FAMOUS RAPTURE WATCHERS By Dave MacPherson

(The following quotes - to which a couple more have been added - were first circulated in a little-known , non-copyrighted paper of mine in the 1970's. While noting how Rev. 3:10 has been interpreted by the greatest Greek experts, can you determine the rapture view of each of the leaders herein?)

     Barnabas (40-100): "The final stumbling-block (or source of danger) approaches...for the whole [past] time of your faith will profit you nothing, unless now in this wicked time we also withstand coming sources of danger....That the Black One [Antichrist] may find no means of entrance..." (Epistle of Barnabas, 4).

     Clement of Rome (40-100): "...the Scripture also bears witness, saying, 'Speedily will He come, and will not tarry'; and, 'The Lord shall suddenly come [Matthew 24:30 coming] to His temple, even the Holy One, for whom ye look'" (I Clement, 23).

     Hermas (40-140): "Those, therefore, who continue steadfast, and are put through the fire [of the Great Tribulation that is yet to come], will be purified by means of it....Wherefore cease not speaking these things into the ears of the saints..." (The Pastor of Hermas, Vision 4).

     Polycarp (70-167): "He comes as the Judge of the living and the dead" (Epistle to the Philippians, II).

     Justin Martyr (100-168): "The man of apostasy [Antichrist], who speaks strange things against the Most High, shall venture to do unlawful deeds on the earth against us the Christians..." (Dialogue With Trypho, 110).

     Melito (100-170): "For with all his strength did the adversary assail us, even then giving a foretaste of his activity among us [during the Great Tribulation] which is to be without restraint..." (Discourse on the Resurrection, i, 8).

     Irenaeus (140-202): "And they [the ten kings who shall arise] shall lay Babylon waste, and burn her with fire, and shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the church to flight" (Against Heresies, V, 26).

     Tertullian (150-220): "The souls of the martyrs are taught to wait [Rev. 6]...that the beast Antichrist with his false prophet may wage war on the Church of God..." (On the Resurrection of the Flesh, 25).

     Hippolytus (160-240): "...the one thousand two hundred and three score days (the half of the week) during which the tyrant is to reign and persecute the Church, which flees from city to city, and seeks concealment in the wilderness among the mountains" (Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, 61).

     Cyprian (200-258): "The day of affliction has begun to hang over our heads, and the end of the world and the time of the Antichrist to draw near, so that we must all stand prepared for the battle..." (Epistle, 55, 1).

     Victorinus (240-303): "...the times of Antichrist, when all shall be injured" (Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John, VI, 5).

     Lactantius (240-330): "And power will be given him [Antichrist] to desolate the whole earth for forty-two months....When these things shall so happen, then the righteous and the followers of truth shall separate themselves from the wicked, and flee into solitudes" (Divine Institutes, VII, 17).

     Athanasius (293-373): "...they have not spared Thy servants, but are preparing the way for Antichrist" (History of the Arians, VIII, 79).

     Ephraim the Syrian (306-373): "Nothing remains then, except that the coming of our enemy, Antichrist, appear..." (Sermo Asceticus, I).

     Pseudo-Ephraem (4th century?): "...there is not other which remains, except the advent of the wicked one [Antichrist]..." (On the Last Times, the Antichrist etc., 2).

     Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386): "The Church declares to thee the things concerning Antichrist before they arrive...it is well that, knowing these things, thou shouldest make thyself ready beforehand" (Catechetical Lectures, 15, 9).

     Jerome (340-420): "I told you that Christ would not come unless Antichrist had come before" (Epistle 21).

     Chrysostom (345-407): "...the time of Antichrist...will be a sign of the coming of Christ..." (Homilies on First Thessalonians, 9).

     Augustine (354-430): "But he who reads this passage [Daniel 12], even half asleep, cannot fail to see that the kingdom of Antichrist shall fiercely, though for a short time, assail the Church..." (The City of God, XX, 23).

     Venerable Bede (673-735): "[The Church's triumph will] follow the reign of Antichrist" (The Explanation of the Apocalypse, II, 8).

     Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153): "There remains only one thing----that the demon of noonday [Antichrist] should appear, to seduce those who remain still in Christ..." (Sermons on the Song of Songs, 33, 16).

     Roger Bacon (1214-1274): "...because of future perils [for the Church] in the times of Antichrist..." (Opus Majus, II, p. 634).

