LAHAYE'S TEMPERAMENT BY DAVE MACPHERSON

 [Author's note: Although I composed this a month after the 911 New York City disaster, it should still be of interest. -----D.M.]

     A couple decades ago I learned how serious Tim LaHaye had become when it came to my pretrib history research----and it wasn't very becoming.

     On January 5, 1981 he had sent a letter from the Scott Memorial Baptist Church he then pastored in the San Diego area to an evangelical publisher in another state. In the letter, which later came into my hands, LaHaye bluntly discussed yours truly and told the recipient: "Praise God you're going to answer this turkey----if I didn't already have 89 irons in the fire I'd take it on----some one should!"

     Back in those days LaHaye was well-known for his bestselling Spirit-Controlled Temperament book (temperaments that fundamentalist and evangelical critics have traced to the world of the occult!). Unfortunately that book didn't reveal the type of temperament LaHaye could possess (a LaHaodicean one?) in order to call me a "turkey." Maybe his pretrib "feathers" had been ruffled by the many evangelical leaders who'd "gobbled" up my research and then praised it during the previous decade:

     In his 1974 book When Is Jesus Coming Again, J. Barton Payne reflected it when he wrote that "the dispensational position...began only in 1830 with J. N. Darby's acceptance of Margaret Macdonald's revelation in Port Glasgow of a dispensationally divided return."

     During the same year Christianity Today called it a "staunch defense" and Moody Monthly (while Jerry Jenkins was a top name there) referred to my "careful, factual sleuthing."

     In Canada The Prairie Overcomer at Prairie Bible Institute concluded that "MacPherson's case seems to be watertight" while The Witness (the oldest and largest Darbyist Brethren magazine in England!) declared: "What he [MacPherson] succeeds in establishing is that the view outlined was first stated by a certain Margaret Macdonald...early in 1830." (Who knows the British, and the British ways of speaking, better than the British do?)

     Some other comments during that period came from Harold Ockenga's letter ("You have done your research well"), Ian S. Rennie's Dreams, Visions and Oracles ("it is likely that [Margaret's revelation] was grist for Darby's mill"), and J. Gordon Melton in the Encyclopedia of American Religions ("The best scholarship available [views Margaret as the pretrib originator]").

     With reactions like these coming from a noticeable percentage of the evangelical literati, you can see why Tim was dispensationally distraught over the possibility that comments from thinking evangelicals might have a dire effect on his ability to keep on making pretrib (la)hay while the sun was shining!

     But now let's fast forward until we reach the year 1992 and the arrival of LaHaye's No Fear of the Storm----a book that's had no fear of being exposed as one of the most shabby, slipshod, slovenly (and, yes, even dishonest) prophecy books ever!

     While flipping LaHaye's pages in order to spot his comments on the pretrib origin (the way my book The Rapture Plot describes it), I quickly found one sentence on page 180 that has four historical errors.

      In it he asserts that 19th century (Plymouth) Brethren scholar S. P. Tregelles claimed in two of his books, spaced 11 years apart, that fellow Brethren member J. N. Darby derived pretrib from the Jews and Margaret Macdonald. Since Margaret wasn't Jewish, LaHaye sees Tregelles naming two different sources and contradicting himself.

     If you've been totally immersed in pretrib rapture origin research since 1970 (as I have), you'll soon find (as I did) these four errors:

     1. The two Tregelles works were not two books but an article (1855) and a book (1864).

     2. They were nine years apart.

     3. The article spoke only of "Judaisers" within Christianity. (This was the first time I'd ever found anyone claiming that the Jews  had been blamed for originating pretrib!)

     4. The book referred to "an 'utterance' in Mr. Irving's Church." (Margaret never even visited Edward Irving's church!)

     LaHaye obviously had been influenced by other writers, including R. A. Huebner and John Walvoord, who had previously aired the supposed Tregelles contradiction. (Elsewhere in the present book I show that Tregelles did not contradict himself.)

     After being flabbergasted by this blunder-packed sentence, I decided to check the accuracy of LaHaye's reproduction of Margaret Macdonald's key 1830 revelation. With all 117 lines of her revelation in front of me (as found in my books including The Incredible

Cover-up and The Great Rapture Hoax), I began comparing LaHaye's version with it. Everything matched perfectly during the first few lines.

     But when I got to lines 10-11, LaHaye's copy spoke of Margaret's "great burst." Was this a reference to the "inbreaking of God...about to burst on this earth" (lines 42-43)? Or perhaps her vision of the final collapse of the pretrib view? Well, neither. Between the words "great" and "burst" LaHaye had omitted "darkness and error about it; but suddenly what it was." This omission can keep his readers in the dark concerning her cultic pride in thinking that only she could really explain "the sign of the Son of man" (Matt. 24:30)!

     In addition to a variety of other copying errors, LaHaye also omitted eight words in lines 16-17, a word in line 51, another word in line 58, 11 words in lines 74-75, nine words in lines 76-77, and eight words in lines 111-112----sins of "omission" that can easily result in faulty analyses of Macdonald's prophetic words! (I wrote LaHaye in regard to his many copying errors. He never responded.)

     LaHaye's version of Margaret's words is actually found in Robert Norton's Memoirs of James & George Macdonald, of Port-Glasgow (1840). But somehow he had prefaced it as being part of Norton's The Restoration of Apostles and Prophets; In the Catholic Apostolic Church (1861). All I had to do was find someone who had carelessly combined the 1840 text with the 1861 title.

     Within minutes, while going through my files, I ran across a 1989 publication that had the same combination. And it had the same copying errors----including the same 48 omitted words----in the same places! The author was Thomas Ice!

     (When LaHaye decided to plagiarize Ice's reproduction of Margaret's revelation instead of doing his own research, he didn't realize that Ice's sloppiness would trip up himself as well as Ice. But of course they are still friends and partners----especially in connection with the Pre-Trib Research Center----because they are sloppy and dishonest birds of a feather! Incidentally, Ice never responded after my letter to him asked about his many copying errors.)

     In addition to LaHaye's "bumped" words, I tallied 84 other errors he makes when quoting various writers on 27 other pages discussing pretrib beginnings. LaHaye omits 11 words when quoting Walvoord's The Rapture Question: Revised. Walvoord, echoing Huebner, was asserting that my evidence has not proven that Margaret and Irving taught the pretrib view. But readers are kept in the dark about the assertion in the book in question because LaHaye somehow deletes what Walvoord was concluding!

