The origin of Rapture False
doctrine: John Darby 1830 AD
See our main Rapture page here.
Judaism's Strange Gods ~ Michael A. Hoffman
Published on 13 Nov 2014
Christians
must understand that the religion of Judaism is anti-Biblical. The true
religion of the God of Israel is Christianity not Judaism. Judaism is
simply a perversion of God’s original revelation to the Hebrew nation–it
is the very religion of nullification of the Old Testament.
The Talmud teaches that a Jew may *kill, **steal, and ***lie to non-Jews with impunity -yet all of these actions are in violation of the 6th, 7th, and 9th commandments of Moses. Here is but one example of the Oral Law making the Word of God “of none effect.” [*Tractates Sanhedrin 58b; **Baba Mezia 24a; **Sanhedrin 57a; ***Baba Kama 113a]
The main tenet of Judaism is Jewish self-worship. Judaism has as its “god,” not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but the worship of the Jewish people. For the Talmud teaches that the Gentile is a lower form of humanity. They all believe that they have this special-ness about them, believing the myth that they, not the Christians, are the “chosen people.”
Michael A. Hoffman.......
The Talmud teaches that a Jew may *kill, **steal, and ***lie to non-Jews with impunity -yet all of these actions are in violation of the 6th, 7th, and 9th commandments of Moses. Here is but one example of the Oral Law making the Word of God “of none effect.” [*Tractates Sanhedrin 58b; **Baba Mezia 24a; **Sanhedrin 57a; ***Baba Kama 113a]
The main tenet of Judaism is Jewish self-worship. Judaism has as its “god,” not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but the worship of the Jewish people. For the Talmud teaches that the Gentile is a lower form of humanity. They all believe that they have this special-ness about them, believing the myth that they, not the Christians, are the “chosen people.”
Michael A. Hoffman.......
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Rapture
doctrine did not exist before John Darby invented it in 1830 AD. Before it
"popped into John Darby's head" no one had ever heard of a secret
rapture doctrine.
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be on location in Jerusalem to expose Rapture theology
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Introduction:
See our main Rapture page here.
1. Rapture doctrine is one of the most recent "new
doctrines" in the history of the Church. The only doctrine more recent is
the invention of the sinner's
prayer for salvation by Billy Sunday in 1930, which was made popular by
Billy Graham in 1935.
2. The fact that John Nelson Darby invented the pre-tribulation
rapture doctrine around 1830 AD is unquestionably true. All attempts to find
evidence of this wild doctrine before 1830 have failed, with a single
exception: Morgan Edwards wrote a short
essay as a college paper for Bristol Baptist College in Bristol England in 1744
where he confused the second coming with the first resurrection of Revelation
20 and described a "pre-tribulation" rapture. However Edwards ideas,
which he admitted were brand new and never before taught, had no influence in
the modern population of the false doctrine. That prize to goes to Darby.
3. Prior to
1830, no church taught it in their creed, catechism or statement of faith.
4. Darby has had a profound impact on religion today, since Darby's
"secret rapture" false doctrine has infected most conservative,
evangelical churches. While the official creeds and statements of faith of many
churches either reject or are silent about Rapture, neither do they openly
condemn this doctrine of a demon from the pulpit.
5. While not all dispensationalists believe in the Rapture. All those
who teach the Rapture also believe in premillennialism. Both groups use
Israel's modern statehood status of 1948 to be a beginning of a countdown to
the end.
6. All premillennialists, rapturists and dispensationalists alive
today believe the Bible reveals the general era of when Christ will return. The
date setters of the 1800's (Seventh-day Adventists who are date setting premillennialists
who reject the rapture, Jehovah's Witnesses who have set many dates) based
their predictions upon speculative arrangements of numbers and chronologies in
the Bible. Today's date setters without exception wrongly believe that Israel
gaining state hood in 1948 fulfilled Bible prophecy and that Christ would
return within one generation.
7. There are two kinds of premillennialists: Those "Date
setters" and "Date Teasers". "Date setters", set
specific dates which are in fact a countdown clock to the extinction of their
own ministries. (William Miller, Charles Russell, Ronald Weinland, Harold
Camping, etc.) "Date teasers", share the same rhetoric of urgency
that the "end is very soon", but refuse to lock into a specific date.
(Jack Van Impe, Hal Lindsay, Tim LaHaye, Pentecostals, Baptists, Grant
Jefferies, Christadelphians.)
8. Most of the TV preachers who promote rapture and/or "date
set" all wrongly believe they are a prophet of God with special
illumination. Pentecostals believe
they are inspired directly from the Holy Spirit as modern day prophets.
Baptists believe they are illuminated with guidance from the Holy Spirit
through the Calvinist doctrine of
Irresistible grace.
9. Christians reject all these false notions of God illuminating man
and rely upon the pages of the Bible alone as a sole source of conduct and
doctrine. . Find a church that
exposes the Rapture as a heresy in your own home town.
Further study:
A. False assumptions of Rapture
and premillennialism.
1.
False: The kingdom is something distinct
from the church. Truth: The kingdom is the
church which was established on the day of Pentecost in 33 A.D. We are in the
kingdom now: Col 1:13; Rev 1:6,9.
2.
False: Reviving the Roman empire to
keep time prophecies of Dan 2,7,8,9 from failing. Truth:
The final kingdom Daniel saw was Rome. God set up his kingdom during the
Roman empire which began in 30 BC and was destroyed in 397 AD. The kingdom is
the church which was started on Pentecost.
3.
False: Daniel saw 13 kingdoms: Truth: Daniel saw 4 kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-persia,
Greece and Rome. The last kingdom had ten toes, representing 10
Caesars/rulers/kings not 10 additional kingdoms for a total of 13 kingdoms.
4.
False: Christ will return in one
generation from the time Israel became a nation in 1948. Truth: Mt 23:34; 24:34 speak about how the Herodian
temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed within one generation. This indeed came
to pass with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Titus. Notice the
parallel: "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize
that her desolation is near. " (Luke 21:20)
5.
False: Israel never possessed all the
land promised to Abraham and must return to fulfill this promise. Truth: God made three promises to Abraham and all
three were fulfilled at the time of Joshua - Solomon. "And the LORD gave
them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn
to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the
LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of
the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all
came to pass. " (Joshua 21:44-45) Here is a detailed outline showing that Israel
possessed all the land promised Abraham.
6.
False: The Mosaic Old Testament temple
will be rebuilt on the temple mount in Jerusalem complete with animal
sacrifices and Aaronic priests. Truth: The Old
Testament was nailed to the cross and abolished: Heb 8:13. To go back to animal
sacrifices is to deny Christ: "And I testify again to every man who
receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking
to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. " (Galatians 5:3-4)
Restoring animal sacrifices nullifies the sacrifice of the blood of Christ on
the cross which was the last blood sacrifice for all future eternity:
"Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the
same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE
RIGHT HAND OF GOD, " (Hebrews 10:11-12)
7.
