Many teaching 3 & ½ peaceful years afore tribulation will be Shocked
3 and
½ years of Peace in a 7 year tribulation period will never Occur
Prior to An Islamic Jihad Antichrist Attacking Israel from Greater Syria
Please do Consider the Scriptures Describing 3 & ½ Tribulation Years
They Are THE Scriptures Describing The 3 and ½ Years Of Tribulation.
There’s NO Scripture Describing Any 3 & ½ Years As A Time of Peace
Because It Is a Nonentity Created by Incorrect Interpretation of The
Three HE’s In Daniel 9:27 which Refer Not to Antichrist, But to Jesus!
A Three & One Half Year Peace Treaty With Antichrist Won’t Happen!
October 27, 2011
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
The words translated as “they” and “them” refer to both Jew and Gentile in that it applies to all unbelievers, but it was, and still is, the Jews who were, and are, under a national veil of unbelief.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – For when THEY shall SAY, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon THEM, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
I believe it is quite possible they are not necessarily saying they “have peace,” but are crying out for it. If that is the case, I can truthfully say that the unbelieving of this world are currently saying “Peace and safety” with greater intensity than at any time since 1948,
In the four books I wrote in the seventies and early eighties, I believed it meant they “had” Peace and safety, but I now believe they keep on “saying” it because they are very desirous to receive it.
Begin Excerpt from DPA and The Associated Press vis Haaretz
Palestinian negotiator: Israel must agree to our terms, or no peace talks
Middle East Quartet representatives set to hold separate meetings on Wednesday with Israeli, Palestinian officials in Jerusalem.
By DPA and The Associated Press
Published 10:27 26.10.11
Palestinian officials expressed pessimism on Wednesday that scheduled meetings with representatives of the Middle East Quartet of international mediators would see Israeli-Palestinian direct peace talks get underway.
The Quartet – the United States,
European Union, Russia and the United Nations – is slated to hold separate meetings on Wednesday with Palestinian and Israeli officials at the UN headquarters in Jerusalem, to discuss the renewal of the deadlocked negotiations.
But Nabil Shaath, a member of the Palestinian negotiating team, said he did not foresee anything coming out of the talks.
“The Quartet, and particularly the U.S., does not seem to have a clear vision on how to restart negotiations,” he told Voice of Palestine Radio.
Palestinians have said they will not return to the talks until Israel stops all settlement activities in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, and recognizes the lines which existed before the Six Day War in 1967 as the borders of the future Palestinian state.
“Our demands are very clear and they will not change for any reason,” said Shaath, who is also a leading member in President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement.
Unless Israel complies with these conditions, he said, “we will not return to negotiations. There is just no use from them.”
Shaath said the Palestinian negotiating team would relay this message to the Quartet representatives, stressing that “the Quartet does not seem to understand that we will not return again to negotiations while the land is being stolen from under our feet.”
Israel has said it is prepared to sit down with the Palestinians at any time but only without conditions.
“Israel has welcomed the Quartet’s call for the resumption of direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians without preconditions,” Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Wednesday.
“And we hope to see the early resumption of such talks.”
The Quartet mission comes after the Palestinians asked the UN last month to recognize an independent state of Palestine. The request defied a U.S.-led effort to block the move, which is currently under review at the UN Security Council.
Immediately after the statehood application was submitted, the Quartet called for a
resumption of peace talks in a month, with the ambitious goal of reaching a peace agreement by late 2012.
Peace talks stalled three years ago, then resumed for a brief three weeks in September 2010 before collapsing after a 10-month Israeli freeze on settlement construction expired.
The deadlock prompted the Palestinians to seek statehood through the UN, where the move faces a threatened U.S.¬veto at the Security Council if the Palestinians manage to muster the required support of nine of the council’s 15 members.
Without Security Council backing, the most the Palestinians can hope for is a largely symbolic upgrade of their status at the UN to non-member observer state.
The Associated Press
THERE WILL NOT BE THREE AND ONE HALF YEARS MADE BY A PEACE TREATY BETWEEN THE ANTICHRIST AND ISRAEL PRIOR TO AN INITIAL ATTACK AGAINST ISRAEL! THE FOLLOWING PROPHETIC PERIODS OF THREE AND ONE HALF PROPHETIC YEAR PERIODS ALL REFER TO THE TIME OF TRIBULATION – NONE OF THEM REFER TO A TIME OF PEACE.
