M
Metaron
Guest
It may come as a surprise to many Christians, but the doctrine of the Rapture is not mentioned in any writings until after the year 1830 A.D. Whether the early writers were Greek or Latin, Armenian or Coptic, Syrian or Ethiopian, English or German, orthodox or heretic, no one mentioned a syllable about it. But if the doctrine were so clearly stated in Scripture, it seems incredible that no one should have referred to it before the 19th century. This does not necessarily show that the teaching is wrong, but it does mean that thousands of eminent scholars who lived over a span of seventeen centuries (including some of the most astute of the Church Fathers and even of the Protestants) must be considered as prophetic dunces for not having understood so “fundamental” a teaching. This lapse of seventeen centuries when no one mentioned anything about it must be a serious obstacle to its reliability.
The orgins of this unbiblical doctrine are among the Irvingites, or neo-Montanists (A heresy condemned in the early Church) when a certain Irvingite woman.
The “power of the Holy Spirit” was said to have rested on a Miss Margaret Macdonald while she was in a state of illness at home. She was dangerously sick and thought she was dying. In spite of this (or perhaps because she is supposed to have come under “power” of the Spirit for several successive hours during which she experienced the manifestations of “mingled prophecy and vision.” The message she received during this prophetic vision convinced her that Christ was going to appear in two stages at His second coming – and not one! The emanation revealed that Christ would first come in glory to them that look for Him and again in a final stage when every eye would see Him. It was this visionary experience of Miss Macdonald which represents the primary source of the modern Rapture doctrine as the historical evidence compiled by Mr. MacPherson abundantly shows.
Many people have thought that John Darby, the founder of the Plymouth Brethren, was the originator of the Rapture doctrine. This is not the case. It was the doctrine of “Dispensationalism” which he brought to the attention of the Protestants.
It had long been thought by many Christians that the Rapture doctrine originated with John Darby. It is now known that this is not true. Darby only popularized it. Scofield and others who took over Darby’s mantle later helped to make it respectable, Today, many of those in the evangelical sphere of Christianity are so certain of its veracity that it is accepted as the absolute truth of God. The fact is, however, John Darby received the knowledge of the doctrine from someone else. The source was the Margaret Macdonald mentioned above.
The studies of Mr. MacPherson show that her sickness during which she received her visions and revelations occurred sometime between February 1 and April 14, 1830. And by late spring and early summer of 1830, her belief in the two phases of Christ’s coming was being mentioned in praise and prayer meetings in several towns of western Scotland. In these meetings some people were speaking in “tongues” and other “charismatic” occurrences were in evidence. These strange events in western Scotland so attracted John Darby that he made a trip to the area to witness himself what was going on. Though he did not approve of the ecstatic episodes that he witnessed. it is nonetheless significant that Darby, after returning from Scotland, began to teach that Christ’s second coming would occur in two phases. MacPherson shows good evidence that Darby had even visited Miss Macdonald in her home. There can hardly he any doubt that the visions of Miss Macdonald are the source of the modern doctrine.
The orgins of this unbiblical doctrine are among the Irvingites, or neo-Montanists (A heresy condemned in the early Church) when a certain Irvingite woman.
The “power of the Holy Spirit” was said to have rested on a Miss Margaret Macdonald while she was in a state of illness at home. She was dangerously sick and thought she was dying. In spite of this (or perhaps because she is supposed to have come under “power” of the Spirit for several successive hours during which she experienced the manifestations of “mingled prophecy and vision.” The message she received during this prophetic vision convinced her that Christ was going to appear in two stages at His second coming – and not one! The emanation revealed that Christ would first come in glory to them that look for Him and again in a final stage when every eye would see Him. It was this visionary experience of Miss Macdonald which represents the primary source of the modern Rapture doctrine as the historical evidence compiled by Mr. MacPherson abundantly shows.
Many people have thought that John Darby, the founder of the Plymouth Brethren, was the originator of the Rapture doctrine. This is not the case. It was the doctrine of “Dispensationalism” which he brought to the attention of the Protestants.
It had long been thought by many Christians that the Rapture doctrine originated with John Darby. It is now known that this is not true. Darby only popularized it. Scofield and others who took over Darby’s mantle later helped to make it respectable, Today, many of those in the evangelical sphere of Christianity are so certain of its veracity that it is accepted as the absolute truth of God. The fact is, however, John Darby received the knowledge of the doctrine from someone else. The source was the Margaret Macdonald mentioned above.
The studies of Mr. MacPherson show that her sickness during which she received her visions and revelations occurred sometime between February 1 and April 14, 1830. And by late spring and early summer of 1830, her belief in the two phases of Christ’s coming was being mentioned in praise and prayer meetings in several towns of western Scotland. In these meetings some people were speaking in “tongues” and other “charismatic” occurrences were in evidence. These strange events in western Scotland so attracted John Darby that he made a trip to the area to witness himself what was going on. Though he did not approve of the ecstatic episodes that he witnessed. it is nonetheless significant that Darby, after returning from Scotland, began to teach that Christ’s second coming would occur in two phases. MacPherson shows good evidence that Darby had even visited Miss Macdonald in her home. There can hardly he any doubt that the visions of Miss Macdonald are the source of the modern doctrine.