False: Entering the 7th
millennium in 2000 AD Truth: The bible indicates
that the world is about 6119 years old in 2011. See this creation
time chart and chronology.
8.
False: Y2K bug of 1999 AD Truth: Wild speculation that TV preachers and
Rapturists used to whip up end time predictions. It was a non-event... again.
9. False: The prophetic clock stopped in the 69th
week of Daniel's prophecy when the Jews rejected Christ as their earthly king
because God wasn't expecting the Jews to reject Jesus. Each of the first 69
weeks was a period of seven years, but he last week has already been almost
2000 years. The prophetic clock starts ticking again at the "Rapture"
which is the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel. There will be 3 ½
years of peace followed by 3 ½ years of tribulation.
Truth: God foresaw everything just as it
happened in the gospels. A prophecy clock cannot stop or slow down or change
rate of time passing. The 70th week continued and came to and end
before 40 AD. Rapturists believe that the entire New Testament period is
something that God had to think up on the fly when the Jews rejected Jesus as
their king. So God had to think up the church age as a stop gap measure until
God could try a second time to get the Jews to accept Jesus as king during the
millennium. Notice that the "prophetic clock stops" when the Jews
crucified Jesus and it starts at the Rapture. The reason the clock had to stop,
is because of all the time prophecies were supposed to be fulfilled at the
first advent of Christ, but the Jews thwarted God's plan. Notice the clock
stops at the 69th week of Daniel 9 which was happily ticking at a
constant pace since it began with the decree of Cyrus which was 483 years (69 x
7 years). Then 2000 years pass and the clock suddenly starts ticking down the
final 7 years. This is nothing short of incredible, but in fact, this entire
concept of God failing to foresee the Jews rejecting Jesus as King is the
cornerstone of Rapture and Premillennial theology.
10. False: The church is a temporary after thought while
the prophetic clock is stopped. The church is not prophesied in the Old
Testament and will be abolished at the second coming. The prophetic clock
starts ticking again at the "Rapture" which is the beginning of the
70th week of Daniel. There will be 3 ½ years of peace followed by 3
½ years of tribulation. Truth: The church is
part of God's eternal purpose and will endure forever into the future: "so
that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the
heavenly places. This was in accordance with the
eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, "
(Ephesians 3:10-11) God will be glorified in the church for all future
eternity: "to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all
generations forever and ever. Amen. " (Ephesians 3:21) Those who believe
the church is a temporary stop gap measure, fail to comprehend that the church
is the bride of Christ and that the wedding day is the second coming.
"that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no
spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
" (Ephesians 5:27) Rapturists teach that the church ends at the second
coming, when in fact the church continues forever as the bride of Christ. Those
who believe the church was thought up at the last minute when the Jews rejected
Jesus as their king fail to realize that our salvation is inside the church,
which is the body of Christ and will continue forever. If the church ends at
the second coming, then so does the body of Christ. So Rapture and
premillennialism is rank heresy invented by John Darby in 1830 AD.
11. False: The Bible tells us
when the Rapture/second coming of Christ will occur. Truth: "The Bible Guarantees it" as a sure
thing makes a mockery of Christ and causes people to lose faith in the Bible.
12. False: There is a secret number code in the bible that
can be used to predict the second coming by using combinations of 3 ½, 6, 7,
10, 30, 40, 66, 70, 230, 280, 666, 980, 1000, 1200, 1260, 1290, 1335, 2520,
2300, 6000, 7000 etc. These numbers are randomly assigned various time units
including minutes, hours, days, weeks, years, millenniums. Truth: Endless numerology has been used randomly to
make endless date predictions which have all failed but sold a lot of books and
made a lot of con artists rich.
13. False: Special illumination from God others do not
possess Truth: If any man claims special
revelation from God who directly communicates with him, let him show this by
performing miracles. Bible prophets always proved it by their power, not their
words. "But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find
out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. For the kingdom
of God does not consist in words but in power. " (1 Corinthians 4:19-20)
Until men like Camping perform a miracle, he is a candidate for stoning
according the Old Testament law he believes will be restored.
14. False: New Doctrines are being revealed today that
were not understood even 20 years ago. Truth: Continuous
revelation: "Early and latter rains", "new light". For
example, Harold Camping said, "The Biblical evidence is too overwhelming
and specific to be wrong. The scriptural evidence needed to know the exact day
could not be known before 1988, the year the 'Church age' ended. The Bible
indicates prior to this year that date could not be known." The Jehovah's
Witnesses are trained to ignore past false predictions by claiming new light that
"gets brighter and brighter". Rather it is "black light" or
flickering/contradictory light. Camping uses this "new light"
"latter rain" theology to justify his previous prediction of 1994
failing. Incredibly Camping says: "In the nineteen years since "1994?"
was written, the biblical evidence for 2011 has greatly solidified. Today there
is no longer any question, May 21, 2011 is the day in which Jesus Christ will
return.
B. Rapture prophecy time
charts:
1. All
Rapturists need a complex and detailed time chart to graph out their sequence
of events. Here are original documents that map out the end. The one
pictured below is a general overview chart to give the basic idea.
2. Rapture
Summary Chart. Notice that the entire New Testament period is something that
God had to think up on the fly when the Jews rejected Jesus as their king. So
God had to think up the church age as a stop gap measure until God could try a
second time to get the Jews to accept Jesus as king during the millennium.
Notice that the "prophetic clock stops" when the Jews crucified Jesus
and it starts at the Rapture. The reason the clock had to stop, is because of
all the time prophecies were supposed to be fulfilled at the first advent of
Christ, but the Jews thwarted God's plan. Notice the clock stops at the 69th
week of Daniel 9 which was happily ticking at a constant pace since it began
with the decree of Cyrus which was 483 years (69 x 7 years). Then 2000 years
pass and the clock suddenly starts ticking down the final 7 years. This is
nothing short of incredible, but in fact, this entire concept of God failing to
foresee the Jews rejecting Jesus as King is the cornerstone of Rapture and
Premillennial theology. The church is part of God's eternal purpose and will
endure forever into the future: "so that the manifold wisdom of God might
now be made known through the church to the
rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This
was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in
Christ Jesus our Lord, " (Ephesians 3:10-11) God will be glorified in the
church for all future eternity: "to Him be the glory in the church and in
Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. " (Ephesians 3:21)
Those who believe the church is a temporary stop gap measure, fail to
comprehend that the church is the bride of Christ and that the wedding day is
the second coming. "that He might present to Himself the church in all her
glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy
and blameless. " (Ephesians 5:27) Rapturists teach that the church ends at
the second coming, when in fact the church continues forever as the bride of
Christ. Those who believe the church was thought up at the last minute when the
Jews rejected Jesus as their king fail to realize that our salvation is inside
the church, which is the body of Christ and will continue forever. If the
church ends at the second coming, then so does the body of Christ. So Rapture
and premillennialism is rank heresy invented by John Darby in 1830 AD.
