The Origins of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture
The Pre-Tribulational Rapture ultimately finds its origins in the New Testament Revelation concerning the mystery (1 Corinthians 15:51-54) that had always been part of God's overall plan for history (Ephesians 2-3), but had been hidden until Christ revealed it to His apostles in "The Upper Room Discourse" (John 13-17) shortly before His death (John 14:1-3).
Biblical Foundation
The Pre-Tribulation Rapture has Biblical authority—it doesn't matter when it originated or what twists and turns made it clear. The pre-tribulational interpretation regards the coming of the Lord and the Translation of the church as preceding immediately the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy of a final seven-year period before the Second Advent.
Based on a literal interpretation of Daniel's prophecy, it is held that there has been no fulfillment of Daniel 9:27 in history and that therefore it prophesies a future period, familiarly called "the tribulation." The seven years of Daniel, bringing to a close the program of Israel prior to the Second Advent, will therefore be fulfilled between the translation of the church and the Second Advent of Christ to establish His kingdom on earth.
At the translation, before the seven years, Christ will return with His church from heaven to establish His millennial reign on earth.
Different Theories of Origin
Many "historians" make bold claims about the original history of Pre-Tribulationism. Anti-Rapture advocates have claimed such tainted sources for Pre-Tribulationism as:
- Jesuit Emanuel Lacunza in 1790
- Edward Irving
- Various other members of Irving's congregation
- A prophecy by an adult lady at Irvingite service in 1830
- Most famous false claim: supposedly given by a fifteen-year-old Scottish young woman named Margaret MacDonald in the spring of 1830
Important Note: If any one of these were actually true, then the others would have to be false. Apparently none of these speculative theories were convincing enough to anti-rapturists, so they continued to produce new ones.
Recent Attacks
Recently, a pre-wrath advocate Marvin Rosenthal wrote that the Pre-Tribulation Rapture was of satanic origin and unheard of before 1830. Rosenthal says, "Satan the father of lies, gave to a fifteen-year-old girl named Margaret MacDonald a lengthy vision." Without documentation or correct source, Rosenthal is relying upon the questionable work of Dave MacPherson.
Over a quarter of a century, John Bray and Dave MacPherson have probably been the most outspoken disseminators of various origin of the Rapture propaganda. Apparently the longer one opposes Pre-Tribulationism, the more he appears to be attracted to the various "historical" theories being developed concerning the origins of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.
Dave MacPherson, the dean of anti-Rapture propaganda, has long argued that Pre-Tribulationism was invented through a prophecy of a fifteen-year-old girl—Margaret MacDonald—who attended Irving's church, and that J.N. Darby stole the idea from her in an underhanded fashion.
The Historical Argument
One of the commonly repeated reasons for opposing pretrib is that it is a new and novel doctrine beginning no earlier than John Nelson Darby. Alexander Reese, an outstanding opponent of pre-tribulationism, stated that it is "a series of doctrines that had never been heard of before"—that is, before the nineteenth century.
Reese charged that the followers of Darby "sought to overthrow what, since the Apostolic Age, have been considered by all premillennialists as established results."
The Development of Doctrine
The fact is that the development of most important doctrines took centuries, and it is not surprising that even in the twentieth century new light should be cast on our understanding of scripture.
It is not to be wondered at that details of eschatology, always difficult, should unfold slowly. Many people believe that the antiquity of a doctrine gives credence and enhances truthfulness beyond that of a more recent doctrine.
Key Principle: History of a doctrine is important, however its importance is mainly in discovering how people formulated it, discussed it, or perverted it. Whether it is old or new, to be true, a doctrine must be in the Bible, not simply in church history—past or recent. Some of the early church fathers taught baptismal regeneration, but that does not make it a true doctrine. The early church did not spell out a Pre-Tribulation Rapture—that scarcely makes it an untrue doctrine.
Development in eschatology recently did not come to preeminence until the modern period of church history, which began after the reformation.
The Rise of Pre-Tribulationism
George Eldon Ladd's Account
George Eldon Ladd, though an opponent of Pre-Tribulation Rapture, provides this historical account:
"A second outgrowth of the prophetic awakening of the early nineteenth century was Darbyism, or Dispensationalism, which had its birth within the Plymouth Brethren movement. A Pre-Tribulation Rapture is an essential element of this system."
The Brethren movement had its beginnings in Dublin in 1825 when a small group of earnest men, dissatisfied with the spiritual condition of the Protestant church in Ireland, met for prayer and fellowship. In 1827, J.N. Darby entered the fellowship.