     On page 169 LaHaye says that at the Library of Congress he obtained photocopies of Manuel Lacunza's work, the title of which is The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty. Perhaps he can explain why on two pages this title appears as The Coming of Messiah in Power and Glory and is listed on a later page as The Coming of Christ in Power and Great Glory. Equally serious are his book's other copying errors including erroneous sources and page numbering in footnotes as well as inaccurate historical dates in the text.

     Something else. If I fail to rectify some notions that LaHaye has repeated, others in the 20th century tradition of copying (and miscopying) may very well repeat and even embellish them.

     LaHaye gives the impression that my father, Norman, changed from pretrib to posttrib during his Southern California pastorate from which he was ousted, and that Biola's position on the rapture was the only one ever held by that Los Angeles school. LaHaye even has a chapter about me entitled "MacPherson's Vendetta" and assumes that personal revenge on my part is the reason for my decades-long research on pretrib beginnings.

     For the record here are my responses:

     1. My father changed from pretrib to posttrib before his 1944 book Triumph Through Tribulation. Through meetings in my parents' living room, the church in question was formed in 1947. Folks knew about his previous change, but he was always a calm and scholarly preacher, almost never brought up posttrib, and never made any rapture view a test of fellowship. Later on, some pretrib outsiders joined, evidently intent on making the church a pretrib church.

     I still have the handwritten notes that my mother took at the May 16, 1951 ouster meeting. One of the voiced criticisms of my father that she recorded: "He has no right to interpret prophecy contrary to Scofield." (This critic obviously was influenced only by Scripture and not by human agency in the same way Darby was!)

     2. The doctrinal statement in Biola's catalog says merely that the "Lord Jesus is coming again to this earth, personally, bodily, and visibly." The school's founders chose such a broad statement because they wanted persons to have freedom to hold and discuss what were then viewed as non-essentials: for example, differing tribulational and millennial views.

     Nowadays the Biola catalog includes this explanatory note (following the doctrinal statement): "The Scriptures are to be interpreted according to dispensational distinctives with the conviction that the return of the Lord for His Church will be premillennial, before the Tribulation, and that the Millennium is to be the last of the dispensations."

     When I applied in 1952 for admission to the original Bible Institute of Los Angeles campus in downtown L. A., I was given the original doctrinal statement which allows for non-conflicting non-essentials.

     Since my father had been a schoolmate of Biola's president at Princeton Seminary (hardly a pretrib school), I saw no harm in occasionally sharing copies of my father's 1944 book with some student friends and some of my teachers. If the school had told me to stop this, I would have. If I had been a threat all year to Biola's "official" position, why did it wait until just two weeks before the end of the school year to kick me out?

     Throughout this century pretrib has changed from being a non-essential to being an expedient essential at Biola and many similar schools, primarily because of its tremendous fund-raising potential.

     3. LaHaye concludes wrongfully that my pretrib origin research of a quarter of a century is nothing more than my vengeful reaction to what happened to my family in the 1950's.

     If so, it must be one of the slowest reactions ever. I didn't even wonder about the origin until two decades after the California incidents. Long before my research began, numerous tragedies including untimely death had overtaken the ringleaders in the church trouble. During the years between the early 1950's and the early 1970's (when my research began), I was never bitter towards anyone at either the church or Biola----and haven't been down to the present day.

     In the same No Fear book of his, LaHaye has an entire chapter discussing my books. The fair and honest thing, when citing books, is to list the books in footnotes or at least in a bibliography----unless a writer has something to hide. The reason LaHaye doesn't list any of my works in this manner is that he is neither fair nor honest!

     As if all of the above isn't enough, there's even plagiarism in some of LaHaye's books! I'll give an example by comparing Hal Lindsey's There's A New World Coming (1973) with LaHaye's Understanding the Last Days (1998).

     On p. 281 Lindsey wrote: "The New Testament refers to the 'Book of Life' eight times, and although the Old Testament doesn't call it by that name, it refers three times to a book in which names are written. This book contains the name of every person born into the world. If by the time he dies, a person has not received God's provision of sacrifice to remove sin, then his name is blotted out of this 'Book of Life.'"

     On pp. 192, 194 LaHaye wrote: "The New Testament refers to the book of life eight different times, and although the Old Testament does not call it by that name, it does allude three times to a book in which names are written...The book of life is that book in which the names of all people ever born into the world are written. If, at the time of a person's death, he has not called upon the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, his name is blotted out of the book of life."

     After I told LaHaye in a letter that I had found plagiarism in his books, he sent me the one and only letter I've ever gotten from him, dated March 3, 1999. His first two sentences said: "You are the first person who (to my knowledge) has ever accused me of plagiarizing anything from anyone. And with forty books in print I would think someone would have if it were true." I immediately sent him evidence that he had plagiarized various books by Walvoord and Lindsey. To this day he has never responded in connection with the proof that I sent to him!

     My book The Rapture Plot has an appendix exhibiting plagiarism, by means of comparison quotes, in popular pretrib prophecy books. Not only is Tim LaHaye's plagiarism portrayed, but there's proof also of the same literary thievery in writings by Jerry Falwell, Ed Hindson, Ed Dobson, Charles Ryrie,  Paul Tan, and Jack Van Impe, for starters! (For some little known shocks about LaHaye, Google "Pretrib Rapture Diehards" and note "1992.")

     If students at Christian Heritage College (LaHaye's former stomping ground) or Falwell's Liberty University were to plagiarize their neighbors' answers during an exam, they'd be in danger of getting an "F" for the exam and maybe for the entire course.

     But when pretrib leaders cut corners and cheat in print, which of course allows them to turn out rapture rush jobs much more quickly, they are awarded honorary (if not honorable) degrees----like the Doctor of Literature degree that Falwell's school gave to LaHaye!

     LaHaye gives the impression these days that his huge book sales are proof that he's being blessed by the Lord. Well, if financial success is the most important standard (and it seems to be in the eyes of many pretrib authors and publishers), then the Lord must also be blessing the Mafia and Columbian drug lords and even Osama Bin Ladin!

     But when does success become greed? LaHaye is currently suing fellow Christians over the Left Behind film rights! His lawsuit even states that he has suffered "emotional and mental stress, including anxiety, worry, mental anguish and sleeplessness"----characteristics, as you can tell, of Spirit-controlled temperament!

     Jeremiah 17:11 is a verse that LaHaye has somehow left behind. It says that "he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool."

     Finally, here's the big question:

     In light of recently uncovered evidence revealing the long-covered-up, sordid history of the pretrib rapture view, and in light of the fact that God's judgment of careless and apostate Christendom is rapidly increasing these days, will Tim LaHaye temper his outlook and change his temperament or will he lose his temper, let his temperature rise, and become temperamental?