3. William
Miller's chart (Seventh-day Adventists) that predicted the end in 1844 AD. VIEW
4. Seventh-day
Adventist rapture chart 2010 AD: VIEW
5. Charles
Russell's (Jehovah's Witnesses) chart the predicted the end in 1914 AD. VIEW When Christ didn't come,
Russell claimed he was right, but that Christ came invisibly! Up until about
1996, JW's taught that the world would end within one generation after 1914 AD.
Even the May 15, 1984 Watchtower magazine echoed this false prediction. Like
all cults and date setters, they quietly stopped making the prediction based
upon one generation after 1914 and the mindless lemmings keep going door to
door with their every changing version of lies and deception.
6. Bill
Brown Ministries rapture chart: VIEW
7. Tom
Stewart of "What Saith The Scriptures" predicted the rapture on
Sunday May 31, 1998 AD. In a disclaimer on his website, he says his date was
wrong, but no off my much time and that the end if VERY, VERY NEAR!: VIEW
8. Millennium
Ark rapture chart: VIEW
9. LDS, Latter Day
Saints, Mormons: The year 2000 AD was date teased: VIEW
10. Donald Perkins
Bible prophecy chart VIEW
11. Jack Van Impe
claims he has been awarded several PhD's and we are certain they are all in
"Date Teasing" No one date teases better than Jack. He teased 2000 AD
and is currently teasing 2012 AD. Her is Van Impe's "Israel invasion
prophecy chart": VIEW
12. Christadelphian
end times prophecy chart: Christadelphians have a long history of date setting,
but their last prediction was around 2000 AD. For Christadelphians, the end has
been very soon for 150 years. VIEW
13. Ronald Weinland predicted the end on April 17, 2008.
He claimed to be a prophet, apostle and that he and his wife the two witnesses
of Revelation. When that failed, he is currently he predicting the second
coming on May 27, 2012. Here is Weinland's current end of the world chart: VIEW
14. Harold Camping predicted the end of the world in 1994 and
again on May 21, 2011. Camping believed he had learned special insights that no
one else on earth had understood from the Bible. In fact, Camping is a
numerologist who see patterns in numbers that are meaningless. While convincing
to his lemmings who sold their houses and maxed out their credit cards and gave
the money to Camping to spread the word through a global advertising campaign,
his insights make him worthy of being stoned as a false prophet. Camping is an
agent of Satan to destroy faith in the Bible. VIEW
15. Ronald Weinland predicted the end on April 17, 2008.
He claimed to be a prophet, apostle and that he and his wife the two witnesses
of Revelation. When that failed, he is currently he predicting the second
coming on May 27, 2012. Here is Weinland's current end of the world chart: VIEW
C. Rapture Bible proof texts
refuted:
1. Every Bible verse used by Rapture advocates are the same
passages that Christians have used to prove the second coming with will being
about the resurrection of all the dead, both wicked and righteous, translation
of the living into spirit beings, the destruction of the earth, the great
judgment and heaven and hell... all at the same time. You will see in every one
of their rapture proof texts, that Rapture is not actually specified. Instead
it is the good old second coming as taught historically by the church back to
the first century, not some new doctrine revealed for the first time to the
Plymouth Brethren through John Darby in 1830 AD.
2. There are shockingly few actual Bible texts that Rapture
advocates actually use to attempt to prove rapture is taught in the bible.
3. Equally shocking is that many of those who teach the Rapture
believe in continuous revelation. This means that they do not even need any
Biblical passages to prove their new doctrine. They, as prophets, believe God
has revealed it to them as a brand new Christian doctrine, that the first
century Christians never believed, the apostles never taught. So they will
openly admit they have little or nothing in the bible to support their new
rapture theology. Of course they fail the test of a true prophet to possess the
ability to perform miracles or at least a prophecy or two to come true.
5. Here is a complete collection of Bible passages used to prove
the Rapture:
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Comment
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Passage
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No pre-tribulation Rapture in 1 Thess
4:15-17! This is the
only proof text that is ever given for any direct support for the Rapture.
The word for "caught up" is "harpásō" in the Greek
and is also used of when Paul was "caught up" into 3rd
heaven to see visions in 2 Cor 12:2. However this verse simply teaches what
all Christians have taught about the events at the second coming namely:
resurrection of all the dead, translation of the living into spirit beings,
destruction of the earth, judgement, heaven and hell... all in a twinkling of
an eye at the last trump.
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"For this we say to you by the word of the
Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not
precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of
God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain
will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. " (1 Thessalonians
4:15-17)
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No Rapture in Jn 5:28, in fact it teaches
the opposite! False
teachers of the Rapture say that only Christians are raised, then after 1000
years, the wicked are raised. This verse clearly teaches that in the same
"twinkling of an eye" (an hour, not 1000 years) all the dead will
be raised.
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""Do not marvel at this; for an hour is
coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, " (John
5:28)
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No Rapture in this Dan 12:2, just that all the dead, both
righteous and wicked will be raised to judgment at the last day.
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"Many of those who sleep in the dust of the
ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and
everlasting contempt. "Those who have insight will shine brightly like
the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to
righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. " (Daniel 12:2-3)
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No Rapture in 1 Cor 15:21-28, in fact it
teaches the opposite!
It says that the second coming will be the end, not 1000 years before the
end. Its says that Christ is reigning now, but will give up his reign at the
second coming and hand it over to the Father. Rapture teaches that Christ is
not reigning now, but will begin to reign at the second coming. This is
exactly opposite to what the Rapture false teachers believe.
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"For since by a man came death, by a man also
came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ
all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits,
after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He
hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule
and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His
enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For
HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says,
"All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted
who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to
Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all
things to Him, so that God may be all in all. " (1 Corinthians 15:21-28)
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No Rapture in this 1 Cor 15:51ff! It teaches that at the second
coming the dead will be raised into immortal spirit beings and the living
shall be changed into immortal spirit beings.
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"Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all
sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the
imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. " (1 Corinthians
15:51-53)
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D. Rapture doctrine invented
by John Nelson Darby in 1830:
1.
John Nelson Darby
invented the false doctrine of the Rapture 1830-1833 AD and popularized it in
1850 to which it infected us today. While Morgan Edwards had also invented the
doctrine in a college essay in 1744 AD, his work was isolated, forgotten and
irrelevant as an etiology of the modern popularity of pre-tribulation Rapture
doctrine. Darby invented the doctrine without any influence or reliance on
Edwards.
2.