     John Wycliffe (1320-1384): "Wherefore let us pray to God that he keep us in the hour of temptation, which is coming upon all the world, Rev. iii" (Writings of the Reverend and Learned John Wickliff, D.D., p. 155).

     Martin Luther (1483-1546): "[The book of Revelation] is intended as a revelation of things that are to happen in the future, and especially of tribulations and disasters for the Church..." (Works of Martin Luther, VI, p. 481).

     William Tyndale (1492-1536): "...antichrist preacheth not Peter's doctrine (which is Christ's gospel)...he compelleth all men with violence of sword" (Greenslade's The Work of William Tindale, p. 127).

     Menno Simons (1496-1561): "...He will appear as a triumphant prince and a victorious king to bring judgment. Then will those who persecute us look upon Him..." (Complete Writings..., p. 622).

     John Calvin (1509-1564): "...we ought to follow in our inquiries after Antichrist, especially where such pride proceeds to a public desolation of the church" (Institutes, Vol. 2, p. 411).

     John Knox (1515-1572): "...the great love of God towards his Church, whom he pleased to forewarn of dangers to come, so many years before they come to pass...to wit, The man of sin, The Antichrist, The Whore of Babylon" (The History of the Reformation..., I, p. 76).

     John Fox (1516-1587): "...that second beast prophesied to come in the later time of the Church...to disturb the whole Church of Christ..." (Acts and Monuments, I).

     Roger Williams (1603-1683): "Antichrist...hath his prisons, to keep Christ Jesus and his members fast..." (The Bloody Tenent, of Persecution, p. 153).

     John Bunyan (1628-1688): "He comes in flaming fire [as Judge] and...the trump of God sounds in the air, the dead to hear his voice..." (The Last Four Things: Of Judgment).

     Daniel Whitby (1638-1726): "...after the Fall of Antichrist, there shall be such a glorious State of the Church...so shall this be the Church of Martyrs, and of those who had not received the Mark of the Beast..." (A Paraphrase and Commentary, p. 696).

     Increase Mather (1639-1723): "That part of the world [Europe] was to be principally the Seat of the Church of Christ during the Reign of Antichrist" (Ichabod, p. 64).

     Matthew Henry (1662-1714): "Those who keep the gospel in a time of peace shall be kept by Christ in an hour of temptation [Revelation 3:10]" (Commentary, VI, p. 1134).

     Cotton Mather (1663-1728): "...that New Jerusalem, whereto the Church is to be advanced, when the Mystical Babylon shall be fallen" (The Wonders of the Invisible World, p. 3).

     Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758): "...continuance of Antichrist's reign [when the Church is persecuted] did not commence before the year of Christ 479..." (A History of the Work of Redemption, p. 217).

     John Wesley (1703-1791): "'The stars shall...fall from heaven,' (Revelation, vi. 13)....And then shall be heard the universal shout...followed by the 'voice of the archangel,'...'and the trumpet of God'...(I Thessalonians iv. 16)." (The Works of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M., Vol. V, p. 173).

     George Whitefield (1714-1770): "...'while the bridegroom tarried,' in the space of time which passeth between our Lord's ascension and his coming again to judgment..." (Gillies' Memoirs of Rev. George Whitefield, p. 471).

     David Brainerd (1718-1747): "...and I could not but hope, that the time was at hand, when Babylon the great would fall and rise no more" (Memoirs..., p. 326).

     Morgan Edwards (1722-1795): "[Antichrist] has hitherto assumed no higher title than 'the vicar general of Christ on earth'..." (Two Academical Exercises etc., p. 20).

     John Newton (1725-1807): "'Fear not temptation's fiery day, for I will be thy strength and stay. Thou hast my promise, hold it fast, the trying hour [Revelation 3:10] will soon be past'" (The Works of the Rev. John Newton, Vol. II, p. 152).

     Adam Clarke (1762-1832): "We which are alive, and remain...he [Paul] is speaking of the genuine Christians which shall be found on earth when Christ comes to judgment" (Commentary, Vol. VI, p. 550).

     Charles G. Finney (1792-1875): "Christ represents it as impossible to deceive the elect. Matt. 24:24. We have seen that the elect unto salvation includes all true christians." (Lectures on Systematic Theology, p. 606).

     Charles Hodge (1797-1878): "...the fate of his Church here on earth...is the burden of the Apocalypse" (Systematic Theology, Vol. III, p. 827).