JESUS ARMY: SEXUAL AND FINANCIAL ABUSE CLAIMS

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20).

The Northampton Chronicle 11th May 2017:

Sexual and financial abuse claims made against founder of the Jesus Army in Northampton

"The founder of the Jesus Army in Northampton, who was accused of running the organisation like a cult during his lifetime, may have abused some members “sexually and financially”, according to claims by his successor.....
Two former Jesus Army recruits have already been prosecuted for sexual offences carried out during their time at the church’s communes.
In February, “transient member” Nigel Perkins was jailed at Northampton Crown Court for five counts of sexual assault, which he inflicted on young boys in the 1980s.
A Northamptonshire Police spokesman has revealed the force will also be bringing “several” more prosecutions against former members as part of Operation Lifeboat, the investigation set up to look into historical sexual abuse within the Jesus Army.
Lead investigator DCI Ally White said allegations about Noel Stanton’s conduct were also made as far back as 2015.
DCI White said: 'In early 2015, Northamptonshire Police received two complaints about Noel Stanton’s conduct in the 1970s and 1980s. These complaints were fully investigated and in one case it included contacting an alleged victim in Australia.'
However, no victims were ultimately identified and, despite a full and proper investigation, no criminal offences were disclosed and as a result the case papers were filed.
'The force has devoted some considerable time to this overall investigation and has brought, or will be bringing, prosecutions against a number of individuals connected with the Jesus Fellowship. If any new evidence, intelligence or information comes to light we will investigate appropriately....'" {1}

Described by Wikpedia as a neocharismatic evangelical Christian movement, {2} the Jesus Army is yet another example of the bad fruit resulting from the charismatic movement of the 1960s. (Matthew 12:33). The Jesus Army was founded in 1969 by Noel Stanton (1926–2009), formerly the lay pastor of the Bugbrooke village Baptist chapel near Northampton, East Midlands. New Creation Hall and Farm in Nether Hayford, which belongs to the Jesus Army, is known in the East Midlands for its unorthodox communal way of life.

The mission of the Jesus Army is described as "essentially one to the poor, the disadvantaged and the marginalized." {2} 

Unlike most new religious movements, a large proportion of its predominantly young membership is working class and without higher education.{3}

The Jesus Army vision and practice of targeting vulnerable homeless street-people, those involved in drug or alcohol abuse, prisoners and ex-prisoners is either a wonderful God thing, or an abusers paradise. Very sadly, all too often, it has proved to be the latter. Critics of the Jesus Army accuse them of brainwashing members, exploiting and abusing the vulnerable, procuring free labour, extorting Giro benefits and intimidating those who try to leave. They were expelled from both the Evangelical Alliance and mainstream Baptist Union in 1986. The Jesus Army now has congregations in venues around the UK and has approximately 2000 members, 500 members residing in New Creation community houses. The Bugbrooke community centre has long been viewed with suspicion, not only by local residents, but also by the homeless themselves. In 2014, interviews with homeless people on the streets of London revealed that they were fearful of the Jesus Army:

"Speaking to homeless people in London, we were told to stay away from the Jesus Army, who warned us that they would lure us back to their New Age farm with the promise of food and a bed, before stealing our money and making us work for no pay. A homeless Londoner named Scott Larkin told us, 'We're old, so we understand the score. But the Jesus Army prey on the young and vulnerable, especially in the winter when the cold sets in. They offer you food, and before you know it you're on a farm in Northampton. They make you sign over your benefit money and then you're trapped in the middle of nowhere.'" {4}

These fears were not without cause. Incidents of infiltration during the 1980s and 90s by child beaters and an "absolutely relentless paedophile" were, the Jesus Army expressed "deeply regrettable". {4}

Between 1976 and 1986, three corpses were discovered in Northampton villages, all were former members of the Bugbrooke community:

"The first incident involved the frozen body of 24-year-old David Hooper who wan- dered out into a field in December 1976, partially clothed; the Northampton coroner ruled his death accidental, but why Hooper was found in a field half-dressed in the middle of winter was never explained. Stranger still was the case two years later of 19-year old Steven Orchard who, one June night, was found headless on the railway tracks behind the New Creation farm in Nether Hayford, belonging to the Jesus Army. The coroner left the Orchard case with an open verdict. Finally, in 1986, the body of Mohammed Majid, another mem- ber of the Jesus Army, was found floating in an underground water tank on the grounds of the farm." {5}

In August 2015 the Northampton Chronicle and Echo reported allegations of historic sexual and physical abuse within the Jesus Army:

"Northamptonshire Police have released a statement confirming they are investigating a number of allegations of historic sexual and physical abuse within the Jesus Army.   The Jesus Army, also known as the Jesus Fellowship, is assisting police with their enquiries relating to alleged incidents in the late 1970’s to the late 1990’s.....
Concern was raised about the Jesus Fellowship's corporal punishment practices, involving the use of a rod for juniors and a wooden spoon on infants, which Noel Stanton defended on an Anglia TV documentary in June 1989. Parents who objected to the use "the rod", complained of the pressure being applied to them to do so.  It was also said the day to day regime was exceptionally harsh and often amounted to servitude, particularly for the young children who were expected to work long hours with little sleep.

At least one member of the Jesus Army, who had a criminal record for rape and indecent assault, was convicted in 2004 for repeatedly beating two children on the hands and soles of feet with a weapon made from three bamboo canes tied together. His explanation at Court was that, "he believed the boy was evil, possessed and 'going to the devil'".

Several members have been convicted over the years of indecency, indecent assault of children, one of incest and two of making indecent photographs of children. In one case of child abuse which spanned three years, the Jesus Army member was also convicted of rape.  In Court his Counsel advised that, "He retains his strong faith and connection with the church. He will be welcomed back there when he comes out of prison".