Although there was an interest from the start in prophetic truth, its center of emphasis was "the nature and unity of the church of Christ" (the title of Darby's first tract) in reaction to the deadness and formalism of the organized church and the ordained ministry.
Key Figures in the Plymouth Brethren
Outstanding among the new groups which arose in Ireland and England was the fellowship in Plymouth from which the movement derived its name.
- B.W. Newton: Leader of the Plymouth fellowship for many years, a man of considerable learning and scholarship
- S.P. Tregelles: Recognized by the entire world of Biblical Scholarship for his contribution to the study of the history of the Greek text of the New Testament
- George Müller: The great man of prayer
- J.N. Darby (1800-82): Saw the church as a special work of God, distinct from the program for Israel. This truth integrated with his pre-millennial eschatology, led him to believe that the rapture would occur before the tribulation and that, during the tribulation, God would turn again to deal specially with Israel
Edward Irving: Examining the Claims
Attempts have been made to discredit Darby's Pre-tribulation view by claiming that he did not get it from the Bible but from a heretic and a mystic.
About Edward Irving (1792-1834)
- Deposed in 1833 from the Church of Scotland on the charge that he held to the sinfulness of Christ's humanity
- Prior to this, manifestations of tongues and healing appeared in his church in London
- His congregation had become a rallying point for millennial expectations
Important Distinction: The Irvingite eschatology is unclear. The Irvingites did NOT teach:
- Imminency
- That the seventieth week of Daniel would intervene between the Rapture and the Second Advent
These were doctrines that Darby clearly taught in the Powerscourt conference of 1833.
A Historian's Verdict:
"Darby's opponents claimed that the doctrine [of the rapture] originated in one of the outbursts of tongues in Edward Irving's church about 1832. This seems to be a groundless and pernicious charge. Neither Irving nor any member of the Albury group advocated any doctrine resembling the secret rapture. As we have seen, they were all historicists, looking for the fulfillment of one or another prophecy in the Revelation as the next step in the divine time table, anticipating the second coming of Christ soon but not immediately. There is no connection between Darby's Pre-Tribulationism and the Irvingite teaching."
Margaret MacDonald: The Truth About Her "Vision"
This mystic was an adolescent named Margaret MacDonald (1815-40), who lived in Port Glasgow, Scotland, and who, it is alleged, influenced both the Irvingites and Darby with regards to Pre-Tribulation rapture. That is the charge leveled by Dave MacPherson in "The Incredible Cover-Up."
Excerpts from Margaret MacDonald's 1830 Account
Let me quote excerpts from MacPherson's report of Margaret MacDonald's hand written account of her 1830 pre-tribulation revelation, that we may see if she in fact did teach a pre-tribulation rapture:
"The spiritual temple must and shall be reared, and the fullness of Christ be poured into his body, and then shall we be caught up to meet him..."
"The trial of the church is from Anti-Christ. It is by being filled with the spirit that we shall be kept..."
"O it is not known what the sign of the son of man is—I saw it was just the Lord himself descending from Heaven with a shout..."
"Now will The Wicked be revealed, with all power and signs and lying wonders, so that if it were possible the very elect will be deceived—This is the fiery trial which is to try us."
Charles Ryrie's Analysis
Charles Ryrie explains this perfectly:
- Partial Rapture: This adolescent distinguished spiritual believers from other believers and saw only the spiritual ones participating in the rapture. MacPherson wrongly concluded from this that MacDonald meant to teach a Secret coming. In reality, she was teaching the partial-rapture view.
- Church Enduring Tribulation: She saw the Church ("us") being purged by Anti-Christ. MacPherson reads this to mean that the Church will be raptured before Anti-Christ arises, ignoring the "us." In reality, MacDonald saw the Church enduring Antichrist's persecution of the tribulation days.
- Confused Timing: MacDonald identified the sign of the coming of the son of man (Matt. 24:30), which clearly appears at the end of the tribulation, as being seen at the same time as the rapture. MacPherson says MacDonald either believed in a very short Tribulation period, or, more likely to him, she understood that only spirit-filled believers would see the sign before the wicked one was revealed. In reality, MacDonald reveals by this statement a complete confusion. Though taken at face value, her vision equated the sign at the end of the Tribulation with the rapture—hardly pre-Tribulationism.
Darby's True Origins: The Evidence
By Darby's own testimony, his ideas came from the Bible, particularly his understanding of the distinctiveness of the church (1826-1828). His belief that the rapture would be a considerable time before the Second Coming was developed before 1830, and the concept of a parenthesis between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks of Daniel around 1830.