     Albert Barnes (1798-1870): "...he will keep them in the future trials that shall come upon the world [Revelation 3:10]" (Notes on the New Testament, p. 94).

     George Mueller (1805-1898): "The Scripture declares plainly that the Lord Jesus will not come until the Apostacy shall have taken place, and the man of sin...shall have been revealed..." (Mrs. Mueller's Missionary Tours and Labours, p. 148).

     Benjamin W. Newton (1805-1898): "The Secret Rapture was bad enough, but this [John Darby's equally novel idea that the book of Matthew is on 'Jewish' ground instead of 'Church' ground] was worse" (unpublished Fry MS. and F. Roy Coad's Prophetic Developments, p. 29).

     R. C. Trench (1807-1886): "...the Philadelphian church...to be kept in temptation, not to be exempted from temptation..." (Seven Churches of Asia, pp. 183-184).

     Carl F. Keil (1807-1888): "...the persecution of the last enemy Antichrist against the church of the Lord..." (Biblical Commentary, Vol. XXXIV, p. 503).

     Henry Alford (1810-1871): "Christ is on His way to this earth [I Thessalonians 4:17]..." (The New Testament for English Readers, Vol. II, p. 491).

     John Lillie (1812-1867): "In his [Antichrist's] days was to be the great----the last----tribulation of the Church" (Second Thessalonians, pp. 537-538).

     F. L. Godet (1812-1900): "The gathering of the elect [Matthew24:31]...is mentioned by St. Paul, 1 Thess. 4:16, 17, 2 Thess. 2:1..." (Commentary on Luke, p. 452).

     Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1842): "Christians must have 'great tribulation'; but they come out of it" (Bonar's Memoirs of McCheyne, p. 26).

     S. P. Tregelles (1813-1875): "The Scripture teaches the Church to wait for the manifestation of Christ. The secret theory bids us to expect a coming before any such manifestation" (The Hope of Christ's Second Coming, p. 71).

     Franz Delitzsch (1813-1890): "...the approaching day is the day of Christ, who comes...for final judgment" (Commentary on Hebrews, Vol. II, p. 183).

     C. J. Ellicott (1819-1905): "[I Thessalonians 4:17] 'to meet the Lord,' as He is coming down to earth..." (Commentary on the Thessalonian Epistles, p. 66).

     Nathaniel West (1826-1906): "[The Pre-Trib Rapture] is built on a postulate, vicious in logic, violent in exegesis, contrary to experience, repudiated by the early Church, contradicted by the testimony of eighteen hundred years...and condemned by all the standard scholars of every age" (The Apostle Paul and the "Any Moment" Theory, p. 30).

     Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910): "He will keep us in the midst of, and also from, the hour of temptation [Revelation 3:10]" (The Epistles of John, Jude and the Book of Revelation, p. 266).

     J. H. Thayer (1828-1901): "To keep [Revelation 3:10]:...by guarding, to cause one to escape in safety out of" (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 622).

     Adolph Saphir (1831-1891): "...the advent of the Messiah...to which both the believing synagogue and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ are looking..." (The Epistle to the Hebrews, Vol. I, p. 96).

     M. R. Vincent (1834-1922): "The preposition ['from'] implies, not a keeping from temptation, but a keeping in temptation [Revelation 3:10]..." (Word Studies..., p. 466).

     William J. Erdman (1834-1923): "...by the 'saints' seen as future by Daniel and by John are meant 'the Church'..." (Notes on the Book of Revelation, p. 47).

     H. Grattan Guinness (1835-1910): "...the Church is on earth during the action of the Apocalypse..." (The Approaching End of the Age, p. 136).

     H. B. Swete (1835-1917): "The promise [of Revelation 3:10], as Bede says, is 'not indeed of your being immune from adversity, but of not being overcome by it'" (The Apocalypse of St. John, p. 56).

     William G. Moorehead (1836-1914): "...the last days of the Church's deepest humiliation when Antichrist is practicing and prospering (Dan. viii:12)..." (Outline Studies in the New Testament, p. 123).

     A. H. Strong (1836-1921): "The final coming of Christ is referred to in: Mat. 24:30...[and] I Thess. 4:16..." (Systematic Theology, p. 567).

     Theodor Zahn (1838-1933): "...He will preserve...at the time of the great temptation [Revelation 3:10]..." (Zahn-Kommentar, I, p. 305).