Morgan Edwards wrote
this short essay as a paper for Bristol Baptist College in Bristol England in
1744. After he immigrated to the USA, the essay was published in Philadelphia
in 1788. It is clear that his school paper went as unnoticed as his formal
publication in 1788 AD. While Edwards may in fact be the earliest person on
earth to invent the pre-tribulation rapture, it is equally clear that Darby
invented the same doctrine in 1830 AD and made it popular 100 years later in
1850 AD. "The distance between the first and second resurrection will be
somewhat more than a thousand years.: I say, somewhat more; because the dead
saints will be raised, and the living changed at Christ's " appearing in
the air" (1 Thes. iv, 17); and this will be about three years and a half
before the millennium, as we shall see hereafter: but will he and they abide in
the air all that time? No: they will ascend to paradise, or to some one of
those many " mansions in the father's house of God" (John xiv: 2),
and to disappear during the foresaid period of time. ... V. That spot of earth
which. Christ will make the seat of his governments Mount Zion, in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem and the temple will be rebuilt, as we shall prove by and by and that
temple will be the house of Christ kingdom. ... VI. The risen and changed
saints shall reign with Christ on earth a thousand years. I do not mean that
all will be kings; for some are to be Christ' s priests, some judges, some
rulers over cities, some over his household, some over his goods, (as wee shall
see anon) and some his special chorister and musicians. (Two Academical
Exercises on Subjects Bearing the following Titles; Millennium, Last-Novelties,
Morgan Edwards, 1744 AD, 1788 AD)
3.
Darby notes
that the doctrine "popped into his head" in 1830 AD. Before this, no
one had ever heard of a secret rapture doctrine.
4.
Darby is one
of the founders of the "Plymouth Brethren" movement at the same time
he first conceived his rapture theology. Therefore the Plymouth Brethren are
inseparable from Rapture theology and always will be and should be avoided.
5.
Modern influences of
Darby include Dallas Theological Seminary, Bob Jones University, Hal Lindsey,
Tim LaHaye, Jack Van Impe and Harold Camping, the Scofield Reference
Bible.
6.
Darby's Rapture theology
has infected almost every conservative protestant church, except for a few
groups like the Churches of Christ, who rejected it as a non-Biblical doctrine
and have denounced it ever since like all other man made doctrines.
E. Proof Rapture was the creation of John Nelson Darby in 1830:
1.
The simplest way to prove that Rapture
does not predate Darby or the Plymouth Brethren church, is the admission of the
Plymouth Brethren church today in their own words: "A number of doctrines
that are now widely held within evangelical circles were first discovered by the Brethren (post 1830 AD) or
were promoted and propagated by the Brethren. In no particular order these
include: pre-tribulational rapture, dispensationalism"
(Plymouth Brethren: Theological contributions of the Brethren: FAQ #16)
2.
"The pretribulation
rapture......historians are still trying to determine how or where Darby got
it. . . . Possibly, we may have to settle for Darby's own explanation. He
claimed that the doctrine virtually jumped out of the pages of Scripture once
he accepted and consistently maintained the distinction between Israel and the
church". (Timothy P. Weber, Living In The Shadow Of The Second Coming:
American Premillennialism 1875-1982, 1983 AD, p 21-22).
3.
John Nelson Darby commenting on 2 Thess.
2:1-2 in 1850: "It is this passage which, twenty years ago, [1830 AD] made
me [Darby] understand the rapture of the saints before- perhaps a considerable
time before- the day of the Lord, that is, before the judgment of the
living." (The Rapture of the Saints: Who Suggested It, Or Rather On What
Scripture? William Kelly, The Bible Treasury, New Series, vol. 4, p. 314-318,
quoting John Nelson Darby commenting on 2 Thess. 2:1-2 in 1850)
4.
"When the theory of a secret coming
of Christ was first brought forward (about the
year 1832), it was adopted with eagerness; it
suited certain preconceived opinions, and it was accepted by some at that which
harmonized contradictory thoughts, whether such thoughts, or any of them,
rested on the sure warrant of God; written Word". (The Hope of Christ's
Coming: How is it Taught in Scripture and Why?, S. P. Tregelles, p 35)
5.
"Where did he [Darby] get it? The
reviewer's answer would be that it was in the air in
the 1820s and 1830s among eager students of unfulfilled prophecy".
(F. F. Bruce, Book Review of "The Unbelievable Pre-Trib Origin" in
The Evangelical Quarterly, (Vol. XLVII, No. 1). Note: Bruce is a well known
scholar who himself is a member of the Plymouth Brethren which Darby started)
6.
"Until brought to the fore through
the writings and preaching and teaching of a distinguished ex-clergyman, Mr J.
N. Darby, in the early part of the last century, it [rapture theology] is
scarcely to be found in a single book or sermon through a period of sixteen
hundred years". [230-1830 AD] (Harry Ironside, The Mysteries Of God,
1908).
7.
"About 1830 a new school arose
within the fold of Premillennialism that sought to overthrow what, since the
Apostolic Age, have been considered by all premillennialist as established
results, and to institute in their place a series of doctrines that had never been
heard of before. The school I refer to is that of 'The Brethren' or 'Plymouth
Brethren,' founded by J. N. Darby." (Alexander Reese, The Approaching
Advent of Christ, page 18)
8.
Robert Cameron: "Now, be it
remembered, that prior to that date, no hint of any approach to such belief can
be found in any Christian literature from Polycarp down.... Surely, a doctrine
that finds no exponent or advocate in the whole history and literature of
Christendom, for eighteen hundred years after the founding of the Church - a
doctrine that was never taught by a Father or Doctor of the Church in the past
- that has no standard Commentator or Professor of the Greek language in any
Theological School until the middle of the Nineteenth century, to give it
approval, and that is without a friend, even to mention its name amongst the
orthodox teachers or the heretical sects of Christendom - such a fatherless and
motherless doctrine, when it rises to the front, demanding universal
acceptance, ought to undergo careful scrutiny before it is admitted and
tabulated as part of 'the faith once for all delivered unto the saints."
(Robert Cameron, Scriptural Truth About The Lord's Return, page 72-73).
9.
E. R. Sandeen: "Darby introduced
into discussion at Powerscourt (1833) the ideas of a secret rapture of the
church and of a parenthesis in prophetic fulfillment between the sixty-ninth
and seventieth weeks of Daniel. These two concepts constituted the basic tenets
of the system of theology since referred to as dispensationalism" (E.R.
Sandeen, The Roots of Fundamentalism 1800-1930, University of Chicago Press,
1970)
F. Churches and TV Preachers who teach the Rapture false doctrine:
1.
Churches that teach pre-tribulation Rapture:
a. Southern Baptist church:
FAQ#18: "What is the SBC's stance on the end times? There is no official
stance in the SBC beyond what you find in the Baptist Faith and Message. The
views among Southern Baptists regarding the end times are broad. If you surveyed
Southern Baptists, you would likely find many who hold
to the "Pre-Tribulational" view of the rapture, others who
hold to a "Mid-Trib" view, some to a "Post-Trib" rapture,
some who hold to historical premillennialism, and perhaps even a few who don't
agree with any of these views.
b. Baptist: The Doctrinal Statement of the Cornerstone
Baptist Church: "The Rapture of the Church:
We teach the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ before the seven-year
tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Titus 2:13) to translate His church from
this earth (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-5:11)
and, between this event and His glorious return with His saints, to reward
believers according to their works (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10).