Please Consult Archive Prophecy Updates 230B, 231, 231A, 231B, 232, 232A, 232B, 232C, and 233
ISRAEL IS SURROUNED IN THE NEGEV FOR 3 & ½ PROPHETIC YEARS
Daniel 7:25 – And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
ISRAEL IS SCATTERED IN THE NEGEV FOR 3 & ½ PROPHETIC YEARS
Daniel 12:7 – And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
NON-JEW FORCES TRAMPLE JERUSALEM FOR 3 & ½ PROPHETIC YEARS
Revelation 11:2 – But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
THE 2 WITNESSES PROPHECY IN NEGEV FOR 3 & ½ PROPHETIC YEARS
Revelation 11:3 – And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
REVELATION SCATTERING OF ISRAEL INTO NEGEV FOR 3 & ½ YEARS
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
SATAN INDWELLS ANTICHRIST WHILE ISRAEL IN NEGEV 3 & ½ YEARS
Revelation 12:14 – And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
HIS BLASPHEMIES ARE HEARD DURING 3 & ½ PROPHETIC YEAR REIGN
Revelation 13:5 – And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
THE SCRIPTURE WHICH FOLLOWS IS THE MAIN BASIS USED BY MANY FOR DIVIDING A FICTITIIOUS 7 YEAR PERIOD INTO TWO 3 & ½ YEAR PERIODS, BUT THE FIRST 3 & ½ PERIOD DOES NOT EXIST, BECAUSE JESUS FULFILLED MORE THAN 3 YEARS OF IT DURING HIS EARTHLY MININSTRY. THE THREE “HE’s” IN DANIEL 9:27 ARE JESUS CHRIST, NOT THE ANTICHRIST.
Daniel 9:27 – And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
BEGIN ARCHIVE SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 123D
June 11, 2003
What a Difference a “HE” Makes!
Almost 30 years ago I accepted the Pastorate of Dardanelle MBC, while still a Seminary student. I attended the University of Arkansas in Little Rock and Arkansas Tech University during the summers of my time in Seminary because it did not offer summer courses. I graduated from the Seminary in 1975 while enrolled full time at Arkansas Tech University, from which I graduated and began teaching at Dardanelle High School in 1977. I have not changed my beliefs on any of the things I was taught in Seminary concerning salvation, security of the believer, the two church ordinances, or the local identity of the church. However, there are many things I once believed in prophecy, that I am no longer able to teach with any conviction. I came to Dardanelle MBC like Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail, believing I was ready to teach prophecy. As I studied the doctrines of salvation, the church, and the church ordinances I discovered realms of Scripture to validate what I had been taught, but when I began to search for Scriptures that would fit all the diagrams from which I was teaching prophecy, I found very few I did not have to distort. I retired as a synoptic analyst in the National Security Agency, and I know quite well how to put the pieces of a puzzle together to form a whole premise. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are called the Synoptic Gospels, and they can be pieced together synoptically into a Harmony of the Gospels. All the pieces of the salvation-church-ordinances puzzle came together and formed a perfect picture of conformity, but the many pieces of the prophecy puzzle simply would not mesh together, unless I symbolized or spiritualized to a massive degree. I found that in our work there was indeed agreement on the doctrines of salvation, the two church ordinances, and the church itself, but in prophecy I found “first of the weekers,” mid-tribbers,” “seventh trumpers,” “last of the weekers,” split rapturists,” and “progressive rapturists” – Or Pre, Mid, Seventh Trump, Post, Split, and Progressive positions. I knew there had to be a reason for these great divisions, and was hopeful that perhaps the answer might be found in a historical search to see if all of them have always existed and, if not, when did each one arise. What I found staggered me. Before 1740 only two positions were taught – The Last of the Week and the Seventh Trumpet – The Mid-Tribulation position was born in 1788 (See Updates 74A and 73D). During all my research I also discovered something that shocked me down to my toenails – Before 1800 the majority of Bible expositors believed that the “HE” in Daniel 9:27 is not the antichrist, but the true one, Jesus Christ. I am convinced they were correct.
Daniel 9:27 – And HE shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week HE shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations HE shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
I was fully aware of all this by 1992, but out of cowardice as to what I knew I would face from the bulk of my brethren, I would only teach it at the church I had pastored since 1974. My cowardice did not cause me to lie to the brethren – I simply stopped talking about the first three and one-half years of Daniel’s 70th week in my lectures, stopped presenting the worldwide antichrist empire that is taught today, and honed in on the last 1260 days of the tribulation period. I have believed the Seventh Trumpet position since 1982, and the “HE” of Daniel 9:27 as Jesus since 1992. Knowing that I must soon face my Savior, and give account of all I have taught from his Word, I decided to publicly declare what I believe about Daniel 9:27, for better or for worse.
Many of the men who taught me prophecy, whom I love and deeply respect, may well denounce me and regret ever having known me, but I will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ and, in all conscience, I cannot continue to keep this to myself. I was taught synoptic analysis in the AWS and NSA, and contextual analysis in Seminary. The synoptic subject of the contextual discourse in every verse of Daniel 9:24 to 27 is the Messiah the Prince, Jesus Christ. In verse 24 Jesus is “the most Holy” who is anointed. In verse 25 Jesus is “the Messiah the Prince.” In verse 26 Jesus is identified as “Messiah” who is cut off. And in verse 27 Jesus is the “he” who confirmed God’s blood covenant at his death in the “midst” of the last week of Daniel’s 70 weeks of years. Jesus has already confirmed most of the first three and one-half of the last week of seven prophetic years. The prophet Isaiah, who wrote some 150 years before Daniel, whose writings were probably in Daniel’s possession when he wrote during Babylonian captivity, wrote of the one who would fulfill the “covenant” of Daniel 9:27.
