John Nelson Darby and the "Rapture Gospel"

So let me get this straight. Jesus is supposed to come again to take us out of the earth any day before a 7 year period of time known as the great tribulation begins, where the antichrist rules the whole world, creating a one world government. Then Jesus comes AGAIN to establish his earthly millenial kingdom. And after a thousand more years have passed, we get judged at the great white throne judgment, and then the new heavens and the new earth are created. Great! But there's one problem. That's not the biblical view!

There, I said it! I don't believe in the pre-tribulation rapture viewpoint that has infiltrated Evangelical churches. And these churches still teach this today.

*takes a deep breath* Alright, let me slow down and let's start at the beginning. I have plenty of gripes and issues with this viewpoint. This is a viewpoint that's known as Dispensational Premillennialism. You hear this view all the time from Evangelical Christians. I used to assume that it was what every Christian believed. But after I became a Christian myself and read the bible, I just don't see it at all. It confused me how on earth someone could get a doctrine like this from the bible. So when did Dispensationalism start? Who invented it?

I know exactly who invented it. The inventor of Dispensational Premillennialism is a man known as John Nelson Darby. Him and the Plymouth Brethren are the ones that came up with it and since then it was popularized. But it was even more popularized in the 20th century with the publication of the "Scofield Reference Bible". This is the view you see in popular media such as the "Left Behind" novels and movies. But I don't believe that's the correct biblical interpretation.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is the famous "rapture passage" that these dispensationalists constantly point at. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

What "alive and remain" means is to survive. Survive what? A pre-tribulation rapture? Nah, that's silly because that's too merciful. I believe the church is going to go through tribulation rather than escape it. Let's look at verses 29-31 in Matthew 24.

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
When does it say the elect are gathered? After the tribulation of those days. Not before it. Why should the Church expect to escape tribulation when really it would make the Church stronger? And it would make sense for God to sort out the wheat from the tares. 
These are only basic proofs against the pre-tribulation rapture. There is another form of Premillennialism known as Historic Premillennialism. This is the earliest view of the end times that was present in the first three centuries of the church, and has been held by early church father Justin Martyr. This form of Premillennialism holds that the Church is raptured after the tribulation period and not before it. The early church did not teach Dispensational Premillennialism anywhere. Dispensational Premillennialism is a modern doctrine that has invaded the church.
But still to this day, I have a lot of questions. I have heard that the idea of the tribulation period being 7 years long also comes from dispensationalism. Along with their idea of the antichrist and the new world order. So how long is the tribulation period really? What is the antichrist like? Who or what is the antichrist? What will the real end times be like? But what I do know for sure, I firmly believe tribulation cannot be escaped. We will go through it. I don't believe we'll be raptured before that happens. 
What the dispensationalists have done is that they have created a new gospel. The "Rapture Gospel". This gospel says "You have to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior or you'll be left behind to face tribulation! And horrible things are going to happen and you don't want to be there!". That's not my gospel. Not the gospel I know. The real gospel says that Jesus Christ came to die on the cross for our sins. By accepting Him as our Lord and Savior, we are delivered from sin and death. And also from God's Wrath in hell. 
There's also two other views other than Premillennialism. There's also Postmillennialim which teaches Christ returns after we make the world better and better through the spreading of the gospel. And also Amillennialism which teaches that the Millennium is symbolic of the current church age. 
Maybe someday I'll go over all these views of the end times in more detail. But the point of this blog is to give my brief gripes on this viewpoint and basic proofs against it. I believe the pre-tribulation rapture is unbiblical, and that's that. I've been shying away from it for too long. But now God is giving me a push. He is giving me the courage to speak my mind instead of being afraid all the time. I didn't create this channel to entertain you. I created this channel to speak my mind and speak the truth. I don't care what anyone thinks of me. This is my channel, my ministry, I get to decide what I want to do with it. So whether you want to continue to be subscribed or not is up to you, but I'm not going to let up. I'm going to be honest with my opinions instead of trying to be popular by trying to cater to everyone without offending anyone. The truth is not popular. If the world hates me, then it hated Jesus first. 
Anyways, I'm done ranting and rambling. This is Ethan Horn, this was Godly Dragon Reviews and Apologetics, and you have a blessed day! 


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