The Tribulation Period: We teach that immediately
following the removal of the church from the earth (John 14:1-3; 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18) the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon
an unbelieving world (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 9:27; 12:1; 2 Thessalonians
2:7-12; Revelation 16), and that these judgments will be climaxed by the return
of Christ in glory to the earth (Matthew 24:27-31; 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians
2:7-12). At that time the Old Testament and tribulation saints will be raised
and the living will be judged (Daniel 12:2-3; Revelation 20:4-6). This period
includes the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew
24:15-31; 25:31-46)."
c. Church
of God article #14: "The Millennial Reign of Christ The second coming
of Christ includes the rapture of the saints,
which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of Christ with His
saints to reign on the earth for one thousand years (Zech. 14:5; Matt. 24:27,
30; Rev. 1:7; 19:11-14; 20: 1-6). This millennial reign will bring the
salvation of national Israel (Ezek. 37: 21, 22; Zeph. 3:19, 20; Rom. 11:26, 27)
and the establishment of universal peace (Isa. 11: 6-9: Ps. 72: 3-8; Micah
4:3,4)."
d. The Pentecostal Assemblies of
Canada (PAOC): Statement of Fundamental and Essential Truths: "THE
RAPTURE The rapture, the blessed hope of the church, is the imminent coming of
the Lord in the air to receive to Himself His own, both the living who shall be
transformed, and the dead in Christ who shall be resurrected. 1 Cor. 15:51-57;
Phil 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:13 This event takes place before the
wrath of God is poured out during the tribulation. Believers then will appear
before the judgement seat of Christ to be judged according to faithfulness in
Christian service. Rom. 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:9-10"
e. The
Independent Fundamental Churches of America (IFCA) Article #15. THE SECOND
ADVENT OF CHRIST: We believe in that "Blessed Hope", the personal,
imminent, pre-tribulation, and premillennial
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return
to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom (1 Thessalonians
4:13-18; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:10;
5:9; Revelation 3:10).
f. Plymouth Brethren: Theological
contributions of the Brethren: FAQ#16: "A number of doctrines that are now
widely held within evangelical circles were first
discovered by the Brethren (post 1830 AD) or were promoted and
propagated by the Brethren. In no particular order these include: pre-tribulational rapture, dispensationalism"
g. Congregational Methodist church, Our Statement of
Faith: "The Second Coming of Christ: We believe that the culmination of
human history is designed by God and will occur according to His timing. The
literal interpretation of scripture reveals that Christ will rapture His faithful in the twinkling of an eye, after
which the anti-christ will be revealed, and the wrath of God poured out upon
the earth. After seven years of tribulation, Christ is revealed in His
glory and comes to reign for one thousand years on the earth. After this
millennial reign, the earth will be destroyed, and a new heaven and new earth
will be provided for the faithful to live in the presence of God forever."
h. Christadelphians do not teach the
rapture, however they have a long history of setting dates for the end of the
world and are strongly premillennial. John Thomas (1805-1871)
set the date for the end of the world in 1848 and 1864
AD. John Thomas, the sects founder, wrote in 1848 AD: "The judgment
upon Ireland has been siting since 1786. That crisis was the beginning of a
retribution of seventy-five years. This period is called 'THE END' - the end of
the last period, of the continuance of modern Europe, as organised into ten
kingdoms, and the ''Holy Roman Empire' in the days of Charlemagne. A.D.
1786 was the beginning of the end, 1848 the concluding of the end, and 1864 the
termination of the period. The events of these seventy-five years are the
fulfilment of the following words concerning modern Europe: 'The Judgment shall
sit and they shall take away of his (the Little Horn's or Holy Roman) dominion,
to consume and destroy it to the end.' ... After 1864 Ireland and the rest of
the world will enter upon a new era, in which peace, righteousness, and
blessedness will reign in the midst of the nations." (Gospel Banner, John
Thomas, November 1864) Thomas revised this date he set in 1848 even before it
came to pass for in 1854 Thomas wrote: "But in a few years, that is, about
1866, when the 1335 years terminate, he [the prophet Daniel] will 'arise to his
inheritance' in the Kingdom of God. (Anatolia, John Thomas, 1854, p. 97). Robert Roberts, John Thomas' successor, strongly and
widely predicted that the world would end in 1910 AD.
A Christadelphian publication called, "Logos leaflet No 14" (1988)
suggested the end in May 1988, as the 40th
year since Israel became a nation. The leaflet's front cover says, 'ISRAEL
1948-1988 40 YEARS OF DESTINY'. And lower down, 'This Generation
(40 years) shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. Behold, the shooting
forth of the "fig tree" (a symbol representing Israel) - Commencing
1948. This generation (40 year period) "Shall not pass away till all be
fulfilled." (p. 3). A key Christadelphian book called, "Christendom
Astray" was published in 1958 and contained chapter 16 entitled, "Evidence that the End is Near". This chapter has
been deleted from the current editions. Today Christiadelphians have learned to
stopped setting dates although they recently "looked with quiet hope"
at 2000 AD as the second coming. Here is the Christadelphians current end times
prophecy chart that highlights 2000 AD as the end: VIEW. Like all date setters, there
is a slow drifting of expected dates for the second coming, that the average
Christadelphian seems willingly blind to admit. A simple survey of
Christadelphian history shows that their predicted dates change every
generation so that end is always, "very soon". Christadelphians are
typical of other sects that had their origin in the "John Thomas Rapture
Era".
i. Millerites/Adventists, Russelites/Jehovah's Witnesses:
"In 1843, people sold their homes and businesses in anticipation of the
imminent return of Christ. They were the followers of William Miller, a
self-taught Bible student from New York. Here is Miller's rapture chart.
Miller understood the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14 to refer to the number of years
until the return of Christ. Previously, scholars had agreed that this prophecy
was fulfilled in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. But Miller insisted that it
would be fulfilled in his day. In 168 B.C., just as God had prophesied through
Daniel, the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes entered Jerusalem to punish the
Jews. He put an end to sacrifices at the temple, and rededicated the temple to
Zeus. Daniel 8:14 does not literally refer to 2,300 "days" (KJV,
NKJV), but to 2,300 "evenings and mornings" (NASB, NIV, ESV). From
the time that Antiochus entered Jerusalem until the temple was cleansed and
proper sacrifices were reinstituted, roughly 2,300 days passed. The number of
evening and morning sacrifices that were prevented totaled roughly 2,300 (of
each). Either reading of the text, then, finds fulfillment in history.