Isaiah 42:6 – I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Simeon clearly revealed Jesus as the one who had come to fulfill the covenant to his people Israel, and as a light to lighten the Gentiles.
Luke 2:25-32 – And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. [26] And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. [27] And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, [28] Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, [29] Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: [30] For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, [31] Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; [32] A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
The word “he” in Daniel 9:27 does not refer back to the “prince that shall come” in Daniel 9:26 – That prince has already come, and the ones he led destroyed the temple and the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The “he” refers not to a coming antichrist, but to the contextual subject of each verse from 24 to 27 – Messiah the Prince, Jesus Christ. I am not waiting for an antichrist to destroy a sanctuary that was destroyed in Jerusalem more than 1900 years ago. I am waiting for the return of a Messiah who was cut off for my sins in the “midst” of Daniel’s last week after having fulfilled most of the first three and one-half years of it. The covenant was finished when the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and a token sign of its fulfillment was manifested by resurrection of many of the Old Testament saints, who came out of their graves after his resurrection.
John 19:30 – When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Matthew 27:50-53 – Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. [51] And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; [52] And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, [53] And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
You will find a thorough verse-by-verse exposition of Daniel 9:24 to 27 in our Prophecy Archives in Prophecy Updates 55, 56, 57, and 58, but I will, in this Update, exposit on verse 27 as it relates to Christ.
Daniel 9:27 – And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
“He” is used three times. In each case it pertains to Jesus the Messiah. ”He” began to “confirm the covenant” with the “many” who would believe he was the one sent to confirm it when he was baptized in water by John, and he completed the covenant when he was crucified in his baptism by fire at Golgotha in the “midst” of Daniel’s 70th week, some three and one-half years after his water baptism. His water baptism pictured what would finish the covenant some three and one-half years later when he died, was buried, and then resurrected to complete the covenant. I am of the opinion he fulfilled the covenant during the first 1185 days of Daniel’s last week, and that the remaining 1335 days will begin when Israel actually believes it has “peace and safety.”
“He” caused “the sacrifice and oblation to cease” being acceptable to his Father when he became the true sacrifice that made void all the offerings, which had only pictured what he would do to confirm the covenant.
“He” made the Temple and its offerings spiritually desolate because of “the overspreading of abominations” he had twice cleaned out of it. The Temple had become a den of thieves and those who ministered in it had turned into blind guides.
Matthew 23:37,38 – O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Matthew 21:12,13 – And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, [13] And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Matthew 23:23,24 – Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. [24] Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
“He” has made the Temple and all its sacrifices “desolate, even unto the consummation” of this present age. They will not be restored until Jesus returns at his Second Advent.
Matthew 23:38,39 – Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
The “consummation” of this present age will end when “that determined will be poured upon the desolate” men and women of this present age of the Gentiles who are spiritually desolate, having not the Spirit of Christ.
And that determined will be poured out on the antichrist, who will be in a position where no one can help him, as well as his false prophet, and both will then be cast into a lake of fire burning with brimst
one. The battle of Armageddon is the consummation of this age, and the last days of the tribulation period will see Michael the Archangel deal with the forces of evil during the pouring out of the vials of wrath.
Romans 2:28,29 – For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: [29] But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Daniel 11:45 to 12:1 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. [1] And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Matthew 24:21 – For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Revelation 19:19,20 – And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. [20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Daniel 7:11 – I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
Daniel’s 70 weeks of years clock stopped ticking when Jesus the Messiah was cut off in the “midst” of the last week. The Hebrew word “midst” in a seven year week could mean any time between the end of the third year and the beginning of the fifth year, in other words, at any time during the fourth year. I believe Jesus fulfilled the first 1185 days of the 2520 days in Daniel’s 70th week, and only 1335 days remain. When the Israelis actually believe they have “peace and safety” enough to actually “say” it, then the clock will start to tick again, and they will thereafter be attacked some 1260 days before the final battle of Armageddon.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Revelation 11:2 – But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Revelation 13:5 – And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
I was astounded to discover how much of our prophetic teaching about the antichrist’s reign, the tribulation period, the time of the rapture, and a multiplicity of all things related to prophecy, are all tied primarily to the interpretation that the “he” of Daniel is the antichrist. I have made my choice – I believe the majority of the prophetic teachers before 1800 were correct – I believe the “he” is Jesus. This has been a hard choice for me to make – what a difference a “he” makes!
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 233A
THE 70 WEEKS OF DANIEL & THE RAPTURE POSITIONS!
Part 10
July 24, 2005
The Movement and Men behind Today’s Rapture Teachings!
What do you believe about the rapture and the tribulation period?
Today, many of the believers on this earth have a fixed set of beliefs on the subject, but have never examined the movement or the men who brought in what they believe. I hope that, whatever you believe about the rapture, you will check out what I am presenting in this Update.