     I. T. Beckwith (1843-1936): "The Philadelphians...are promised that they shall be carried in safety through the great trial [Revelation 3:10], they shall not fall" (The Apocalypse of John, p. 484).

     Robert Cameron (1845-1922): "The Coming for, and the Coming with, the saints, still persists, although it involves a manifest contradiction, viz., two Second Comings which is an absurdity" (Scriptural Truth About the Lord's Return, p. 16).

     B. B. Warfield (1851-1921): "...He shall come again to judgment...to close the dispensation of grace..." (Biblical Doctrines, p. 639).

     David Baron (1855-1926): "(Tit. ii. 13), for then the hope as regards the church, and Israel, and the world, will be fully realised" (Visions of Zechariah, p. 323).

     Philip Mauro (1859-1952): "...'dispensational teaching' is modernistic in the strictest sense...it first came into existence within the memory of persons now living..." (The Gospel of the Kingdom, p. 8).

     A. T. Robertson (1863-1934): "In Rev. 3:10...we seem to have the picture of general temptation with the preservation of the saints" (A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, p. 596).

     R. C. H. Lenski (1864-1936): "...it [Philadelphia] shall be kept untouched and unharmed by the impending dangers [Revelation 3:10]" (The Interpretation of St. John's Revelation, pp. 146-146).

     William E. Biederwolf (1867-1939): "Godet, like most pre-millennial expositors, makes no provision for any period between the Lord's coming for His saints and His coming with them..." (The Second Coming Bible, p. 385).

     Alexander Reese (1881-1969): "...we quite deliberately reject the dispensational theories, propounded first about 1830..." (The Approaching Advent of Christ, p. 293).

     Norman S. MacPherson (1899-1980): "...the view that the Church will not pass into or through the Great Tribulation is based largely upon arbitrary interpretations of obscure passages" (Triumph Through Tribulation, p. 5).

PRETRIB RAPTURE PRIDE by Dave MacPherson

     Pretrib rapture promoters like Thomas Ice give the impression they know more than the early Church Fathers, the Reformers, the greatest Greek New Testament scholars including those who produced the KJV Bible, the founders of their favorite Bible schools, and even their own mentors!
     Ice's mentor, Dallas Sem. president John Walvoord, couldn't find anyone holding to pretrib before 1830 - and Walvoord called John Darby and his Brethren followers "the early pretribulationists" (RQ, pp. 160-62). Ice belittles Walvoord and claims that several pre-1830 persons, including "Pseudo-Ephraem" and a "Rev. Morgan Edwards," taught a pretrib rapture. Even though the first one viewed Antichrist's arrival as the only "imminent" event, Ice (and Grant Jeffrey) audaciously claim he expected an "imminent" pretrib rapture! And Ice (and John Bray) have covered up Edwards' historicism which made a pretrib rapture impossible! Google "Morgan Edwards' Rapture View" and my Google article "Deceiving and Being Deceived" for documentation on these and similar historical distortions.
     The same pretrib defenders, when combing ancient books, deviously read "pretrib" into phrases like "before Armageddon," "before the final conflagration," and "escape all these things"!
     BTW, the KJV translators' other writings found in London's famed British Library (where my wife and I have researched) don't have even a hint of pretrib rapturism. Is it possible that Ice etc. have found pretrib "proof" in the KJV that its translators never found?
     Pretrib merchandisers like Ice claim that nothing is better pretrib proof than Rev. 3:10. They also cover up "Famous Rapture Watchers" (on Google) which reveals how the greatest Greek NT scholars interpreted it.
     Pretrib didn't flourish in America much before the 1909 Scofield Bible which has pretribby "explanatory notes" in its margins. Not seen in the margins was jailed forger Scofield's criminal record throughout his life that David Lutzweiler has documented in his recent book "The Praise of Folly" which is available online.
     Biola University's doctrinal statement says Christ's return is "before the Tribulation." Although universities stand for "academic freedom," Biola has added this narrow, restrictive phrase - a non-essential the founders purposely didn't include in their original doctrinal statement when Biola was just a small Bible institute! And some other Christian schools have also belittled their founders.
     Ice, BTW, has a "Ph.D" issued by a tiny Texas school that wasn't authorized to issue degrees! Ice now says that he's working on another "Ph.D" via the University of Wales in Britain. For light on the degrees of Ice's scholarliness, Google "Bogus degree scandal prompts calls to wind up University of Wales," "Thomas Ice (Bloopers)," "be careful in polemics - Peripatetic Learning," and "Walvoord Melts Ice."
     For more info on noisy pretrib rapture defenders like Thomas Ice, see my book "The Rapture Plot" (the most accurate documentation on pretrib rapture history) which is available online.
     Can anyone guess who the last proud pretrib rapture holdout will be?