Nonetheless, William Miller believed that the cleansing of the temple mentioned
in Daniel 8 was the purification of the earth by fire at Christ's second
coming. Miller assumed that all prophecies referring to "days" must
mean "years." Adding 2,300 years to the time of Daniel's prophecy
gave Miller a date for Christ's return between March 21, 1843, and March 21,
1844. He began to teach this view and gained a wide following in the northeastern
United States. Despite the great excitement that Miller generated, March 21,
1844, came and went without the return of Christ. Miller was devastated, but
one of his followers went back through the calculations and found what he
believed to be an error. A new date was set: October 22, 1844. When October
1844 did not pan out, either, some of Miller's followers abandoned the
movement. Many, however, tried to find a new explanation. They were too
embarrassed to admit their error. They had invested too much to be wrong. Ellen
G. White eventually founded the Seventh-day Adventists, leading them to the
conclusion that Jesus had returned invisibly in 1844, and that he would soon
make his presence known visibly. Another group that tried to hold to the 1844
date was led by Jonas Swendahl; they were known as the Second Adventists. They
believed that 1844 marked the date, not of Jesus' return, but of the beginning
of the last generation. Swendahl taught that Jesus would return in 1874.
One of Swendahl's followers was a former Presbyterian named Charles Taze
Russell. Charles Russell's (Jehovah's Witnesses) chart the predicted the end in
1914 AD. VIEW. When 1874 came
and went, Russell concluded that thirty years was not long enough for a generation.
So he added seventy years to 1844 and concluded that Jesus would return in
1914. This and other differences led him to split from the Second Adventists
and to launch Zion's Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence. His followers
became known as the International Bible Students, and they went about the
country with the message, "Millions now living will never die!" His
followers were to leave their churches and fellowship together. All churches
were considered apostate, but God had supposedly provided a new channel for
their instruction, Zion's Watchtower Tract Society. What began as the
International Bible Students has become the Jehovah's Witnesses. The date of
1914 was changed to 1925, then to 1941, and then to 1975. What began as calling
Christians out of their churches to prepare for Christ's return became an
anti-Christian cult. I believe we are seeing something very similar happening
today in Harold Camping." (Jason Wallace, New Horizons, February 2002)
Today Seventh-day Adventist strongly predicted the rapture in 1980 AD VIEW
j. Mormons: LDS, Latter Day Saints: Mormons were born the same year
John Darby invented Rapture theology in 1830 AD and have a clear pattern of
date setting in a premillennial system. They strongly viewed 2000 AD as a
possible date for the end. Here is an example of their current date for the
end: VIEW
2.
TV/Radio Preachers and schools that teach the Pre-tribulation Rapture:
a. The Scofield Reference Bible. The text of the
Bible is the word of God, but the notes and comments twist and strain the
scriptures in a shallow attempt to teach the rapture. Keep in mind this simple
rule: All the verses they use to prove the rapture, are the same verses
Christians have been using to show the good old second coming since the
apostolic age.
b. The Dallas Theological Seminary and Bob Jones University have
been the centers of propagation of false doctrine of the Rapture.
c. Hal Lindsey: Most famous for his book,
"The Late, Great Planet Earth", he is a multimillionaire through book
sales where he made a general prediction that the world would end before the
generation died who witnessed Israel becoming a nation in 1947. In his book,
"Planet Earth - 2000 A.D." Lindsay predicted the end before 2000 AD.
Today he believes Barak Obama will live to see the anti-Christ walk the earth,
even creating conditions for the anti-Christ to arise. Over the 50 years of
publishing, Linsday has changed his predictions with each era. For example, he
felt the hippie culture of the 60's was a sign of the end and that Russia would
be the force to conquer Jerusalem. Today all that is forgotten and the Muslims
are the new key to world events leading up to the end. But don't underestimate
the influence of Lindsay. I remember non-Christians who had never read the
Bible, buying The Late, Great Planet Earth and reading it believing it Bible
truth.
d. Tim LaHaye: Famous for his "Left
Behind" series of movies that give a fictional portrayal of the Rapture.
Book sales are reported to exceed 70 million. Although LaHaye doesn't make
specific end of the world date predictions like Harold Camping, neither does he
discourage or criticize those who do. Why would he? It would hurt book sales!
e. Jack Van Impe: Jack, self-proclaimed prophet,
and his cute blonde side-kick wife Rexella, have been "rapture date
teasing" by reading news headlines for many years as proof the end of the
world is at hand. While he rejects specific date setting, he firmly believes we
can know the "approximate time of the second coming". He teaches the
standard rapture pre-tribulation theology. Not wanting to risk sending his
empire into extinction (like Harold Camping did when his prophecy failed in May
21, 2011) Van Impe never sets specific dates but general dates. He has
publically stated that he rejects Camping's May 21 prediction for the Rapture.
Jack Van Impe never sets specific dates but he has a long history of engaging
in what we call "date teasing". This way he can say that current
events strongly point to us keeping our eye on the rapture happening before
2000 AD and when the date passes, he can pick a new date to keep his deluded
viewers salivating for more news. 2000 AD was a great opportunity to for Van
Impe to glue the viewers to the TV given the changing of the Millennium and the
Y2K hysteria that set in on 1999 and the popular prediction of the pagan
cultist Nostradamus (d. 1566 AD).
i.
A 1993 video date teased with its title: "A.D. 2000 - The
End?" The date of 2000 was chosen by him based upon the year Israel became
a nation in 1948 + 1 generation: "Let's figure that out again--1948.5 plus
51.4 equals 1999.9--around September of the year 1999. Now, we are not
date-setters! Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of
heaven, but my father only (Matthew 24:36). But wait! Don't say, `No one can
know the APPROXIMATE time when Christ will return,'
for Jesus also said in verse 33 that we will know when it is near, even at the
doors" (January-February 1993 issue of Perhaps Today magazine).
ii.
Van Impe claimed that the year 2001 "will see the start of the
Great Tribulation. Political chaos, natural disasters, nuclear war and the
worldwide rise of Islam will usher in mankind's final hour" (Jan-Feb 1997
issue of Perhaps Today).
iii.
Prior to January 1, 2000, Van Impe frequently predicted widespread
global catastrophes and destruction resulting from the Y2K problem, which he
believed to be a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. While such a prediction was
rather predictable, the surprise to everyone was that NOTHING happened when the
date pass. Billions had been spent certifying infrastructures and networks as
"Y2K certified". All the crazy talk that Jack and Rexella said about
Y2K was forgotten by the viewers as he switched to his next date: "The
dire warnings in this emergency video are gleaned exclusively from secular
experts in over 300 reports. The facts: No event in history has connected mankind
to one common adversary until now. The millennial bug jeopardizes
our way of life in ways never imagined" (The 2000 Time Bomb, video).
iv.
"I was going to make this video next year, around February, March. But the Holy Spirit awakened me a few months ago and warned
me as to what was coming and that I should warn you. And I'll tell you,
this is perhaps the most important video you'll ever receive concerning your
own survival and what to do to prepare for what's coming" (Jack Van Impe
Presents, September 28, 1998).
v.