1. Try and find any publication commenting on the Bible before 1740 that taught the HE’s in Daniel 9:27 were the future antichrist, which more than 95 percent of believers are taught it represents today
?
2. Try and find any publication commenting on the Bible before 1740 that taught a pre-tribulation or mid-tribulation rapture of the saved.
3. Try and find any publication before 1740 that divides Daniel’s 70th week of seven years into two 1260 day periods.
What is taught in more than 95 percent of believer’s circles today came into being after 1740.
Is it right? That’s your call! But you should be aware of when and where, and who, brought in what most believe today concerning these teachings. For a thorough and comprehensive outline of the who, what, why, when, and why these positions are taught as fact by the vast majority, please consult Archive Prophecy Updates 230B, 231, 231A, 231B, 232, 231A, 232B, 232C, and 233. What follows is an outline of a movement and the men who taught prophecy after it began.
The Great Evangelical Movement (“The Great Awakening”)
The Great Evangelical Movement began in the 1730’s, and John Wesley was the first great man associated with it when he was converted in 1738, coming out of the Church of England to become a part of the movement. You will not find the three prophecy teachings listed after paragraph one being taught before 1740. So how did these three things come to be today’s popular positions on the rapture and the antichrist?
The first man who lived during this movement that introduced a new teaching on the rapture was Morgan Edwards, who wrote an essay on it between 1742 and 1744, but said he taught it as early as 1740. Edwards was pastor in four churches after that in Ireland, England, and America before the book was finally published in 1788. The book was published in 1788 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In reality, Morgan’s book does not teach the rapture occurring before a seven year period made up of the seven years of Daniel’s 70th week, but rather a rapture that occurs 1260 days before Christ’s Second Advent, which really makes Morgan Edwards someone who would be labeled a “Mid-Tribber” today. So, the Evangelical Movement began in the 1730’s and he was the first man who began what led to the popular rapture teachings of today. At the time Edwards wrote his book there was no teaching that the antichrist was the “HE” who would come and fulfill the covenant of the last week of Daniel 9:27. But there was a teaching that Christ had already fulfilled the first half the 70th week, which would have opened the door for a teaching the antichrist could come to close out the last half of the week, only to be destroyed by the Second Advent of Christ. This could explain why Edwards did not have his rapture occurring seven years before the Second Advent, but rather 1260 days before it. He placed the rapture 1260 days before the Millennial Reign, not 2520 days, as in the Pre-Trib position, which came later. Actually, the 1788 published book was more of an essay published in “book” format from what Edwards had written between 1942 and 1944. It is quite possible he simply used Revelation 12:6 as the 1260 days that was to follow his rapture.
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
I knew the Pre-Trib Rapture did not originate with John Darby or with Margaret McDonald, because I found traces of it among some of the “Brethren” in Ireland before 1827, so I waited until I could discover the origin of the traces. I found the origin in Morgan Edwards, who was ordained to the ministry in Cork, Ireland on June 1, 1757. Darby, McDonald, and Edwards all had their influence during the time of the Great Evangelical Movement that began in the 1730’s and thereafter swept its religious fever across the world. The religious zeal of the movement today is still going strong in organizations led by many strong leaders pumping huge financial assets into mass media activity. Millions of individual contributors send their offerings to provide funding for the leader and the organization he or she heads. So, for all these reasons, I am going to give a brief history of Morgan Edwards.
The clergyman, Morgan Edwards., was born May 9, 1722 in Trevethin parish, Wales. He was educated at Bristol College in England from 1742 to 1744 where he wrote the essay of his views on prophecy in his eschatology class, which was later published in Philadelphia in 1788 under a long title: “Two Academical Exercises on Subjects Bearing the following titles – Millennium, Last Novelities.” He was ordained to the ministry in Cork, Ireland on June 1, June 1757. He came to America in 1761 and became pastor of a Baptist church in Philadelphia. Morgan resigned from the church in 1770, and never pastored thereafter, but continued to travel widely as an evangelist and lecturer. He is credited as being the founder of Rhode Island College, which is known today as Brown University. He was active in obtaining funds for the permanent support of the institution, and was one of its fellows from 1764 until 1789. He died in Pencador, Delaware in 1795. Does published evidence exist that the Pre-Trib rapture position was taught before 1740? Could be! And I will keep looking for such publications. However, at this point, all evidence I have found indicates it came out of the Evangelical Movement that began in the 1730s, and that Morgan Edwards, who would be labeled as a “Mid-Tribber today”, was the father of it.
Morgan Edward’s new teaching did not initially gain acceptance when he began to teach it in 1740, but some 87 years later, and some 39 years after his essay was published in 1788 in America, and as the “Brethren” movement grew in the United Kingdom, John Darby began the process of popularizing a modified version of it across England in 1827. His greatest barrier to break through was history, because he knew it had not been taught before 1740. Darby wrote into the doctrinal platform of the “Brethren” one innovation which still marks the “first of the week” distinctive today – a resistance against the lack of evidence it was taught before 1740. In his book, “Prophecy and the Church,” Allis quotes Darby as having said: “I do not want history to tell me Nineveh or Babylon or Jerusalem is in the hands of the Gentiles. I do not admit history to be, in any sense, necessary to the understanding of prophecy.” Please read the last paragraph in this Prophecy Update for a fuller explanation as to why Darby would naturally have disliked what was historically taught before “The Great Evangelical Movement.”