The Jesus Army has yet to acknowledge liability for the misdemeanours of the past....." {6}

My own contact with the Jesus Army during the 1980's was very fleeting. I did not attend any of the meetings at Bugbrooke, but I did visit one of their residential houses in Stoneygate Leicester once and spent some time with some of the women residents. I decided not return or follow up their invitation to attend a meeting thank God. Over time I became acquainted with a number of former Jesus Army members, both before and after my visit to the Stoneygate residence. Without exception, from the stories they told me and their obvious difficulties, I concluded that something was very wrong inside the Jesus Army. Long term former members were very unstable and could not cope with every day life as we would define it. For instance, they did not know how to function in society and they found things like shopping and paying bills extremely challenging. Residents had no independence whatsoever, they were given no money or even small change to buy essentials. The tyranny of Stanton was such that one day he announced that cheese on toast was forbidden to the residents, he said that it was due to the carbon content! The recent article in the Northampton Chronicle reports that apart from the cheese on toast prohibition, Stanton banned many other things, including chocolate and sugar in tea, which he described as "the devils food".{1} However, apparently these prohibitions did not apply to Stanton himself! The residents suffered a miserable existence of mandatory austerity, drab clothes, no reading material (except religious publications), television, radio, cinema, newspapers, and Christmas, Easter and birthdays were not recognised. The women did servile work and were not given any responsibility, they were not allowed to wear trousers or to drive the vans, whilst the young men were identified by their combat gear. I remember watching a Jesus Army video where Stanton announced that anyone afflicted with "lust" should "give their genitals to the Lord". I thought this was hilarious at the time, but it did have serious connotations since married couples were required to sleep in separate beds. Obligatory celibacy was imposed upon single members with a policy of strict sexual segregation.* Stanton's regime of sexual repression was highly questionable, as was his habit of surrounding himself with "strong young brothers" on stage! {7} Marriages that did take place were supervised by the eldership and approved by Stanton personally. Stanton was an autocrat and unaccountable. One young man explained that they were free to leave Bugbrooke, but with no money, isolated and alone, with no outside contact from friends or family and miles from anywhere, leaving was a challenging option for all but the most determined escapee. Some of the testimonies I heard put me in mind of the extreme abuses of Jim Jones in Jonestown, Guyana, and also David Koresh in Waco, perhaps on a lesser level, but it is all a matter of degree. I was deeply troubled that this man had such a cultish influence over Jesus Army residents and that these abuses were happening so close to my own home in Leicester. Stanton brought the truth into disrepute, and the damaging repercussions for the witness of Gospel of Jesus Christ was and is a deeply troubling to me. (2 Peter 2:2; Romans 2:24).

The New Testament model was one of equality. Christians would sell their material possessions and give money to the poor (not take money from them), that is, principally, the poor amongst themselves. Christians in the early church had all things in common, the aim was to lift believers out of poverty, freeing them from excessive hardship. This model is something that Stanton completely failed to achieve in my view. The stories I heard demonstrated quite the reverse, the poor remained poor, suffering both physically and spiritually at the hands of Stanton's oppressive regime. Is it surprising that the homeless are fearful and are reticent to accept Bugbrooke's "Christian hospitality"?

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35).

And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. (Acts 2:44-45).

There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. (Acts 4:34).

For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” (2 Corinthians 8:13-15).

Honor widows who are truly widows. (1 Timothy 5:3).

And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47).

The news of “serious allegations” against Stanton and the call for a public enquiry leaves me hopeful that his deeply "flawed character" {1} will finally be exposed. Confusingly however, a Northamptonshire Police spokesman said recently that the force had not received any claims against Mr Stanton since early 2015.{8}

The Jesus Army was Northamptonshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Adam Simmonds' second favourite cult in 2014, his most favourite cult being Trinity Life Church in Leicester!{9} Simmonds was PCC between 2012 to 2016. He has since been charged with breaching the Data Protection Act 1998.

*Whilst I concur with the scriptural principle of celibacy for Christian singles, the alternative being the sin of fornication (1 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 5:19 etc.) I do not endorse the methods of the Jesus Army.

I am compiling a list of testimonies from people who have had either direct or indirect experiences with the Jesus Army. Please feel free to add any information to the comments on this post, anonymously if you wish. Alternatively please contact me via Messenger on FB.

{1} http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/exclusive-sexual-and-financial-abuse-claims-made-against-founder-of-the-jesus-army-in-northampton-1-7956742
{2} https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Army
{3} http://jesus.org.uk/what-others-say/academic-work/jesus-army
{4} https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/the-jesus-army-will-feed-you-because-the-government-wont
{5} http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/3rd-august-1991/19/jesus-lives-in-bugbrooke)

{6} http://www.robsonshaw.uk/blog/jesus-army-in-the-news-following-arrests.htm

{7} http://ja-1984.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/shaking-noels-hand.html
{8}http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/jesus-army-inquiry-northamptonshire-review-board-is-not-ruling-out-probe-at-a-later-date-1-7957509
{9}  http://jesus.org.uk/blog/interviews/talking-to-adam-simmonds

Further Reading:
Jesus Army sex offender sentenced for string of indecent acts directed at children in Northamptonshire.http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/jesus-army-sex-offender-sentenced-for-string-of-indecent-acts-directed-at-children-in-northamptonshire-1-7888780