Although Nostradamus was a pagan cultic non-Christian mystic, Van Impe
makes this incredible statement: "Now, Nostradamus said that the
king of terror would appear November of 1999. I
believe Nostradamus knew his bible and knew what the six-day theory was, and so
he could put it all together" (Jack Van Impe Presents, October 5, 1998).
vi.
World War III in 2012 AD??? Currently however, Van Impe has been having a
cerebral meltdown over the Muslim uprising starting in the Egypt and the other
Arab nations as proof the end is so near! With the failure of his 2000 AD
predictions that the "Holy Spirit showed him", the Muslim uprising is
profitable. His latest date teasing video that makes him millions of
dollars, is for World War III in 2012 AD. Yawn.
f.
Grant Jeffreys: Another date
teaser who teaches pre-tribulation rapture theology. "After thirty years
of careful Bible study, I am convinced that the overwhelming evidence
concerning the fulfillment of these predictions in our generation points to the
return of Jesus Christ in our lifetime." (Armageddon - Appointment With
Destiny, Grant Jefferys, ch 15)
g. Ronald Weinland travelled to Jerusalem on
April 17, 2008. He announced that he and his wife were the two witnesses of
Revelation. Ronald Weinland, who wrote "2008 - God's Final Witness",
is a leader in the "Church of God, Preparing for the Kingdom of God"
(CGPFK) an Armstrong splinter group. Weinland rejects Rapture doctrine and
believes instead that all the saint of the world will flee to modern Petra
Jordan, as a place of safety supposedly prophesied in Revelation 12:6. When his
prophecies failed, he revised his timeline he stated Christ's will now return
on May 27, 2012 and that the tribulation began on September 20, 2009. Today,
Weinland calls himself an apostle a prophet, the "Elijah who is to
come" and one of the two witnesses of Revelation... his wife being the other
witness. Weinland said before the 2008 date failed: "If it doesn't come to
pass...starting in April, 2008, then I'm nothing but a false prophet ...
(Ronald Weinland, 2008 - God's Final Witness, Church of God) No surprise he
never denounce himself as an agent of satan. Instead he reinterpreted his
predictions, much like the Jehovah's Witnesses did in 1914 and says he got it
right after all. Currently he predicts the second coming on May 27, 2012. Here
is Weinland's current end of the world chart: VIEW
h. Harold Camping: 55 Radio stations with
headquarters in Texas. He wrote a book claiming 1994 was the end of the world.
When that failed he again wrote a second book that the Rapture would take place
on May 21, 2011. He enlisted the power of his 55 radio stations and purchased
over 2000 full size bulletin boards across the USA. Harold Camping's slogan,
"THE BIBLE GUARENTEES IT: MAY 21, 2011" has made a mockery of Christ
and the Bible. Camping has said, "The Biblical evidence is too
overwhelming and specific to be wrong. The scriptural evidence needed to know
the exact day could not be known before 1988,
the year the 'Church age' ended. The Bible indicates prior to this year that
date could not be known." "The discovery of
this information [by Camping after his 1994 prediction failed] built the
foundation for what God would later reveal from the Bible as the date
for the end. Judgment Day on May 21, 2011 is the culmination of five decades of
intensive biblical study by Mr. Camping and other bible teachers who have
discovered the same biblical data." "Creation: 11,013 BC. Flood: 5011
BC. The end: May 21, 2011. The Biblical evidence is too overwhelming &
specific to be wrong." Camping uses his "new light" "latter
rain" theology to justify his previous prediction of 1994 failing.
Incredibly Camping says: "In the nineteen years since "1994?"
was written, the biblical evidence for 2011 has greatly solidified. Today there
is no longer any question, May 21, 2011 is the day in which Jesus Christ will
return. What proof is there for the date of May 21, 2011? The date May 21, 2011
was derived solely from evidence found in the Bible. Mr. Camping saw God had
placed, in Scripture, many important signs and proofs. These proofs alert
believers that May 21st of 2011 is the date Christ will return for His people
and begin a period of the final destruction of the world." Here
is the main page on Camping
i.
"In 1992, Harold Camping published the book 1994? Like Miller, he
rejected the historic understanding of Daniel 8. The prophecy clearly describes
the rise of the kingdom of Greece under Alexander the Great and the division of
his empire among four successors. But instead of seeing the prophecy as
fulfilled then, Camping transported its fulfillment to our own day.
ii.
Like the Adventists and the Jehovah's Witnesses, Camping he focused on
the "hidden" meanings of texts, seeing pointers toward 1994 in the
number of swine drowned in the Sea of Galilee and in the number of servants in
Abraham's house. Camping introduced 1994? with the following statement:
"No book ever written is as audacious or bold as one that claims to
predict the timing of the end of the world, and that is precisely what this
book presumes to do." No matter how audacious or bold, it was wrong.
iii.
September 6, 1994, came and went. Camping seemed to back away from his false
prophecy, but he has now decided that he was right all along. It was too bitter
a pill to swallow to be wrong. Like the Jehovah's Witnesses, he says that 1994
wasn't the wrong date. We just have to add seven years to it!
iv.
Like Russell, he is now telling Christians to
leave their churches. All the churches are apostate. You should no
longer trust your pastors and elders. You should abandon them and turn to the
true channel of God's Word, Family Radio. Like Jehovah's Witnesses, you should
simply fellowship together and await word from Oakland. In these new fellowships, there is to be
no discipline, no baptism, no communion, and no authority apart from Family
Radio's interpretation of the Bible. Mr. Camping rejects 1 Corinthians 11:26,
which says that we are to proclaim the Lord's death until he comes through the
weekly observance of the Lord's Supper.
v.
Harold Camping may not be the Watchtower Tract and Bible Society, but he
builds on the same wrongheaded interpretations of Scripture, the same
date-setting, the same recalculations, the same accusations of universal
apostasy, and the same claim to be the last true channel of God's Word. Despite
the differences, both are heretical and schismatic, tearing apart Christ's
church.
vi.
Like the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mr. Camping accuses
anyone who disagrees with him of not really believing the Bible. He
accuses them of making an idol of their church. The true idol here is Mr.
Camping. Will Christians read the Bible for themselves and search the
Scriptures to know if these things are true, or will they blindly follow Mr.
Camping into yet another false prophecy? And what will be the result for them
if they do?" (Jason Wallace, New Horizons, February 2002)
vii.
Now Camping has set a new date of May 21, 2011 after 1994 failed.
i.
Darby's Rapture theology has infected almost every conservative
protestant church among the general membership. One clear exception is the
Churches of Christ, who rejected it as a non-Biblical doctrine and have
denounced it openly from the pulpit as a man-made doctrine.
G. Vain attempts to find Rapture in the church fathers and early
Christians:
1. Any
attempt to find the Rapture theology in the historical writings of the church
fathers or apologists if vain and futile. No church before 1830 AD taught the
rapture, much less the early church. A simple reading of supposed examples of
rapture in the church Fathers, shows no such thing. The claim is made, but if
you read the original text, it says nothing of the rapture.