The man, who brought what is known today as the Pre-Trib rapture to the forefront of nineteenth century prophetic teaching, was John Darby of England who, in 1827, led the initial period of its popularity rise in England and then in the United States. Both Morgan and Darby lived and taught in the first 100 years of the Great Evangelical Movement. This movement swept into America in the nineteenth century and began to change the prophetic teachings that came over with the settlers of the eighteenth century. It was a time of movements and men, and the local churches were caught up in its fever and prophetic teachings. Today we see the local churches relegated to obscurity – it is a time of great men and great movements on the mass media networks of the world – and they are offering their prophetic teachings on the great media. – Great men and great organizations and great ministries and great results, but the things they teach about the rapture and Daniel 9:27 were not taught before 1740, as far as I have found in my research. Is what they teach on prophecy correct? It is your call! And every person should make up their own mind. But very few ever study it out for themselves. They approach the Scriptures with pre-conceived ideas from these great evangelical men and mold the Scripture into what they were taught by them, rather than letting their own study of the Scriptures mold what they believe. This generation is a generation led by great religious organizations and the great religious men who lead them. The age of the teachings of the first local churches is vanishing away. We have become individual followers of the teachings of individual men and women on the mass religious media, who teach and preach to what they believe to be a great universal, invisible church made up of all believers.
II Timothy 4:1-4 – I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; [2] Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. [3] For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Now, just suppose that I find a published document, dated prior to 1740 that teaches a Pre-Trib position existed before 1740. Am I supposed to then cast out all the thousands of the teachings of those who lived from the time of the completion of the New Testament until 1740, and put all my faith in that one lone teaching of a Pre-Trib position, that none of them ever heard of, or even thought of? Again, the call is yours! But I implore you to at least consider what you have read, and to be prepared in case the Pre-Trib rapture position is not correct. Jesus is coming – that is certain! When he is coming in regard to the tribulation period is not! So, I just get up every day hoping it will be the day of his coming. I have been advised by some I cannot do that if I am not a Pre-Tribber. Why not? I may not be correct about when I believe the rapture will occur in reference to the tribulation period. Is it not also possible you may not be correct in the position you hold? So, until the issue is finally settled by Jesus, why don’t we all teach what we believe about it, and do what Jesus said to do regarding his coming.
Mark 13:35-37 – Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: [36] Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. [37] And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
John Wesley, Morgan Edwards, and John Darby were three of the great men who lived during the first 100 years of what has come to be called The Great Evangelical Movement. The first trickling out of the local churches in the United Kingdom began in the late 1730’s, and slowly increased thereafter. After 1827 the trickling became a great flood, with many pulling out of the local churches in England and across Europe into movements led by men. These movements accelerated the growth of the concept of a universal church made up of all believers. The great Evangelical Movement swept across the United States after 1827 and literally engulfed it after the publication of Scofield’s Bible in 1909. The prophecy teachings on the first of the week rapture, brought in by the Evangelical Movement, began to penetrate into local churches around the world quite noticeably after 1850, and within 100 years it virtually became a doctrinal position in many local churches, and some began to consider those who believed otherwise to be heretics.
People did not have to come out of a local church into some movement to hear it. It had become the most popular teaching in the local churches by 1912. In fact many of the present local denominational and non-denominational churches came into existence during the Great Evangelical Movement, being organized by men who came out of this movement that began in the 1730’s.
One of the great men of the Great Evangelical Age, which is in full swing today, was Dr. Scofield, whose Bible with his footnotes was published in 1909 and became the most widely read in the world. It has influenced more men and women than any other Bible (with its own commentary) than can be realized this side of heaven. What and who influenced what you believe, and have you ever checked out what you believe about the rapture from a historical standpoint? The call as to what you believe is yours, not mine, nor any other man. But I most certainly do try to persuade men, and am acutely aware that I will stand before Jesus to give account of it. And I do indeed hope that my reason for doing this is made manifest to you.
II Corinthians 5:10,11 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. [11] Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Since I have mentioned Dr. Scofield in many of my Archive Prophecy Updates, I should at least give you a brief history of the man. Cyrus Ingersoll Scofield (1843 to 1921) was ordained in Dallas, Texas, October 1883, where he began his ministry as Pastor of the First Congregational Church. He produced the Scofield Reference Bible and the Scofield Bible Correspondence Course. His Reference Bible was completed in 1907 and published in 1909. He is one of the “Christian Hero Trading Cards” (#2311) by Ed Reese.
Since I have made several references to John Nelson Darby in previous Updates, it would also be appropriate to include some information about his life. I have chosen to take this extract from the account given by William E. Cox, which follows:
BEGIN EXTRACT OF WILLIAM E.