Roy A. Huebner's Documentation
Historian Roy A. Huebner documents the fact that J.N. Darby first began to believe in the pre-tribulation rapture and develop his dispensational thinking while convalescing from a riding accident during December 1826 and January 1827.
If this is true, then all of the origins of the rapture conspiracy theories fall to the ground in a heap of speculative rubble.
Huebner provides clarification and evidence that Margaret MacDonald, Lacunza, Edward Irving, or the Irvingites did not influence Darby. In fact, none of these even taught any form of pre-tribulationism. These are all said by the detractors of Darby and the pre-tribulation rapture to be bridges, which led to Darby's thought.
Darby's Development Timeline
Darby's pre-tribulation and dispensational thoughts were developed from the following factors:
1. Distinction Between Israel and Church:
He saw from Isaiah 32 that there was a different dispensation coming—that Israel and the church were distinct.
2. Daily Expectation (1827):
During his convalescence, J.N.D. learned that he ought daily to expect his Lord's return.
3. Understanding the Church's Ruin (1827):
In 1827, J.N.D. understood the fall of the church—"the ruin of the church."
4. Gap Between Rapture and Second Coming:
Darby also was beginning to see a gap of time between the rapture and the Second Coming by 1827.
Darby said later that he first started understanding things relating to the pre-tribulation rapture "Thirty years ago". With that fixed point of reference (Jan. 31, 1827), we can see that Darby had already understood those truths upon which the pre-tribulation rapture hinges.
Why Darby Left the Church of England
Even opponents of dispensationalism realize that Darby's original dissatisfaction with the Church of England was not over teaching on prophecy. His dissent was for more intimate fellowship with Christ, which he felt was becoming increasingly impossible in the established system. In explaining why he left the Church of England, he said:
"It was that I was looking for the body of Christ (which was not there, but perhaps in all the parish not one converted person); and collaterally, because I believe in a divinely appointed ministry. If Paul had come, he could not have preached (he had never been ordained); if a wicked ordained man, he had his title and must be recognized as a minister; the truest minister of Christ unordained could not. It was a system contrary to what I found in scripture."
Scholarly Assessments
Max S. Weremchuk
German author Max S. Weremchuk has produced a major new biography on Darby. He agrees with Huebner's conclusions concerning the matter:
"Having read MacPherson's book, I find it impossible to make a just comparison between what Miss MacDonald 'prophesied' and what Darby taught. It appears that the wish was the father of the idea."
Dr. John Walvoord
"The whole controversy as aroused by Dave MacPherson's claim has so little supporting evidence, despite his careful research, that one wonders how he can write his book with a straight face. Pre-tribulationists should be indebted to Dave MacPherson for exposing the fact, namely, that there is no proof that MacDonald or Irving originated the pre-tribulation rapture teaching."
F.F. Bruce
F.F. Bruce, who was one of the greatest Bible teachers of the twentieth century, was part of the Brethren movement but did not agree with the pre-tribulation rapture. He said the following when commenting on the validity of MacPherson's thesis:
"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—direct dependence by Darby on Margaret MacDonald is unlikely."
Dr. Walvoord's Final Assessment
"Any careful student of Darby soon discovers that he did not get his eschatological views from men, but rather from his doctrine of the church as the body of Christ, a concept no one claims was revealed supernaturally to Irving or MacDonald. Darby's views undoubtedly were gradually formed, but they were theologically and Biblically based rather than derived from Irving's pre-Pentecostal group."
Conclusion
Opponents of the pre-tribulation rapture should stick to a discussion of these matters based upon scriptures, as some do. The fact that so many anti-pre-tribulationists are preoccupied with finding some historical information to discredit the rapture must mean that they are weak when it comes to finding proof for their views from the Bible.
Instead, so many feel a need to slander some godly men in their failed attempts to cover up their weak argument from the Bible.
This writer believes that many anti-rapture theories are not logical because of the fact that the doctrine of the rapture is intertwined with many other doctrines such as dispensationalism, premillennialism, and the distinctiveness of the church from Israel. Darby and William Kelly taught that by the act of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the present age began and the body of Christ was formed.
An impartial study of various New Testament principles would reveal that Darby's teaching of rapture alone was not "borrowed" as some allege, but is formulated simultaneously with other aforesaid doctrines.
Current Acceptance
Today 100% of Pentecostals, 98% of Plymouth Brethren, and 95% of Southern Baptists accept the doctrine of pre-tribulation rapture.
Compiled by: John Mathew Thekkel M.A., Ph.D. (Dr. Sunny Ezhumattoor)
© Copyright Author
Explore More Prophetic Studies
Dive deeper into biblical prophecy and end-times theology with our comprehensive resources.
View Prophecy Resources