JACOB PRASCH: INTRA-SEAL HOOLIGAN!

Debunked: Jacob Prasch’s claim that the Holy Spirit will be absent from the world during the 70^th week of Daniel.

Intra-Seal and the Church in Smyrna.

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: “The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.

“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:8-11),

According to Jacob Prasch, the church in Smyrna (Revelation 2) is a picture of the “powerless church” minus the Holy Spirit during the tribulation. Smyrna is Ionic Greek for myrrh, the expensive spice used to make perfume for anointing the dead amongst other things.

There may be some valid comparisons to be made between Smyrna and the persecuted church during the great tribulation, but an argument cannot be made for the absence of the Holy Spirit! The church in Smyrna existed during the dreadful persecution of the Emperor Domitian (AD 81-96), when the Holy Spirit was very much present. Doesn't this so called "powerlessness" in worldly terms indicate that the gospel will go out with even more power in the Holy Spirit? (2 Corinthians 12:10).

The Ten and the Forty

Prasch: “Forty is the number of testing when the test comes from God. Ten is the number of testing when it is not from God. God may allow it for His purpose. In Daniel’s day Israel was tested at the hands of the Babylonians. In Smyrna believers in Jesus were tested at the hands of the Romans and the Pagans. When the test comes NOT from God, the number is ten.” 1

Prasch has based his tenuous argument for “the ten and the forty” on one short excerpt of scripture from Daniel 1. He has linked the ten days tribulation in Smyrna with Daniel 1:8-16, specifically, verses 12 and 14, where the period of ten days is repeated three times.

Prasch: “Then there is this period of ten days. It says it four times. Explicitly three times, and then it refers to it as ‘the end of the days’ the fourth time..... Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. (At the end of the ten days.)” 1

The phrase: “the end of ten days” appears once in verse 15, and “ten days” appears twice in verses 12 and 14. Prasch's assumption that the phrase “the end of the days” in Daniel 1:18 relates specifically to the end of the ten days is false. Verse 18 does not refer to the end of the literal ten days at all; in fact it refers to the end of the three year period specified by Nebuchadnezzar, see Daniel 1:5. The omission of the word “ten” in verse 18 is inserted by Prasch in order to fit in with his “end of the (ten) days” tribulation theory.

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12“Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. 16So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. 17As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. (Daniel 1:8-18). 

There are several anomalies associated with Prasch’s suspect exegesis of “the ten and the forty” and the meaning of “ten days” in biblical typology. He makes the assumption that we always read Daniel in light of Revelation. This is true of the prophetic material found in Daniel, but the context of Daniel 1 is historical and not prophetic. Furthermore the context of Daniel 1 does not match Revelation in the sense that Prasch teaches. The ten days that Daniel and his companions were tested was not a period of tribulation, much less the terrors of the persecution that took place in Smyrna. Although they had been taken into captivity, God gave Daniel favour and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs. (Daniel 1:9). Christ tells the believers in Smyrna “be faithful to death..” - this was not the case with Daniel who invited the test (v 12). The ten days that the Christians in Smyrna were to be tested was, in my view, a literal ten days, whereas the great tribulation goes on for 3.5 years (cut short). (Matthew 24:22).

When we come across the words test, trial and tribulation, we do need to look at the context. A test, peirazó, is to test or to tempt, whereas tribulation, usually, but not always, goes a stage further, thlipsis in this case. Revelation 2 uses both words in relation to Smyrna. Daniel 1 (Hebrew nasah) has the same meaning as peirazó prove, tempt, try.[2] The word “test” (nasah) in Daniel 1:12 is frequently used of God in relation to men, as in Genesis 22:1. God did prove Abraham.