GUMERLOCK'S GUESSWORK BY DAVE MACPHERSON

     Jesus spoke of those who "compass sea and land to make one proselyte." Likewise there are pretribulationists who compass the globe to find the existence of "pretrib" teaching long before the embarrassing date of 1830. Sometimes even non-pretrib "soldiers of fortune" look for the same evidence, even if it turns out to be ammunition for pretrib rapturists.
     Francis Gumerlock, a Latin teacher at (Roman Catholic) Holy Family High School in the Denver area, has been claiming that a "Brother Dolcino" in northern Italy during the Middle Ages taught the pretrib view centuries before Margaret Macdonald did. (For a while Dolcino headed the Apostolic Brethren, a radical non-Catholic Christian sect viewed as "early reformers" which made many enemies; eventually Dolcino was burned at the stake in 1307.)
     Gumerlock presented his claim in an article titled "A Rapture Citation in the Fourteenth Century" which appeared in the July-Sep. 2002 "Bibliotheca Sacra," Dallas Seminary's journal. The same article is still on the web.
     Before he focuses on Dolcino, Gumerlock discusses what he calls "inadequate" pretrib rapture history. In the same BibSac article he spells my name two different ways (also Margaret's two different ways) before he relates that "thirteen-year old" Margaret (she was 15) uttered a prophecy in an "Irvingite meeting" (she actually received her pretrib "revelation" in her home). He even says that crediting John Darby with pretrib "is inadequate because recent scholarship has brought to light examples of pretribulationism in church history between the writing of the New Testament and Darby."
     Interestingly, militant pretrib defender Thomas Ice (in his article "Yet, Another Pre-Darby Rapture Statement") reveals that "Gumerlock is very much opposed to pretribulationism..." In light of this, it's surprising that Gumerlock gives his imprimatur to Ice and other pretribs who've claimed to have discovered pretrib teaching in some pre-1830 sources. Or maybe it'$ not $o $urpri$ing!
     For example, Gumerlock agrees with Grant Jeffrey that Pseudo-Ephraem (whom Jeffrey incorrectly changes to "Ephraem the Syrian"!) taught pretrib in the 4th century. (Google "Wily Jeffrey" and "Pseudo-Ephraem Taught Pretrib - Not.") And Gumerlock also endorses John Bray's assertion that 18th century pastor Morgan Edwards was another pretrib. (Google "Morgan Edwards' Rapture View" and "John Bray a PINO?")
     The oldest known source revealing Dolcino's theology is evidently a text titled "The History of Brother Dolcino." It was composed in manuscript form in 1316 nine years after Dolcino's death by an anonymous person (!), was recopied in 1551, and reprinted and edited a number of times between the 1600s and 1907 by secondhand copyists, according to Gumerlock.
     Gumerlock's 2002 BibSac article stated: "Dolcino is known to have written several letters outlining his eschatological teachings, but none are extant." It it noteworthy that this incredible statement by Gumerlock was deliberately omitted by Thomas Ice in the previously mentioned article of his. Evidently Ice doesn't want his readers to know that his much-touted claim for Dolcino rests on no original evidence (!) but only on an anonymous copyist and later centuries of secondhand copying and editing!
     The same history (dated 1316) stated this concerning Dolcino's rapture belief:
     "And that the Antichrist was coming into the world within the bounds of the said three and a half years; and after he had come, then he [Dolcino] and his followers would be transferred into Paradise, in which are Enoch and Elijah. And in this way they will be preserved unharmed from the persecution of Antichrist." (Note that Dolcino's "rapture" was not before Antichrist's arrival but after Antichrist had been on earth an unstated amount of time.)
     Is this really pretrib rapture teaching?
     Gumerlock tells us that in the same "History" (p. 9) Dolcino and his followers believed that the Roman Church was "Babylon" and the "great whore" which had long exhibited "pride, avarice, luxury and many other vices," and that it had already "perished"!
     Since Gumerlock's "Rapture Citation" (p. 17) says that Dolcino "was clearly influenced by the teachings of Joachim of Fiore" (and his year/day theory which was already a century old), and on p. 8 sees similarities between Dolcino's Antichrist and Pseudo-Ephraem's sermon as well as the treatise of Morgan Edwards (who believed that the papacy had been playing the "Antichrist" role for 1000 years), it is reasonable to conclude that Dolcino believed that most of the tribulation had already happened and that only a tiny portion of it remained - hardly a pretribulation rapture scheme!

Hal Lindsey's Pretrib Rapture "Proof" by Dave MacPherson

     Is Hal Lindsey's proof for a pretrib rapture "100 proof" - that is, 100 percent Biblical?
     In "The Late Great Planet Earth" (p. 143) Lindsey gives his "chief reason" for pretrib: "If the Rapture took place at the same time as the second coming, there would be no mortals left who would be believers; therefore, there would be no one to go into the Kingdom and repopulate the earth."
     We don't know if Lindsey's amnesia is voluntary or involuntary, but earlier (p. 54), while focusing on chapters 12 through 14 of Zechariah, Lindsey sees "a remnant of Jews in Jerusalem" who are mortals who will become believing mortals at the second coming and then become repopulating mortals!
     During the same discussion of Zechariah 12-14 Lindsey overlooks some of the final verses in Zechariah 14. They reveal that some of the tribulation survivors "of all the nations which came against Jerusalem" will refuse to go there "to worship the King, the Lord of hosts." Here's what will happen to those "heathen" rebels: "upon them shall be no rain."
     So the facts about the repopulating mortals, in unbelieving as well as believing ranks, cancel out Lindsey's "chief reason" for opposing a joint rapture/second coming - the ONLY rapture view to be found in official theology books and organized churches prior to 1830! 
     Although Hal Lindsey claims that his "Late Great" didn't set a date for Christ's return, many of his followers - including copycats Bill Maupin ("1981") and Edgar Whisenant ("1988") - did view Lindsey as a date-setter, and his later book "The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon" (the sort of title that date-setters and their ga-ga groupies love) became another fizzle - unless we're still living in the 1980s!
     In Old Testament days false prophets were stoned to death. Today they're just stoned!
     (For in-depth analyses of the almost-late and not-so-great Hal Lindsey, see my books including "The Rapture Plot" and "The Three R's: Rapture, Revisionism, Robbery - Pretribulation Rapturism from 1830 to Hal Lindsey."

PROPHECY TODAY MAGAZINE: THE NONSENSE OF CLIFFORD DENTON AND THE CORONATION OATH!

But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? (Psalm 50:16).

Integration into EU Would Betray Coronation Oath     
http://www.prophecytoday.uk/comment/society-politics/item/413-integration-into-a-european-super-state-would-betray-coronation-oath.html

Clifford Denton: "A pivotal point in the debate about Britain's relationship with the EU must be our Coronation Oath, which sets us apart as a nation of declared intention, seeking to live under the rule and protection of Almighty God. With the Bible at the foundation of our laws, setting a protecting boundary for the free and open proclamation of the Gospel in our nation, with thousands of years of history to get us to 2 June 1953, the Queen led the way in commitment at the Coronation service in Westminster Abbey....
Britain has entered into a 'voluntary covenant' with God, through the Coronation Oath."

Denton: "Is it a fanciful view of Britain's status before God to see it in covenant terms?"
Answer: Yes it is a fanciful view indeed!!! The New Testament does not support the heretical idea that anyone is entitled to enter into a covenant with God through the oath of a third party!!!

The folly that comes out of Prophecy Today is quite frankly unbelievable. Founder and Editor in Chief Clifford Hill of Issachar Ministries claims to be "prophetic"..... However, my Bible does not recognise the position of an "ecumenical prophet" in the Kingdom of God!!!

Has Britain entered into a corporate "voluntary covenant" with God through the Queen's Coronation Oath? Apart from the theological problems associated with such a claim, there are compelling reasons to believe that the Coronation Oath was void even before it was uttered.

"Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) in a robe of green is led by an acolyte to Archdruid Crwys Williams, who will initiate her into the Mystic Circle of Bards at the national Eisteddfod, or festival, at Mountain Ash, Glamorgan, Wales, August 6, 1946."{1}

Princess Elizabeth Nazi Salute

Albert and Elizabeth, the Duke and Duchess of York, in druidic robes at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Swansea. They are the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England.

1953 The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth

God is against oaths:

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (James 5:12 cf. Matthew 5:34).

Notice that James is addressing "brothers"  that is believers (of either sex). Can we honestly say that the Druid Princess was a Christian when she took the Coronation Oath? This is the woman who signed the Abortion Act in 1967 and the Equal Marriages Act in 2013. To be Protestant these days is, by and large, to be ecumenical... that is to recognise as valid paganism and false gods. (Jeremiah 18:15). When and if Prince Charles takes the Oath as "Defender of Faiths" as he puts it, he will espouse a "faith" that is absolutely alien to the scriptures and an abomination. (2 Kings 23:13).