2. Apostolic
fathers believed that the 70 weeks of Daniel were fulfilled in the first
century in Jesus Christ and did not look for a future fulfillment: Fulfillment of the 70 Weeks of
Daniel 9
3. Apostolic
fathers believed in the complete
fulfillment of Mt 24 and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
4. Apostolic
fathers and Early
Christians on Revelation prophecies already fulfilled
H. Pseudo-Ephraem says Christians escape tribulation by death not
rapture:
1.
Overview of
Pseudo-Ephraem:
b. As you will see, Pseudo-Ephraem teaches that
Christians escape tribulation by death not rapture!
c. Rapture advocates use "Pseudo-Ephraem" as an example of rapture doctrine that
was believed and taught in 375 AD. Such a use of Pseudo-Ephraem is wrong,
unscholarly and desperate. But this desperation is because Pseudo-Ephraem is
the only example they can find before 1830 of Rapture doctrine. Of course,
Pseudo-Ephraem DOES NOT teach rapture or anything even close to it.
d. The purpose of this section of the outline
is to refute the claim by those who believe the rapture doctrine was taught
before John Nelson Darby (born 18 November 1800, died 29 April 1882) who is
singlehandedly responsible for influencing all the cults 19th
century cults with their rapture theology and endless date setting that
persists even to the present day.
e. Pseudo-Ephraem is a forgery: There was a Christian named Ephrem or
Ephraim who died in 373 AD. Pseudo-Ephraem is an 8th century or
later pseudepigrapha falsely claiming to be written by the real Ephrem or
Ephraim who had been dead for 400 years.
f. There are several texts of
Pseudo-Ephraem but the two most important texts are the Syriac and the Latin
texts. These two texts are almost as different in content as they are in the
language they were written.
g. The Syriac text of Pseudo-Ephraem describes the Islamic invasion so this text cannot be
earlier than about 700 AD: "The progeny of
Hagar, the handmaid of Sarah; Who hold fast to the covenant with Abraham, The
husband of Sarah and Hagar. Set in motion, he (Ishmael) comes in the name of
the ram, The herald of the Son of Destruction. (Syraic text of Pseudo-Ephraem)
h. The Latin text of Pseudo-Ephraem quotes and relies upon the Pseudo-Methodius which also
heavily documents the Islamic invasion that started in 622 AD. So here we have
one pseudepigrapha (Pseudo-Ephraem) that
relies upon another pseudepigrapha (Pseudo-Methodius) apocalypse Methodius of Olympus who died in 311 AD. In other words,
one fraud is quoting from another.
2.
The Syraic text
of Pseudo-Ephraem does not teach Rapture theology since the saints suffer and
die during the tribulation:
a. "Nation will rise up against nation, And kingdom
against kingdom. Lawlessness will be sovereign on earth And the defiled will pursue after the saints. People will
openly apostatize And augment the left side; The righteous
ones will suffer indignities From those who belong to the side of the
sinners." (Syraic text of Pseudo-Ephraem)
b. Here we have death as an escape for the persecution,
saints suffering and the devil on earth with Christians during tribulation. "Pronouncing
the good fortune of the deceased Who had avoided the calamity: 'Blessed are you for you were borne away (to the grave) And
hence you escaped from the afflictions! But as for us, woe is us! For
when we die, Vultures will serve as escort for us!' And if the days of that
time were not shortened, The elect would never survive The calamities and
afflictions. For Our Lord revealed (and) disclosed to us In his Gospel when He
said: 'Those days will be shortened For the sake of the
elect and the saints.' And when he has harassed the whole of creation
[including Christians], (When) the Son of Destruction (has bent it) to
his will, Enoch and Elijah will be sent That they might persuade the Evil One. With a gentle question The saints will come before him,
In order to expose the Son of Destruction Before the assemblies surrounding
him: 'If you are indeed God, Tell us what we ask of you: Where is the place
that you have hidden The elders Elijah and Enoch?' The
Evil One will respond and say To the saints at that time...."
(Syraic text of Pseudo-Ephraem)
c. Christians are killed by the devil
during the tribulation: "Then the Evil One will become enraged With the
saints at that time; He will draw his terrible sword
And sever the necks of the righteous ones." (Syraic text of Pseudo-Ephraem)
d. Pseudo-Ephraem concludes with the resurrection of the
righteous and the wicked at the same time just like the standard doctrine of
the second coming that has been taught for 2000 years. "The good will go
forth into the Kingdom, And the bad will remain in Gehenna; The righteous will
fly up to the height, And the sinners will burn in fire." (Syraic text of Pseudo-Ephraem)
3. The Latin text of Pseudo-Ephraem does
not teach Rapture theology since the saints suffer and die during the
tribulation:
a.
"In
those days [during the tribulation] people shall not be buried, neither Christian, nor
heretic,
neither Jew, nor pagan, because of fear and dread there is not one who buries
them; because all people, while they are fleeing, ignore them." (Latin text of Pseudo-Ephraem)
b.
"Then,
when this inevitability has overwhelmed all people, just and unjust, the just, so that they
may be found good by their Lord; and indeed the unjust, so that they may be
damned forever with their author the Devil" (Latin text of Pseudo-Ephraem)
c.
The Latin
Pseudo-Ephraem teaches the resurrection of Christians at the second coming when
the devil will be destroyed, not the rapture: "Arise, O sleeping ones,
arise, meet
Christ, because his hour of judgment has come! Then Christ shall come and the enemy
shall be thrown into confusion, and the Lord shall destroy him by the spirit of his
mouth. And he shall be bound and shall be plunged into the abyss of everlasting
fire alive with his father Satan; and all people, who do his wishes, shall perish
with him forever; but the righteous ones shall inherit everlasting life with
the Lord forever and ever." (Latin text of Pseudo-Ephraem)
4.
The Latin text of
Pseudo-Ephraem does not teach Rapture theology in the "prize
passage":
a. This is the one sentence that Rapture advocates say teaches
the rapture. In fact we learn from the Syriac text that these saints escape the
tribulation by death not rapture! "For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and
are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the
world because of our sins." (Latin text of Pseudo-Ephraem)
b. Pseudo-Ephraem teaches that Christians escape
tribulation by death not rapture!
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Saints escape tribulation by death not rapture:
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Latin Pseudo-Ephraem
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Syraic Pseudo-Ephraem
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"For
all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that
is to overwhelm the world because of our sins."
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"Pronouncing the good fortune of the deceased Who had avoided
the calamity: 'Blessed are you for you were borne away (to the grave) And hence you
escaped from the afflictions!
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We Speak truth in LOVE
"you are seeking to kill Me, a
man who has told you the truth" John 8:40
tell us if we have misrepresented anything
tell us if we have misrepresented anything
Steve Rudd
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