Apart from Daniel 1, ten days are specifically mentioned in the scriptures in Nehemiah 5:18, Genesis 24:55; Jeremiah 42:7. Ten relates to God’s authority over human government and law, as in Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21; 1 Kings 11:31-35; Ruth 4:2). Ten also represents human government under the influence of Satan e.g. the ten toes of iron and clay (Daniel 2:42), and the beast with ten horns (Revelation 10:24; 13:1 17:12). “Ten is viewed as a complete and perfect number, as is 3, 7 and 12. It is made up of 4, the number of the physical creation, the number of man. As such, it signifies testimony, law, responsibility and the completeness of order.” [3] The forty can be justified, since there are many instances of forty (not necessarily days) associated with testing, but not so with the ten. Daniel 1 actually fits into the ten day paradigm perfectly. Nebuchadnezzar, a type of the Antichrist, seeks to impose his unrighteous will upon the faithful believers who are his captives. However, Daniel and his companions prove the government of God over the government under the influence of Satan over a period of ten days, and indeed ultimately. The king’s "choice food" is unfit for consumption by the people of God.. there is much symbolism here, but tribulation is excluded.

I think that the argument to link the persecution during the tribulation specifically with ten days is dishonest, as is the argument to link ten with persecution not directly from God. Once again we have eisegesis and not exegesis from Prasch. Prasch is a clever man and he has built up a following over the years. This makes him very dangerous as he holds a position of trust in the eyes of some. The bible admonishes us to be careful to study the scriptures for ourselves and to test the spirits.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1).

Hooligan

Abstain from all appearance of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:22 KJV)

When Jacob Prasch identified himself as a “hooligan” recently, he almost seemed to be inviting derision. It seems very strange that a bible teacher would have such a negative word emblazoned across his clothing.

The definition of “hooligan” is altogether negative.

Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behaviour such as rioting, bullying and vandalism. 

It is also a word that is linked to thuggish behaviour and lawlessness.

Many theories abound about the source of the noun hooligan, but it appears to have been derived from the Irish name O’Hooligan:

“London newspapers in April and May 1894 carried reports of a case at Southwark Police Court in South London where it was said that Charles Clarke, aged 19, was charged with assault on police, was:

‘the king of a gang of youths known as the 'Hooligan Boys'.

The gang had attended a music hall and created a disturbance which resulted in the Police being called and the gang's arrest. At the later remand hearing a newspaper repeated that allegation, but referred to the ‘O'Hooligan Boys’.

The next month, two other youths were brought before Lambeth Police Court for threatening behaviour. They were described as members of the gang known as ‘the Hooligan Boys’.

The problem of gangs of youths in the Lambeth area appears to have been a big problem for in October 1894 the Illustrated Police News reported that local tradesmen were organising a deputation to send to the Home Secretary as police needed support in ‘their efforts to stamp-out the so-called 'hooligan' gangs of roughs’.[4]

If Prasch wants to be identified with hooliganism then who am I to argue? Certainly I could not think of a better word to describe his treatment of the scriptures.

Prasch is also fond of publicly displaying the alleged symbol of Israel, the satanic hexagram. Actually the introduction of the occult Star of David aka the Seal of Solomon was Rothschild's doing in the 19th century. The Illuminati have much to do with the Israeli national symbol, as I am sure Prasch knows full well!

My full refutation of the Intra-Seal deception can be found at:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/INTRA-SEAL-RAPTURE-DECEPTION-EXPOSED-devised-ebook/dp/B06X6N2JJT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489351462&sr=8-1&keywords=treena+gisborn

---

[1] https://www.moriel.org/online-sermons/23-sermons-in-english/5920-when-god-speaks.html

[2] http://biblehub.com/hebrew/5254.htm

[3] http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/10.html

[4] http://www.historyhouse.co.uk/articles/hooligans.html

HAL LINDSEY: DATING BRINGS TROUBLES ! By Dave MacPherson

Hal Lindsey, a rapturous prophet without a single rapture so far, keeps rapturizing via his "Hal Lindsey Report" on TV.

     And as long as certain facts remain hidden, he's still seen in certain quarters as an expert on dating.

     Hal's flirting with dates came out in the open in his 1970 mega-seller "The Late Great Planet Earth." Many still don't seem to know that his "Late Great" (which blended in science-fiction and the occult - including pyramidology - with scripture!) came out on the heels of Curt Gentry's 1968 science-fiction thriller about an earthquake devastating all of the Golden State. Curt's book title: "The Last Days of the Late, Great State of California."

     My book "The Three R's" quoted the late (and truly great) British scholar F. F. Bruce who referred to "the influence of Hal Lindsey and his religious 'science-fiction' (more fiction than science)."