There is of course only one way to enter into a covenant with God, and that particular way was instigated by God Himself through Jesus Christ. We in Britain should not imagine that we have any covenant with God due to the Queen's Coronation Oath... this is a lie from the pit of hell!

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3).

..since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; (1 Peter 1:23).

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13).

The English Coronation Oath dates back to at least the coronation of Edgar at Bath Abbey in 973 A.D. Alterations were made to the oath over time, particularly in the 17th century to take account of the Protestant Reformation.{2}

An excerpt from Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Oath:

Archbishop: Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel? Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law? Will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England? And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England, and to the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges, as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?
Queen: All this I promise to do.{3}

When England became Protestant, it was not the result of anything meritorious about the monarch, King Henry VIII; quite the reverse in fact. Protestantism in England was forged through the godlessness of Henry, his lust for Anne Boleyn and his wish to divorce Catherine of Aragon, not by any true commitment to Jesus Christ. Henry's original remit was to eliminate the so called "heresy" of Martin Luther. In 1521 Pope Leo X conferred the title of Defender of the Faith on Henry for his book 'Assertio Septem Sacramentorum', which affirmed the supremacy of the Pope in the face of the reforming ideals of the  Martin Luther.{4} All was well until the Pope refused to sanction Henry's divorce, at which point he broke with Rome and established himself as head of the Church of England. However, Henry's personal religious beliefs remained essentially unchanged and Protestant practices were virtually indistinguishable from the idolatry and tradition of Roman Catholicism. In fact Henry VIII went on to become more and more ungodly. He sent more people to their deaths than any preceding monarch. Henry VIII's lifestyle degenerated into a life of tyranny, injustice, adultery, excess and gluttony. In 1536 Henry began to deteriorate into mental illness, suffering from chronic depression, mood swings and paranoia. Rebellion towards God exacts a heavy penalty without repentance, as the examples of Kings Saul and Nebuchadnezzar prove. (Deuteronomy 28:27-29).

God did bring good out of the selfish agenda of a wicked man, the result is that every person in Britain now has the opportunity to receive the true gospel of Jesus Christ. If Britain is under God's special protection, then all of Protestant Europe is likewise under God's protection, since the Reformation began in Germany, not in Britain. Following Henry VIII, the next person to take the oath was Bloody Mary, a Roman Catholic. Britain has no special covenant with God through the monarch or any oath he/she might swear, this is complete and utter nonsense.

Biblically, covenants with God are always instigated by God Himself, never by mere men.... God repeatedly refers to "my covenant"  (Leviticus 26:42; Jeremiah 33:20-21; Malachi 2:5; Hosea 8:1; Zecharaiah 11:10; Exodus 19:5; Genesis 17:3; Malachi 2:4; Psalm 89:28; Psalm 132:12).

Actually there was one exception: And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord’s people, and also   between the king and the people. (2 Kings 11:17)... Actually this was a renewal of God's covenant. It was unprecedented and it involved drastic repentance turning away from false idols and the evil practices of Queen Athaliah. Then all the people of the land went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars (2 Kings 11:18).

Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

It is difficult to see how the Queen can be Defender of the (Protestant) Faith and also a "Princess of the Holy Roman Empire" at the same time! Prison Planet posted a copy of THE OFFICIAL ALMANACH DE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE 800-2008 with some additional background information.{5} Since 2008 the original source has been removed.

Below are two excerpts from the lists of monarchies from two separate sources:

Royal Houses and the Holy Roman Empire:

Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
House of Windsor (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha)
King of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Prince of the Holy Roman Empire

Elizabeth II Alexandra Mary, Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Greece and Denmark {6}

The Holy Roman Empire Association

The Imperial Nobility of Great Britain
KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN & NORTHERN IRELAND /
ROYAL HOUSE OF WINDSOR
H.M. Queen Elizabeth The Second of The United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
(Princess of The Holy Roman Empire )

H.R.H. The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
( Prince of The Holy Roman Empire) {7}

The Holy Roman Empire was a loosely joined union of various kingdoms which held power in much of Europe between 962 and 1806 A.D. The Holy Roman Empire became the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" in 1512, Germany being the dominant member. Critically the Holy Roman Empire was an alliance between the the papacy and the state, with various emperors sanctioned by the Vatican and crowned by the Pope. Martin Luther was the catalyst that brought about eventual change through the Reformation. The stranglehold of the RC Church was considerably weakened, leading to the eventual dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the end of the Dark Ages. Since the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, one might ask how or why these titles have been given to the monarchy in our particular time, and critically, where their true alliances lie. The Queen's Oath is an expression of adherence to the Protestant faith as against Roman Catholicism after all!

It appears that the monarchy have covered all the bases.. All, that is, except the one that matters!

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:22).

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15).

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. (Romans 16:17).

{1}  https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/94786767133395270/
{2} http://www.conservapedia.com/English_coronation_oath
{3} https://www.royal.uk/coronation-oath-2-june-1953
{4} http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/henry_viii/ 
{5} http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=65254.0
{6} http://www.regno.org/stati/hre_sovereigns.html
{7} http://www.holyromanempireassociation.com/imperial-nobility-of-great-britain.html

