Originally Posted by KATHY
You still don't. Keep learning Kathy.
Sometimes there are false teachings promulgated within the community of saints. The false teachings do nothing to edify, to promote spiritual growth, but they do serve to aggrandize those who promote them. How can you tell the difference? Follow the money.
The rapture is one such false teaching. Historically there was no mention of the dogma in Christian literature, sermons or history until about 1830. It was invented by a fellow with little formal education and no letters at all. His name was John Nelson Darby. Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Do your own homework. Investigate the life and times and writings of John Nelson Darby.
In the mid-ninteenth century America went through a horrendous spiritual upheaval, which coincided with the Civil War. Spiritualism and false doctrine literally popped up out of the ground. The Mormons got their start and spiritualism (seances, spirit guides and spirit books) became intensly popular even among Christians. Charles Darwin published his theories on evolution, which are used by the atheist community to argue against the existence of God. One of those carnival shows involved Darby's Rapture.
Darby didn't start out with the intent to deceive. Indeed, he began with an intense desire to 'set the record straight' as it were. The 'record' was millenialism. At the time there were three versions; pre-millenialism, post-millenialism and amillenialism. Millenialism, without all the prefixes, simply refers to a Christ oriented society upon earth that will last at least one thousand years. The question that Darby sought to resolve had to do with its arrival in history.
- Pre-millenialism was and is the idea that Jesus' second coming will preceed a thousand year utopia on earth. The general context of scripture seems to agree with this form as do I.
- Post-millenialism was the idea that Christendom would conquer the entire world, establish truth justice and the Christian way everywhere AND THEN Jesus would return. WWI pretty much killed this form.
- aMillenialism is the idea that the Kingdom of God is ethereal only, that it would never be really truly established on the earth - only in heaven, only in the hereafter. Fundamental Christians reject this form.
Darby's general pattern to resolve the millenial dispute was to write a book in which he organized human history into 'dispensations' - a Dispensation of Law and a Dispensation of Grace, not to be confused with Old and New Testaments. Hence, he is referred to as the Father of Dispensationalism. BTW, the book is worth between $150 - $250 or more because of it's historic value. If you can get your hands on a copy at an estate auction or garage sale for ten or twenty bucks, do it. The ideas of a Tribulation and the Rapture were spin-offs, secondary to his main thesis of dispensations and the second coming of Christ.
Initially, Darby found support among his peers of the day. Among them were Cyrus Scofield a publisher, who included scripture references to Darby's dogma in his Scofield Reference Bible. Additionally, the famous evangelist Dwight L. Moody preached on Millenialism the Tribulation and the Rapture. In the 21st century, supporters include Dallas Theological Seminary, Watchman Nee, Hal Lindsay and Tim LaHay. Critics include C.H. Spurgeon and James Grant. There are serious and deadly effects of Darby's work upon traditional interpretations of the meaning of Christ's death upon the cross. It's more than a fanciful intrepretation of a trip to heaven. It's a demonic attack upon the core of the gospel message.
As an add-on idea to his massive work, Darby included his ideas on 19th century escapism. Bear in mind that the nation was enduring terrible financial and social changes. Many people hoped for an escape of some kind and Darby gave them one to hope for. Unfortunately, nowhere in the pages of the Bible does God promise to pop people out of trouble. He DOES promise to be with us and to help us THROUGH trouble, but never to escape it in a grand Star Trek type beam-out. In fact, Jesus even said such a thing would not happen and prayed to the Father to prevent it.
"My prayer is NOT that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one."
- Jesus as quoted by John 17:15
The hope of the Christian, therefore, is in the miraculous AND DEPENDABLE deliverance of Jesus from all our troubles, NOT that we escape from them. Christ is with us so as to develop Christ-like character within us.
Romans 5:3-4, 1 Chron 29:17, Psalm 15:1-2, Titus 2:7-8 and Proverbs 17:3 to name just a few.
The rapture is a false doctrine which does not edify the church. Like all things demonic it focuses interest upon itself, not Christ.
Finally you should know that as Darby's doctrine became more and more popular he was drawn into illicit companionship. A man is known by the company he keeps and at one time Darby was the consort of witches.
Consider this very brief outline of the doctrinal dispute and by all means DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK on Darby, millenialism and the social changes that swept across America in the 19th century. Much false doctrine was born then including, but not limited to Darby and Darwin - doctrine and ideas which eventually would destroy western Christendom as it was known at the time.
and that's me, hollering from the choir loft...
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