     Hal's "Late Great" (p. 54) stated that "a generation in the Bible is something like forty years." He then said "within forty years or so of 1948 [the birth of Israel], all these things could take place."

     In short, Hal made many think that the second coming to earth could occur in 1988 and that the rapture - seven years earlier - could take place in 1981.

     Hal psyched up his readers to warmly embrace his 1981 date by issuing "The Terminal Generation" (1976) and "The 1980's: Countdown to Armageddon" (1980). And the 1981 pretrib rapture date became even more attractive when compared with the horrible, city-smashing lineup of planets called "The Jupiter Effect" which Hal repeatedly claimed would happen the following year in 1982 and could help bring in the great tribulation!

     Since these fizzles, date-setter Hal has seemingly divorced himself from specific predictions and relied basically on "the rapture is imminent" statements.

     I have a suggestion. Some have declared that a Biblical generation can be 70 years long. Since 2018 is 70 years after the establishment of Israel in 1948,Hal could continue to hold the hand of the Goddess of Mammon and with his other hand quickly write a book focusing on a 70-year generation and add another million to his estimated net worth of 15 million dollars (according to online site "richestcelebrities.org").

     Also Google "Hal Lindsey's personal life (Wikipedia)" for some stunning info about 87-year-old Lindsey who can offer more than one definition of the word "dating."

     My books have long covered Lindsey and I discuss him on 16 pages in my most important work on pretrib rapture history entitled "The Rapture Plot."

     For further details related to Hal, Google "Pretrib Hypocrisy," "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty," "Pretrib Rapture Secrecy," "Hal Lindsey's Pretrib Rapture Proof," and "Evangelicals Use Occult Deception."

     Finally, let me end this composition by declaring that I really don't care a fig for date-setters!

BAD MOUTHING PROPHESY TEACHERS By Dave MacPherson

Do you know any Bible prophecy teachers who can make the air blue with strong language like @$&!#*%X and !X@$%!!# ?

     (BTW, I'm old enough to remember when mouths were cleaner than teeth - and that's pretty old, right?)

     Let's have a little history on prophecy teachers of the past whose speech could be more acrimonious than harmonious.

     Robert Cameron, a leading Canadian posttrib teacher and editor of "Watchword and Truth" during the last century, was militantly anti-pretrib.

     In 1902, in a series in his publication covering pretrib rapture history and doctrine, Cameron described pretrib as a "novelty" and said that the first church it was taught in was Edward Irving's in London, England "by confessedly lying spirits" and "seducing spirits" who "were the authors of this novel, unscriptural, and misleading doctrine."

     Cameron had been influenced by Robert Baxter who had joined Irving's church and soon had a "revelation" that the pretrib rapture would happen on July 14, 1835. Baxter eventually became disillusioned, left Irving's church, and wrote a tell-all book which stated that he and the other "prophets" in Irving's church who had been focusing on the same rapture "had all been speaking by a lying spirit, and not by the Spirit of the Lord."

     My book "The Rapture Plot" reveals that the most vitriolic and caustic pretrib teacher of the past was John Nelson Darby of the Plymouth Brethren. In "The Coming of the Lord and the Translation of the Church" (Collected Writings, Prop. Vol. No. 4), he writes that his opponents are holders of "false doctrine."
     They also have "a loss of all spiritual intelligence," are "unreasonable," exhibit "ignorance" and "confusion" and "blindness." 
     He declares: "How entirely this system destroys spirituality and divine intelligence!"
     (Which reminds one of the p. 1090 note in the "Scofield Reference Bible" stating that none of the disciples, except Mary and Peter, had even one "spark of spiritual intelligence" before Christ's resurrection!)
     But Darby was only getting warmed up.  

     He then added "unbelief and Satan," "absence of spiritual intelligence," "utter futility of its reasonings," "open blasphemy," "mass of unscriptural fancies and follies," "gross absurdities," "real blasphemies," and "blasphemies."

     Was Darby applying these judgmental and offensive phrases to what he viewed as Irvingite aberrations? Or to persons openly hostile to God or the Bible? No. He was applying these abusive phrases to a published work defending the historic posttribulation rapture view!!

     If John Darby the master "special effects" man had lived long enough, just think of the Hollywood studios who could have signed him up!

JERRY JENKINS: BETTING ON PRETRIB ! by Dave MacPherson

     Maybe I should say that Jerry Jenkins is betting on fellow pretrib investors like Tim LaHaye and Thomas Ice who seem to have put all of their money - and a lot of their spin - on their pretrib rapture roulette wheel.