DALLAS SEMINARY SECRETS BY DAVE MACPHERSON

     Dallas, Texas is called the Big D. And Dallas Theological Seminary, deep in the heart of Big D, is the No. 1 school promoting another Big D.
     I refer to "Dispensationalism" which, like a pearl shell, has long built up layers of supposed "proof" in order to protect its inner secret: the little money-making pearl known as the pretribulation rapture, a 19th century theological novelty that was based originally on only OT and NT types and symbols and NOT on a single Bible verse!
     For many years Dr. John Walvoord was DTS president and was viewed as the world's No. 1 pretrib rapture authority. Astonishingly, the first (1957) printing of Walvoord's "The Rapture Question" admitted on p. 148: "The fact is that neither posttribulationism nor pretribulationism is an explicit teaching of Scripture."
     (Walvoord, of course, could easily apply "explicit" in this manner to the historic posttrib view. The real shock was seeing him applying it to his own pretrib view!)
     Dr. George Ladd of Fuller Seminary was the first one to alert me about this. In the same 1971 letter to me, Ladd added that in later printings of Walvoord's book the above devastating admission no longer appears for obvious reasons!
     In two of his books ("The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation," 1976, and "The Rapture Question, Revised," 1979), Walvoord discussed my extensive research on pretrib rapture history. Many are still unaware that Walvoord, when opposing my findings, leaned not for support on any of his own DTS profs including church history experts but instead leaned almost exclusively on a militant member of the Plymouth Brethren named R. A. Huebner who at that time was a retired electrical engineer who had admitted that he had never attended college, seminary, or even a Bible school! (My research, BTW, has uncovered serious copying errors in Huebner's works - 95 of them in his 1973 booklet "The Truth of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Recovered" and 257 in his 1991 book "Precious Truths Revived and Defended Through J. N. Darby" including words carelessly added or subtracted when quoting others!)
     Walvoord's "The Rapture Question" also declares on p. 127: "Posttribulationism has long been a common doctrine held by the majority of the church." (Interestingly, even though pretrib teachers are aware of this true statement, they either pretend it doesn't exist or give the impression that anyone holding to a non-pretrib view is someone akin to a heretic!)
     Bible teachers who've either taught, spoken, or studied at Dallas Seminary include the following: Tony Evans, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Ed Hindson, Mark Hitchcock, Thomas Ice, H. A. Ironside, Robert Jeffress, David Jeremiah, Hal Lindsey, Erwin Lutzer, J. Vernon McGee, Dwight Pentecost, Randall Price, Ron Rhodes, Charles Ryrie, Charles Stanley, Joseph Stowell, Chuck Swindoll, Merrill Unger, and Andy Woods.
     My greatest shocks have been when discovering massive plagiarism among some of the scholars tied to Dallas Seminary. My book "The Rapture Plot" has an appendix covering such thievery even in the writings of men like Charles Ryrie and Paul Lee Tan.
      And my later book "The Three R's" shows, with side-by-side lines, that famed DTS prof Dr. Merrill Unger, holder of more than one doctorate, quietly plagiarized some of Hal Lindsey's books! He pilfered lines on 67 pages in Hal's "The Late Great Planet Earth" and also lifted lines on 36 pages in Hal's "There's A New World Coming."
     Much more evidence of such dispensational dishonesty is found in my "Plot" book. Readers can also Google "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty" and "Walvoord's Posttrib Varieties - Plus."
     Remember: DTS stands for Dallas Theological Seminary." It can also stand for "Distorting the Scripture"!

THIEVES' MARKETING BY DAVE MACPHERSON

     Are you aware that some major evangelical publishers have been trafficking in stolen items?

     Before I load you up with brand-new details about a stunning development in this regard, I need to put this vehicle in reverse.

     Surfers of non-pretrib sites may remember the "Deceiving and Being Deceived" article of mine. In it I included the names of many well-known pretrib authors who had been plagiarizing the writings of others, and also revealed the names of some evangelical publishers who'd been a party to such piracy.

     But this shocking story really began in 1997. That was when I discovered that much of a 1990 book, Escape the Coming Night by David Jeremiah and C. C. Carlson, was a brazen plagiarism of Hal Lindsey's 1973 book There's A New World Coming. I can't recall which part of Escape made me suspicious and led me to do a thorough examination. It may have been the description of the 144,000 as "Jewish Billy Grahams"----an unforgettable phrase I knew Lindsey had used. (Originally published by Word Publishing, Escape had later been taken over by Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Bible and inspirational book publisher on earth.)

     The year 1997 also found me working on a new book, one that came out the following year. After I ran across even more plagiarism in some influential evangelical publishers including Moody Press, I decided to confront them.

     The first publisher contacted was Thomas Nelson in 1998. I chose to write to Mrs. Sam Moore, the wife of Thomas Nelson's chairman and CEO. (At times it's easier to get the attention of a busy executive if a request or problem is addressed to his wife and marked "personal"!)

     Mrs. Moore evidently turned the letter over to her husband because I soon received a letter from Thomas Elmlinger, associate counsel  in Nelson's legal department, who asked me to send him evidence of plagiarism in Escape. After I sent him a stack of photocopies of marked pages in both books (Escape had massive plagiarism on 47 pages!), a November 2, 1998 letter from Elmlinger stated:

     "Thank you for your letter of October 19 and the enclosed photocopy of the suspect portions of Escape the Coming Night. Word published this book in 1990, two years before Word became a part of Thomas Nelson. Obviously, we were unable to check every title that Word had published for possible problems.

     "Nevertheless, we at Thomas Nelson are very concerned about this matter. Accordingly, we are destroying all our current inventory of this title and will not reprint the book.

     "Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention."

     During the next few years I sent many copies of this letter to Christian leaders and praised Thomas Nelson publicly for its honesty. And in my "Deceiving" article on numerous worldwide sites, I referred to Nelson as a "happy exception to publishing dishonesty" while discussing the thievery in Escape.

     Well, clouds can suddenly blot out the sun. In mid-2001 I happened to spot the 1999 reprint of Escape the Coming Night which featured a totally different front cover. This was the first time I'd had a chance to see the new printing and I was wondering what it would look like minus the plagiarism that Elmlinger said would never again appear in that title.

     However, I was amazed and dumbfounded upon finding out that ALL of the plagiarism was still in it and that the publishing of it hadn't missed a beat ever since Elmlinger's misleading letter in late 1998!

     In addition, I noted that the title page listed the publisher as "Word Publishing" and called it "A Thomas Nelson Company"!

     On August 31, 2001 I sent a letter to David Moberg, president of Word Publishing (which now calls itself W Publishing). I told him what I've just told you and added:

     "How can a Thomas Nelson company continue to publish a dishonest book? Was your company informed of the plagiarism? If so, why is it still in the book? Thomas Elmlinger at Nelson reviewed the evidence I presented. If you would rather have the proof from me, I can send you a stack of photocopies of marked pages in your latest edition plus marked pages in the Hal Lindsey book that was plagiarized by Jeremiah and Carlson."

     (HE HAS NEVER RESPONDED!)

     A number of weeks later, on October 1st, I mailed the same questions to Mrs. Sam Moore.

     (SHE HAS NEVER RESPONDED!)

     Several weeks later, on October 23rd, I put the same questions to Mr. Elmlinger, the man who gave me a rapture runaround in 1998 while evidently planning all the while to cover up the continuation of dishonest promotion of the pretrib rapture view, a view easily lending itself to such practices simply because it's been riddled with dishonesty since its 1830 birth!

     (HE HAS NEVER RESPONDED!)

     Whenever ancient Israel failed to do right or deliberately did wrong, she brought terror upon herself----that is, she provoked the Lord which forced Him to allow men and even angels to terrorize her. In effect, she was her own terrorist, bringing terror upon herself.

