What If?

 

 

 

What if the theory of a Great Tribulation had not been hatched in 1830? Do you suppose that anyone else down through the years, since 1830, would have come up with the same interpretation of Daniel 9? Probably not. No one else had come up with that theory from the time of Daniel all the way until John Darby got his brainstorm. Not even Jesus. The prevailing consensus for over 2000 years was that the “seventy weeks” prophecy was for the Jews in captivity. It was all about Messiah and the holy city, Jerusalem.

What if Darby’s Tribulation hoax had not caught on like wildfire? If Darby had not been such a dominating preacher and self-promoter, perhaps his theory would have never caught on at the Niagara Bible Conferences, or been endorsed by Scofield in his ubiquitous Bible study notes, or propagated by Moody Bible Institute and Dallas Seminary, and eventually popularized by the “Left Behind” series. False teachings are generally like that – they spread fast, because they are so attractive. Like the false prophets of old, they rule the day. Truth becomes obscure once falsehoods get established.

What if the Tribulation hoax had not been hatched, would we have come up with the theory of a rapture occurring seven years before the second coming? Nonsense – if there’s no Tribulation then there cannot be a pre-tribulation rapture. Besides, a two-part version of Christ’s return is not even hinted at anywhere in the New Testament – not by Jesus himself, or by Paul, or in Revelation.

What if the Tribulation hoax did not hold sway in America? Would Bible teachers interpret the end times differently, inductively, rather than buying into the hoax “hook, line, and sinker”? Would anyone wake up and realize that the seven trumpets are warnings that are already sounding, not judgments relegated to the seven-year period of the Tribulation? Might it be easier to see that America is the seventh head of the Revelation 13 beast? And that America will be destroyed by the eighth beast? Could we let go of Antichrist being a world leader during the Tribulation? Would the man of lawlessness take on more relevance, the Arab leader who will lead a ten-nation alliance against Israel in the battle of Armageddon?

What if we did not believe the hoax that the rapture is the next thing on God’s prophetic calendar? What, then, would be the dominant message of “end times” teaching? Would we see the urgent need to prepare for sword, famine, and plague? Would we prepare to endure suffering as God’s means of purifying the bride of Christ? Would we perceive the rapture to be a blessed hope of redemption from cataclysmic turmoil, rather than a blissful escape beforehand?

And there you have it. What if the Tribulation hoax had never been hatched?

A Trio of 19th Century Deceptions

Three huge deceptions were hatched in the nineteenth century – Evolution, Mormonism, and the Great Tribulation. Each one caught on like wildfire, and gained a huge, loyal following. And all three continue to have a solid base of believers in the 21^st century.

Charles Darwin devised his theory of natural
selection in 1838. He published his book, The Origin of Species, in 1859. By the 1870’s evolution was accepted as fact. The concept of creative design by an Almighty God was swept away. Evolution is now the presumptive foundation of all discourse on biological science.

Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon in 1830. His new religion was based on visions he claimed to have received, and golden plates that the angel Moroni directed him to find. The number who ascribe to Mormon theology has grown to over 16 million, worldwide. Smith claims that Moroni helped him to restore the true Christ-centered church. While they revere the moral teachings of Jesus, His divine sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin is not a tenet. Moralism replaced the miracle of grace.

John Darby broke from the Anglican Church and founded the Plymouth Brethren in the 1830’s. He was an avid theologian, re-writing the book on ecclesiology and eschatology. His teaching on dispensationalism helped turn the tide on viewing Revelation as prophetic of future events, as well as restoring the belief that God still has a future plan for Israel. But he went too far when he developed the theory of a seven-year mini-dispensation, called the Great Tribulation. It is based on his own far-fetched interpretation of Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks. His Tribulation hoax, coupled with his theory of the church being raptured before the Tribulation, became imbedded in teaching on the last days. By the 20^th century it was part of Scofield’s Bible notes, and taught in Bible Schools and seminaries throughout America. Today it is the foundational cornerstone of interpreting end-times prophecy in America.

The followers of each of these deceptions would swear that their beliefs are true and accurate. “The other beliefs may be deception, but my belief is not”. Is it fair to lump the three deceptions together? Maybe, maybe not. But it is interesting to note that all three deceptions were hatched in the wake of the age of reason and enlightenment that swept through Europe and captured nearly all of mankind. Reason replaced faith as the power by which humans understand the universe. Long established beliefs, including the authority of the Bible and the Church, were free game for questioning.

Obviously, my main concern here is the Great Tribulation deception. It was conceived in the same hotbed of creative reasoning as the other great deceptions. And the concept of a 7-year Great Tribulation had never found the light of day before John Darby. 

The Feast of Trumpets

The second coming of Christ has been anticipated by Christians for 2000 years. It is an event foretold by Jesus himself and reiterated throughout the New Testament. I think I can tell you what day Christ will return, but I don’t know what year it will be.

Let me explain. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year, but historically it was called the Feast of Trumpets. It initiates the three fall feasts which Jews have always celebrated. These three feasts have yet to find their fulfillment in Christ, unlike the spring feasts.

All four of the spring feasts were fulfilled in Christ’s first advent on the earth. Jesus was the Lamb of God, crucified on Passover, his shed blood setting us free from the penalty and bondage of sin. The Festival of Unleavened Bread is celebrated the day after Passover. Jesus Christ was without sin, without leaven, and became the bread of life for all who believe in Him. The Feast of Firstfruits occurs in close succession with the previous two, on the first day after the Sabbath. Jesus rose from death on the first day of the week, becoming the firstfruits of all the believers who will rise from the grave and inherit eternal life (I Cor 15:20).

Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) follows the first three spring feasts, fifty days after Firstfruits. Celebrating the harvest, the priests would bake two loaves of bread and wave them before the Lord. The first Pentecost after the crucifixion and resurrection is when Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit upon the newly born Church.  Two chosen people of God – Israel and the church. I find it profoundly interesting that at the first celebration of Pentecost, at Mount Sinai, 3000 people were killed (Ex 32:5, 28), while at the first Pentecost of the Church 3000 people were saved (Acts 2:41).

Now we get to the Feast of Trumpets, the first of the three fall festivals yet to be fulfilled in Christ. The second coming of Christ will occur at the last trumpet (I Cor 15:52). Jesus said that His return would be accompanied by a loud trumpet call (Mt 24:31). The trumpets sounded at the presence of God at Mt Sinai, very loud. Then they got louder (Ex 9:16-19). The trumpets will be just as loud when Jesus returns, on Rosh Hashanah.

The last two of the seven feasts to be fulfilled in Christ are the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). The day of Atonement will be fulfilled when Christ returns. At the rapture, all the saints will realize the final step in our redemption, the resurrection of our bodies, the ultimate victory over sin and death (I Cor 15:50-57). The Feast of Tabernacles will be fulfilled in the Millennial kingdom, when Jesus Christ comes to earth and dwells among men.

And there you have it. I would suspect that when the seventh beast, America, has been destroyed and the build-up to Armageddon is in full swing, that would be the year to expect our final redemption, on Rosh Hashanah.