COX ACCOUNT
It is impossible to understand fully the dispensational view of eschatology apart from some history of its origin and main spokesmen. Biographers of John Darby refer to him as the father of modern dispensationalism.
Around 1825 many dissenting groups were beginning to pull away from the established churches in different parts of Europe. The three paramount centers seem to have been Dublin, Ireland, and Plymouth and Bristol in England.
The leaders of this movement recognized the pen as being “mightier than the sword,” and turned out an abundance of literature publicizing their new beliefs. Darby referred to the church as “the Brethren.” The headquarters for the printing of the Brethren was in Plymouth. Thus, it followed naturally for this new denomination to be called Plymouth Brethren, and the name stuck.
Darby was not the founder of the Brethren movement, although he became its dominant leader and shaped its history. Even though there were many great names associated with the movement, they all were dwarfed, and his name continues in the minds of friend and foe alike. By 1830 he was in complete control of the movement and definitely shaped its dispensational doctrines. That his leadership was unshakable is evident from the fact that, although he made many bitter enemies among the founders of the movement, no man was able to unseat him. Many indeed tried, but themselves were forced either to buckle to Darby or leave the group.
The “father of modern dispensationalism” was born John Nelson Darby in Ireland, in the year 1800, and died in 1882. He was an honor student in Westminster and Trinity College, where he studied law. He was a successful lawyer until the age of twenty-seven, at which time he gave up his law practice to become a curate in the Church of England. He followed this profession until the time he joined the Brethren movement about 1827.
Darby’s biographers say he was eccentric, homely, crippled, and had a deformed face, yet that he possessed a magnetic personality and a keen organizing ability. The man was indefatigable, having been known to travel, it is said, for days while living on acorns. He c ame from
a family background of education, culture, and social standing. He apparently was blessed with a keen mind. William Blair Neatby, who was critical of the movement headed by Darby, described him (A History of the Plymouth Brethren, p. 192) as follows:
‘No doubt Darby had many perfectly intelligible titles to success. His attainments were great and varied, apart from his classic and theological scholarship.
He could write and speak in several modern languages, and translated the whole Bible into French and German.’
While convalescing from injuries received when his horse threw him, Darby was convinced of the authority of Scripture and the importance of prophetic teachings. He was especially impressed by the thirty-second chapter of Isaiah, which he referred to as describing “a state of things in no way established as yet.”
In spite of his belief in the authority of the Scriptures, Darby retained some of his old Anglican beliefs. For example, Neatby says of him (ibid., p. 63): “…Darby alone among the earlier Brethren remained a pedobaptist.”
Darby wrote into the doctrinal platform of the Brethren one innovation which still marks the dispensational school today. We refer to his disregard of and actual contempt for history. In his book, Prophecy and the Church, p. 26, Allis quotes Darby as having said:
‘I do not want history to tell me Nineveh or Babylon is ruined or Jerusalem is in the hands of the Gentiles. I do not admit history to be, in any sense, necessary to the understanding of prophecy.’
The Plymouth Brethren, when first organized, had two main distinctives: (1) theirs was an ecumenical movement, and (2) they sought to do away with an ordained clergy and anything which even resembled organization within the local church. They were opposed to music or any type of ritual in the church service. Darby’s watchword, according to his biographers, was “the union of the children of God.” The Brethren frowned on ordination as constituting a man-made ministry, and the very word “Brethren” was an attempt to get away from denominationalism.
While the subject of the Lord’s second coming soon came to dominate the dispensational school, it scarcely entered into their thinking at the very first. Their two main starting ecumenicity, and looseness of organization-may be seen from the following quotations.
‘We should come together in all simplicity as disciples, not waiting on any pulpit or ministry, but trusting that the Lord would edify us together, by ministering as He pleased, and saw good from the midst of ourselves (Thomas S. Veitch, ‘The Brethren Movement’).’
‘That ordination of any kind to preach the Gospel is no requirement of Scripture (Neatby).’
Following his break with the Church of England and his joining the Brethren movement, Darby, along with the rest of the Brethren, claimed to have been given many “rediscovered truths.” These alleged truths supposedly had been taught by the apostles, then lost sight of. Even the great Reformers had not known of these doctrines. These “rediscovered truths” were, in fact, the direct opposite of all historic Christian teachings proclaimed by the Reformers and extant commentaries. Notice was given to the world at large that everyone should look on all previous post-apostolic teachings as false, and that only the “rediscovered truths” of the Brethren should be embraced.’
END EXTRACT FROM WILLIAM E. COX ACCOUNT
I had been exposed to what I now believe about Daniel’s 70 weeks of years and the rapture as a young man. I lived in England from 1958 to 1961, which is the land of ancient books commenting about prophecy in countless old book stores and, if they have not diminished in number at the libraries of Oxford and Cambridge, they have thousands of them. After my retirement from the USAF Branch of the National Security Agency, I sat under teachers in the early seventies that I greatly admire. I could tell that two of them, through comments they casually made, knew about the pre-1740 teachings. While in Seminary I never argued with anything that was taught from entrance to graduation.