     Not all of the terrorists these days are in the Middle East or Afghanistan. In Western "Christian" countries there are those who terrorize millions of the unborn in "hospitals" and those who terrorize the already-born on highways. And also those who terrorize the born-again ones by promoting a latter-day end-time view that's already terrorized and killed unprepared millions in Russia, China, Korea etc. and promises to terrorize and kill many more unprepared and exploited millions.

     If terrorists include those who aid and finance terrorism, then those who operate from publishing "caves" in Tennessee or Michigan or Oregon while secretly aiding literary thievery are actually Laodicean enemies in our midst who will force God to terroristically chasten all of us who continue to support such dishonesty----no matter how many flags we wrap ourselves in, and no matter how often we chant our superficial Americadabra slogans!

PRETRIB RAPTURE SCHOLAR WANNABES BY DAVE MACPHERSON

     To become a PH.D (Pretrib History Distorter) or a D.D. (Doctrinal Deviant), do the following:

     (1) MISSPELL THE LAST NAMES OF MANUEL LACUNZA, MARGARET MACDONALD, C. I. SCOFIELD, HAL LINDSEY, GRANT JEFFREY, TIM LAHAYE ETC.

     (2) STATE THAT MARGARET MACDONALD WAS A PLYMOUTH BRETHREN MEMBER, OR THAT JOHN DARBY WAS HER PASTOR.

     Wrong and wrong.

     (3) OR GUESS THAT MARGARET WAS AN IRVINGITE, OR THAT EDWARD IRVING WAS HER PASTOR.

     Wrong and wrong again.
 
     (4) ASSUME THAT MARGARET MACDONALD ORIGINATED "DISPENSATIONALISM."

     This "straw man" assumption by Jack Kinsella ("Is Dispensationalism a Recent Doctrine?," 8/11/11) is totally missing from all genuine scholarship, and Jack can't find her even mentioning that long word!

     (5) CLAIM THAT MARGARET'S PRIVATELY CIRCULATED 1830 RAPTURE "REVELATION" TAUGHT ONLY THE POSTTRIB VIEW.

     Longtime No. 1 pretrib rapture leader John Walvoord's "Rapture Question" proves (p. 105f) that Margaret's view (that only PART of the Church gets raptured) has long been a widely held form of the PREtrib view - and Charles Ryrie's 1981 "rapture" book and other pretrib works have purposely ignored Walvoord!

     Margaret's 1830 "revelation" saw "the one taken [before Antichrist's revealing] and the other left." The PART of the Church left on earth after the rapture was viewed by her collectively as "the Church" - the same wording used in the same way by later partial rapturists! (Google "X-Raying Margaret," "Margaret Macdonald's Rapture Chart," and "Margaret Macdonald's Main Point.")

     (6) REPEAT THE FALSEHOOD THAT JOHN DARBY WAS DISPENSATIONALISM'S "FATHER."

     Darby wasn't original on any crucial aspect of that system including the "church/Israel dichotomy," the church being absent from a future "Jewish" tribulation, the "Jewish" book of Matthew, the "literal method," the "Gentile parenthesis," the "ruin of the church," and especially the "pretribulation rapture." Margaret was the first to "discover" pretrib in the Bible and she shared her novel interpretation only privately with others (spring of 1830). Rev. Edward Irving and his followers, who credited Margaret, were the first to publicly teach it (September of 1830) in the Irvingite journal "The Morning Watch." Darby didn't clearly express pretrib until 1839 - and when he did he plagiarized the exact same Rev. 12 "man child caught up" argument Irving had publicly used eight years earlier!

     (7) TRY NOT TO REPRODUCE MARGARET'S 117-LINE PRETRIB RAPTURE "REVELATION."

     But if you do, copy it like Thomas Ice who in 1989 copied it so quickly he somehow omitted a total of 49 words from different sentences - the same 49 words that Tim LaHaye left behind in his 1992 book "No Fear of the Storm"! LaHaye (pp. 168, 207) also came up with two different titles for Lacunza's famous old book - neither one correct! (Google "Thomas Ice (Bloopers)," "America's Pretrib Rapture Traffickers" (which reveals that Ice's "Ph.D" was issued by a school that was fined by the state of Texas for illegally issuing degrees!), "Walvoord Melts Ice," and "LaHaye's Temperament."

     (8) DON'T LET YOURSELF QUOTE ACTS 2:34-35, ACTS 3:21, OR II THESS. 1:7-8.

     Why? They prove that Christ can't leave heaven ahead of time for a pretrib rapture!

     (9) READ PRETRIB INTO AS MANY PRE-1830 WRITERS AS POSSIBLE.

     Such writers used only double meaning or unclear phrases like "escape," "taken away," "before the general conflagration," "before Armageddon" etc. - but many of your readers will believe you if you assert that the ancient writers were really teaching pretrib!

     Even Walvoord couldn't find ANYONE before the time of Darby (whom Walvoord labeled as an "early pretribulationist"!) who taught pretrib, so Walvoord had to settle for only what seemed to be "imminence" (in three of the earliest church documents) which seemingly could fit into the pretrib scheme - and Walvoord even censored portions of the ancient statements which, when quoted completely, revealed the posttrib view! Is it possible that John Bray, Thomas Ice, Grant Jeffrey and some others can locate - or manufacture - evidence of pretrib before 1830 that even Walvoord couldn't find?! (To see exposures of those claiming to find pretrib before 1830, Google my internet article entitled "Deceiving and Being Deceived.")

     (10) IGNORE ARTICLES ON GOOGLE AND YAHOO LIKE "PRETRIB RAPTURE - HIDDEN FACTS," "PRETRIB RAPTURE DIEHARDS," AND "PRETRIB RAPTURE SECRECY."

     If you ignore this advice, at least take some tranquilizers first!

     (11) PLAGIARIZING IS EASIER THAN RESEARCHING. BUT TRY TO DISGUISE YOUR THIEVERY!

     If you think that stealing isn't a way of life for pretrib promoters (from Darby to LaHaye), you've never Googled "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty," "Appendix F: Thou Shalt Not Steal," or "Thieves' Marketing."

     (12) IF ALL ELSE FAILS, CLAIM THAT REV. 3:10 PROVES PRETRIB.

     Avoid Googling "Famous Rapture Watchers" which reveals how the greatest New Testament Greek scholars of all time interpreted it.

     Finally, I invite you to obtain my 300-page, highly endorsed book "The Rapture Plot." What you've read so far in this paper is less than one percent of the mountains of documentation on pretrib rapture history in this book of mine. A good number of my web articles can be found on "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing," an excellent UK blog hosted by accomplished researcher and writer Treena Gisborn.