MOODY LEADERS SUDDENLY 'RAPTURED' ! BY DAVE MACPHERSON

      A recent scandal at rapture-promoting Moody Bible Institute in Chicago suggests that II Thess. 2:3's "falling away" means "departure from the faith" and not "departure from the earth" (that is, a pretrib rapture), as "brand"-changing Texas rustler Tommy Ice has been claiming lately in bold disagreement with his own mentor, the late Dr. John Walvoord.

     World Magazine's Feb. 3, 2018 issue began its coverage of the disgraceful events at Moody with this article by Paul Butler & Marvin Olasky entitled "Moody blues":

     "The story sounds like something out of a movie.

     "In 2017, a talk show host on the Moody Radio Network blows the whistle on the leadership of one of American evangelicalism's flagship institutions, the Moody Bible Institute (MBI). On Jan. 9, 2018, she escalates the pressure with a hard-hitting headline on her blog: 'A Luxury Suite, Questionable Loan to Officer, & Gambling: The Disturbing Truth About Leadership at MBI.' "

     The article continued:

     "Moody within hours fires her and sends a man to her house to seize her laptop - but she is on her way to Mexico, with the computer.

     "The next day, though, Moody's board of trustees meets and decides it's time for 'a new season of leadership.' President Paul Nyquist and COO Steve Mogck resign. Provost Junias Venugopal retires. And whistleblower Julie Roys reports the board's action. She tells WORLD she's 'grieved over what's happened' to MBI, glad about the resignations and retirement but convinced that 'unless there are changes at the board level, the Institute will be in the exact same place 5-10 years from now.' "

     Patheos, a site focusing on various religions, summarized in a Jan. 10 piece what it viewed as "the top three items in [Roys'] original indictment":

     "Allowing professors who deny the inerrancy of Scripture to teach at the institute and write curriculum."

     "Allowing a professor who supports Planned Parenthood, liberation theology, and a host of other liberal causes to teach at the school, and even spearhead missions conferences."

     "Permitting a top education official to violate the institute's bylaws repeatedly, and openly practice reverse-discrimination."

     Although it's known that some quiet flirting with non-pretrib views can be found among MBI's educators, the same downtown Chicago school has had a mostly "pretrib or else" stance ever since Dwight L. Moody founded MBI in 1886.

     What isn't as well-known is the fact that after John Darby and Darbyist evangelists like Robert Grant (1868) and Harry Moorhouse (1877) met the one they described as "the active man at Chicago," Moody and some of his fellow pastors, although not willing to sever connections with their denominational associations, nevertheless began to accept Darby's doctrine of grace ("our stand in Christ") and his doctrine of the secret rapture ("the hope of our calling"), as Ernest Sandeen's "The Roots of Fundamentalism" reveals.

     If what I've shared so far has aroused your curiosity and given you a desire for more details on the recent explosive situation at Moody Bible Institute, I suggest you Google some sites like the following:  Christian Daily Reporter; Christian News Network; Christian Post; and Pulpit and Pen.

     Of course the Facebook page of the "lioness" herself (Julie Roys) and her long-time blog "Up For Debate" are important sources along with the Chicago media.

     As you may recall, in recent months I've composed several Moody-flavored articles ("The Moody Erwin Lutzer" and "Jerry Jenkins: Betting on Pretrib") that have been aired on the must-read British blog "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing" assembled by remarkable teacher Treena Gisborn.

     (Jerry Jenkins, co-author of the record-sales-breaking "Left Behind" books and long serving as board chairman of MBI's trustees, has just been demoted to being merely a board member - and not a few are wondering why he is still allowed to have any connection with MBI after his known craze for casino gambling - while MBI students are not allowed to gamble! - and his purchase of a nearby building so he can maintain his own swanky suite while surrounded by dirt-poor neighbors!)

     Since Jenkins has partnered with fellow millionaire Tim LaHaye and Tommy Ice, you might also like to Google "LaHaye's Temperament," "Prof. Wm. L. Craig Leaves Tim LaHaye Behind," "Pretrib Rapture Pride," "Walvoord Melts Ice," "Pretrib Was New in the 1830s" and "Paul Wilkinson: Serial Revisionist."

     As the Word warns, there's nothing hidden that shall not be revealed!