I simply sat still and soaked in as much as I could. I was there to learn, and not to argue or teach – they were the teachers and I was the “teachee.” I still love and respect them all, both dead and living, and am hopeful I cause them no grief by what I teach about Daniel’s 70 Weeks and the rapture. I suspect that two of them held positions at least similar to what I believe on the two aforementioned subjects, but may never know this side of heaven if that is true.
I kept waiting for some well-known respected man in our work to issue something about the pre-1740 teachings on the two subjects I have been addressing. I certainly did not want to be the Long Ranger. I am no different from other men – I want to be accepted and loved by the rest of my brethren, and I knew I would be rejected and spurned by many of them if I presented what you have just read in this Update. So I waited, and waited, and waited, and then waited some more. All this time the Lord kept bothering me about not telling the brethren what I believed, but I knew what would happen if I did, and simply fought him off, with a promise of doing it in the future. I never lied about what I believed, I just refrained from teaching anything about the first three and one half years of peace, and only talked about what the antichrist would do during the last three and one years. I would run my laser pointer up and down across the horizontal length of Clarence Larkin’s two box diagrams, saying, “now that’s where the rapture will occur,” which usually got a laugh. In my books I had the rapture occurring after the opening of the sixth seal, because I really did not know when the seventh trumpet would actually sound in the juxtaposition of the seals and vials. At that time I was not satisfied in the way I had the seals, the trumpets, and the vials aligned and overlapped. I was never satisfied with parts of the diagrams I put in my second book, but did the best I could in making them as compatible as possible in my uncertainty of the seal, trumpet, and vial alignment. I did not come to what I believe to be the proper alignment until about 1992. You will find what I came to believe in Archive Prophecy Update 146E in diagrammatic format. Then, I passed 70 years of age in 2002, and my conscience, in not revealing what I believed, was eaten down to the quick. I realized at that point I was going to have to give up and do it, because I knew I would have to face Christ at his judgment seat, and I was aware at age 70 my end was drawing very near. Well, now my conscience is clear with the Lord, and I hope my reason for issuing this 10 Part Series is also clear in your consciences.
II Corinthians 5:11 – Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Tom McElmurry, Pastor, Dardanelle, Arkansas
THE HATE OF ISLAM FOR JEWS IS TOO GREAT TO HAVE PEACE UNTIL JESUS COMES AT HIS SECOND ADVENT.
Begin Excerpt from MEMRI
Middle East Media Research Institute
Special Dispatch Number 4212
October 18, 2011
Following the Shalit Deal – Hamas-Affiliated Columnists: There Will Be More Abductions; Fatah-Affiliated Website: Shalit a Monster Who Carried On the Legacy of His Ancestors, the Apes and Pigs; Al-Ahram: No to Further Abductions
Following the signing of the deal in which Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was to be exchanged for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, many articles on Hamas-affiliated websites called the deal a victory and stated that it proved the effectiveness of the strategy of resistance. They urged to kidnap more Israeli soldiers in order to liberate the remaining Palestinian prisoners.
A website affiliated with Fatah published a venomous article about Shalit which described him as a murderer and a monster who “carried on the legacy of his fathers, the apes and pigs.”
On the other hand, an editorial in the Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram called on the Palestinians to honor the deal and its positive outcomes, but to refrain from urging and engaging in further abductions. It called on Israel to honor the deal as well, and to refrain from re-arresting the liberated prisoners or seeking retribution against them.[1]
Fatah-Affiliated Website: Shalit Spent His Time in Bars and Brothels, and Engaged in Robbery, Murder, and Rape
An article published on a Fatah-affiliated website, by journalist Sami Foda, stated: “[Gilad Shalit is] a young man who spent his time in bars and brothels, playing games and pampering himself. He enjoyed the pleasures of a land not his own. He went around robbing, stealing, torching, raping, trampling, and desecrating the soil of this land that is not his own. He viciously strove to shed the blood of the martyrs, killed innocent people, shelled the homes of innocent people with tanks, destroying them without shame, mercy, or pangs of conscience, a stupid murderer who did not mind killing our elderly, our men, our youth, and our women, and even our poor children, [so] pure and innocent.
“This soldier was a waif born in a shelter as a result of the deterioration and disintegration of Israeli society. A Zionist soldier, he became seeped with Zionism to the bone… [He is] a gullible [boy], the genetic grandson of the Zionist leaders by virtue of his affiliation with, and loyalty to, his Nazi leaders. This monster joined the army of Zionist gangs, to carry on the legacy of his fathers, the apes and pigs of the Haganah, Irgun, Stern, and Palmach organizations, in order to carry out the orders of his fascist masters. That was the Zionist soldier Gilad Shalit, 19 years-old when he was captured by the Palestinian resistance.