     Since the 1830s pretrib gamblers have been addicted to numbers including the numbers of Bible verses which they think can be combined to "prove" a pretrib rapture.

     Even worse is their desire to predict dates for it, some of which have been based on occult things like the measurements inside Egypt's Great Pyramid and constellations in the Zodiac! (See my book "The Three R's" for massive documentation on such speculation which so far has created only losers.)

     The earliest pretribs gambled with only their British reputations (lawyer Robert Baxter had predicted the rapture would occur on July 14, 1835). Today's rapture robber barons and tribulational tycoons, especially in America, make millions of dollars with books, videos, films, music, and radio and TV shows - and often predict actual dates or, while playing it safe, merely talk about only "times and seasons."

     Jerry Jenkins has to know that Corrie ten Boom's 1974 "Logos Journal" article "The Coming Tribulation" (which labeled pretribs as "the false teachers that Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days") revealed that millions of Christians were tortured to death" in China when the communists took over 1949 simply because they had been trusting only in pretrib rapture escapism that had been brought in by foreign missionaries! (And pretrib date-setting fizzles since then have caused many other such tragedies like the Chinese one!)

     Even so, Jenkins has long seared his conscience and kept on making fortunes with the same fund-raising fly-away fraud. And he's even jumped willy-nilly into the current worldwide discussion on pretrib rapture history, preferring repeating to researching.

     In the May 18, 2016 issue of "Christianity Today" Jenkins, while politely pilfering the rapture "cards" that hired guns like Thomas Ice like to misleadingly shuffle with, audaciously referred to "the fiction that the rapture is as recent as John Nelson Darby."

     (Pretribs often like to say "rapture" instead of "pretrib rapture" as if they have a monopoly on that word - something I found Jenkins doing in that same May 18 magazine. And if you say you don't believe in a pretrib rapture, the pretrib rapturally-correct "thought police" like to make the dishonest claim that you don't believe in a rapture at all!)

     In the same "CT" piece Jenkins "found" pretrib is some "17th-century expressions of the rapture" and listed some practically unknown names, but gave no quotes or sources.

     He undoubtedly wouldn't have labeled "Baptist Morgan Edwards" in 1788 as a holder of "a pre-tribulation rapture" if he had chanced upon a Google item titled "Morgan Edwards' Rapture View" in which "Dr. " Ice deliberately stopped his quotation of Edwards just BEFORE the sentence where Edwards tied his rapture to the second coming to earth in Matt. 24!

     Well, Jenkins can find out if Ice (whose "Ph.D" came from a tiny unaccredited Texas school that was fined for illegally issuing degrees, according to World Net Daily!) is operating with a full deck if he Googles "Pretrib Rapture Pride," "Walvoord Melts Ice," "Thomas Ice (Bloopers)," "Be careful in polemics - Peripatetic Learning," and "Pretrib was NEW in the 1830s." And Jenkins may need some additional tranquilizers when he Googles "Prof. Wm. L. Craig Leaves Tim LaHaye Behind!" and "LaHaye's Temperament."

     Right now stop and take a deep breath because you're about to hit a jackpot involving a famous hypocrite!
     Not only has Jenkins been gambling with countless numbers of trusting believers around the world with his 186-year-old pretrib delusion (which no Greek scholar before 1830 ever found in the Word - Google "Famous Rapture Watchers"), but for quite some time he has been a below-the-radar secret casino gambler himself even though he is the Chairman of the Board at Moody Bible Institute, a longtime evangelical icon that DOES NOT allow its students to gamble!!!
     Now that you're really awake, Google "Left Behind's Jerry Jenkins: Casino Hypocrite," "Jerry Jenkins Apologizes for His Gambling in Casinos," and "Jerry Jenkins Rebuked for Gambling" (Examiner, Oct. 28, 2013). By the way, one of Jerry's sons (one of the "chips" off the old block who has discovered the "sin" in caSINo) has followed in Jerry's noble footsteps and has a high-up position in a casino, as the above info brings out!
     It's obvious that multi-millionaire pretribber (and prefibber) Jerry knows how to spin the lucrative rapture wheel of fortune.

     But does he have the Vegas idea how soon horrendous world events could collapse his ill-gotten pretrib house of cards and shuffle him off the scene?

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!