1830s. It wasn't until my research uncovered long forgotten evidence in libraries in Britain etc. (that Darby had been preceded by the Irvingites as well as Margaret) that pretrib protectors began desperately to claim they'd found pretrib earlier in the writings of Morgan Edwards (1788) and Pseudo-Ephraem (7th cent.?).
     Online articles condemning these and other claims for pretrib include "Morgan Edwards' Rapture View," "Pseudo-Ephraem Taught Pretrib - Not," and "Grant Jeffrey's Apocalypse Debacle." What you've just read is a tiny part of my most comprehensive 300-page book on pretrib rapture history titled "The Rapture Plot" - available online.
     I should add that it isn't hard to find persons attempting to write about the past - especially if they adopt the hysterical method more than the historical method!

4 comments:

  1. It's hard not to get at least mildly hysterical (smiling here) when reading prolific prophecy penman MacPherson's "Pretrib was NEW in the 1830s" revelation, especially when imagining how rapidly the average pretribber must be reaching for the nearest box of smelling salts to keep from fainting dead away from the ambush of in-your-face history. At the same time I can see various wolf packs surrounding this tell-all blog and discussing among themselves the best possible ways to sharpen their facts-fighting fangs!

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  2. Alexander Reese's book (mentioned above); The Approaching Advent Of Christ, was certainly instrumental in leading me away from the pre-tribulation deception.
    Reese dissects through every aspect of the novel theory popularised by Darby.
    It baffles me how people can maintain their belief in an any moment pre-trib rapture when resources such as this are freely available. I have an original copy (it is a very rare book) but can be read on-line on the PB ministries web page. Reese took some 20 years to write this book-how times have changed! A thoroughly readable work with the odd witty anecdote interspersed here and there, some say a little bombastic, but nonetheless, a serious theological work. One that you have to STUDY-not just read!

    Pre-tribulationism is a theory that many think has biblical support because there is no apparent mention of the "church" between Revelation 4, until the Lord's glorious return with His saints in the chapter 19. But this hypothesis can be dismantled at a stroke, if we believe what the Bible plainly teaches; that there is NO distinction between OT and NT saints, regards salvation! One church of called out ones in all dispensations, OT & NT.
    How some get tripped up with "how can Jesus come with His saints, if they haven't previously been raptured?" Apart from ignoring the Greek word apantesis, (Matt 25.6, Acts 28.15), they are probably woefully ignorant to the fact that perhaps most of His saints are already 'asleep' in their graves!

    There WILL be ONE Second Coming, and it won't be silent, secret or any moment, for "every eye shall see Him..." Rev 1.7!

    God bless.

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  3. A very pertinent point about the "missing church" in Revelation 4 -19 Colin.
    God bless.

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  4. Amen to both Colin and Treena.

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