“This incompetent soldier became the most prized soldier in all the armies of the world. He entered the annals of history through the widest gate, and his name went down in the Guinness Book of World Records… The world was in turmoil as the Arab leaders, the West, and the monstrous mini-state [Israel] waged a five-year publicity and marketing campaign throughout the world in an attempt to liberate the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit… He was a focus of interest for journalists and political and military analysts in all the electronic and printed media, while the conscience of those flaccid leaders remained unmoved by the [plight of] our courageous heroes and glorious prisoners hidden away in the dungeons of the enemy’s strongholds.”[2]
Hamas Official: Goodbye Shalit, Hello New Prisoner
In an article posted on the website of Al-Aqsa TV, Dr. Mustafa Yousef Al-Liddawi, formerly Hamas’s representative in Syria and Lebanon, expressed hopes that more Israeli soldiers would be abducted to replace Shalit: “Today, as we say goodbye to Shalit, we hope to welcome [back] all our prisoners, to free all our prisoners, to end their period of incarceration in the [jails] of the occupation, and to prevent the arrest of many others and the return [of the freed prisoners] to the shackles of captivity. As we say goodbye to Shalit, we hope to welcome a new guest, to capture a new soldier, to hurt the enemy in a way that will humiliate and distress him, to pull his soldiers from their tanks and even shoot down their planes, to destroy their vehicles and to lead them, handcuffed, to our jails. This, in order to… liberate those whom the enemy is [still] holding in his prisons and whom he refuses to free because they have shed his blood, humiliated him, killed the best of his soldiers, rubbed the noses of his crack units in the dirt, and forced his leaders to surrender and accept their terms. Goodbye, Shalit, and hello to the new prisoner who will replace you and by means of whom we will humiliate your army and your leadership. We will not surrender, give up or disdain [our duty] until we get back the last of our prisoners and destroy the last of the detention facilities that the enemy has constructed on our own soil…”[3]
Hamas Columnists: Shalit Will Not Be the Last Hostage
Many writers affiliated with Hamas likewise called to abduct more Israeli soldiers, stating that the Shalit deal will not be the last and that it has proved the efficacy of the path of resistance.
Iyad Al-Qara, a columnist for the Hamas-affiliated daily Falastin, wrote: “After the imminent completion of the ‘Loyalty to the Free’ deal [Hamas’s name for the Shalit deal], the resistance will be able to stage further attacks… and repeat ‘Operation Fading Illusion’ [Hamas’s name for Shalit’s abduction] so as to capture more soldiers or settlers in order to liberate all the prisoners from the jails of the occupation. This [is an effective strategy], especially considering that any new abduction will be carried out and completed swiftly, because the [present] deal has laid down the framework for negotiating with the occupation for the liberation of all [our] prisoners from its jails.”
Dalastin columnist Hisham Munawwar wrote: “The ‘Loyalty to the Free’ deal, in which the largest number of Palestinian prisoners ever to be exchanged for a single soldier will be liberated from the prisons of the occupation, is not the first [deal] in the history of the exchange deals, and, as the resistance factions have promised, it will not be the last, Allah willing, until every Palestinian prisoner has been liberated… This deal proves that resistance is the only way to restore the Palestinian rights and liberate the prisoners…”[4]
Kamal Jaber wrote on a Hamas-affiliated website: “True, Gilad had many friends who trod the same path before him, and underwent the same experience at the hands of the Al-Qassam [Brigades]: Avi Sasportas, Ilan Sa’adon, Nissim Toledano, Yaron Chen, Sharon Edri, and many others. Each one of them tried to write the winning chapter in the story of Al-Qassam, but Shalit had the tremendous fortune [to be the one who got] to tell this magnificent tale. Bless the Al-Qassam [Brigades]. May the heroic prisoners enjoy [their freedom], and may we have a new Shalit every year.”[5]
Journalist Tamer Al-Sharif wrote in his column in Falastin: “This deal will not be the last, and will spark much activity and intense competition among the Palestinian factions, [each of them] trying to repeat it.”[6]
Article in Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood Daily: Hamas Must Capture a New Hostage
Jamal Al-Shawahin, a regular columnist for Al-Sabil, the daily of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood, wrote: “The Hamas movement must secure a new prisoner in order to free additional [Palestinian] prisoners from the jails of the occupation, because those who will not be released as part of the Shalit deal now feel and understand that their salvation depends on [the capture of] a new prisoner. This great national duty must be fulfilled, if not by Hamas then by any other organization…
“The latest [prisoner] exchange deal was great and magnificent… a victory for the Hamas movement and the entire Palestinian people. It confirms that continuing the resistance is the [right] path and option [to take] until the Palestinian rights are restored in full, without exception…
“The freed prisoners will be birds of freedom and torches to light the fire of resistance, and they are the incontrovertible proof that the Palestinian right[s] will only be restored through resistance…”
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Ahram (Egypt), October 16, 2011.
[2] Alaahd.com, October 16, 2011.
[3] Aqsatv.ps, October 16, 2011.
[4] Falastin (Gaza), October 15, 2011.
[5] Palestine-info.info, October 13, 2011.
[6] Falastin (Gaza), October 14, 2011.
[7] Al-Sabil (Jordan), October 14, 2011.
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