Roots of (Warlike) Christian Zionism (or, Armageddonism and Politics)

                                       by Dave MacPherson

    As always, we are excited whenever prolific research and eschatology writer extraordinaire, Dave MacPherson, submits articles to be published in our blog. Known as the top expert on the origins of the "Pre-Tribulation to Heaven" mythology, our dear friend and fellow servant sent us this article to comment on today's "end times" hysteria that has taken over the mission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
    Both Dave and I agree that (on the Internet, at least) Christians have become more absorbed with political and supernatural trivia (such as UFO's, Nephilim, New World Order conspiracies, and other demonic anomalies), which are stifling the great commission to preach and practice the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Both of us also agree that one of the prime culprits is the injection of the premillennial dispensational doctrine concocted by ersatz theologians John Nelson Darby and C.I. Scofield, who gleaned the Rapture myth from the Irvingites of England in the mid 1800's. Following are his most recent comments on this topic: 

    First , let's get something straight. Many American evangelicals are not looking for the "world's end" or "judgment day" or an "Antichrist" or even the "second coming."
    Although these phrases are in their theology books, the same books emphasize what they are waiting (and would almost die) for: the "any-moment pretribulation rapture" - a sudden coming of Christ occurring not only BEFORE the final second coming but (most importantly) even BEFORE the apocalyptic "great tribulation" (a.k.a. "Antichrist's reign of terror") preceding the second coming!

    So what's been the appeal of the 182-year-old pretrib rapture view? Although it was dreamed up and first publicly aired in Britain in 1830 (and made history by promising Christians an unheard of lift-off from earth before the horrors of Antichrist's reign), it wasn't fully accepted and merchandised in America until almost a century later.

    Hal Lindsey, the big rapture guru of the late 20th century, ended his bestselling book "The Late Great Planet Earth" with the word "MARANATHA" which pretribulation rapturists know is a code word for their rapture. And the same literal removal from earth at any moment lurks in Lindsey's other writings.

   Tim LaHaye, the current rapture tycoon whose "Left Behind" bonanza has left even Lindsey behind, knows how to milk the rapturized masses. After his 1992 pro-rapture book "No Fear of the Storm" was published, it was revealed that he had sloppily omitted 49 words when airing the pretrib originator's brief handwritten "revelation" account (the same 49 words Thomas Ice had somehow omitted when he had reproduced it three years earlier!).
    After sales slowed down, it was re-issued as "Rapture Under Attack" and later on as "The Rapture" (with the same 49 missing words!). But not even these title changes seemed to help things, and merchandiser LaHaye knew it was time to come up with some other titles that could further his rapture obsession. And Jerry Falwell never seemed to miss an opportunity, when
preaching, to remind his audience that he most certainly believed in the "pretribulational rapture" view. I can almost believe that the middle name of many Christian Right leaders is "Rapture"!
    When checking pre-19th century prophetic development, one finds that "dispensational" thinking as well as Christian Zionistic roots had been in existence long before the emergence of pretribulation rapturism. Even the prophetic word "rapture" had been in print well before the 19th century - but always in reference to only an after-the-tribulation coming and never to a
pretribulation coming which was never a part of any organized church or any official Christian theology before 1830!

    Many are still unaware that the pretrib rapture idea was first publicly aired in the fall of 1830 in "The Morning Watch" (hereafter: TMW), a little-known quarterly journal published by the Irvingites (followers of famed London preacher Edward Irving) from 1829 to 1833 in Britain. Not only was this innovative publication years ahead of John Darby and his Plymouth Brethren colleagues, rapturally speaking, but in it we find shocking militancy that has been observed recently in Christian Zionist preachers like John Hagee, Jerry Falwell, Tim LaHaye, Hal Lindsey, Jan Markell etc.
    As early as the September 1830 issue of TMW (pp. 510-514) a writer declared that only worthy Christians (which he labeled "Philadelphia") would be raptured before "the great tribulation" and less worthy ones (labeled "Laodicea") would be left on earth. The September 1832 issue of the same journal (pp. 6-7) saw "Jews" as well as the less worthy Christians left behind.

    But the March 1833 issue (p. 147) said that only "the Jews" would be excluded from the rapture. So within a short period of time the Irvingites, while following the same Scriptures, revealed their innate anti-Jewishness by switching from a "church/church" dichotomy to a "church/Israel" dichotomy after convincing themselves that only "the Jews" would deserve a future tribulation!
    After their adoption of an escapist view that no leading Greek scholar had ever taught before 1830, the same early pretrib rapturists, feeling superior, began exhibiting some vices that often come to powerless persons who suddenly obtain power - vices like pride, hatred and persecution of others, playing God, and so on.

    Sounding like Hagee and other warlike warmongers, TMW expressed even more delusional, rapture-inspired fantasies: The September 1830 issue (p. 514), looking ahead to the hoped for "great escape," declared that the raptured believers would then collectively become "the victorious ministerer of the great tribulation" upon those left behind!
    In March of 1832 the same Irvingite journal (p. 3) taught that the "vials" of wrath in the book of Revelation "shall be poured out by the risen [raptured] saints"! And TMW in September 1832 (p. 27) went even further and announced that the collective group of raptured ones will "wield the thunders of its power against the dragon [Satan] and his angels, and cast them down from heaven"!
    Note that these fanatics were more than willing to be the "chosen ones" to pour out tribulation and wrath on those not worthy to be "chosen": the Jews. (I'm glad to report that Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina is now the only North American institution that contains a complete set of every issue of "The Morning Watch." I recently gave SEBTS my vast collection of rare historical material including those issues and Robert Norton's valuable 1861 book on the Irvingites, a copy of which I found while researching throughout Britain.)

    We've just had a glimpse of vengeful and power-crazy fanaticism within the very earliest pretrib rapture group. But where in the Bible did those deluded Britishers find support for such "rapture rage"? And where are the followers of Christ commanded to pick up a sword and conquer or convert non-believers with it - or even support such sword-bearers? Why have so many
    Christian Zionists, who seemingly give more attention to governments than to their Gospel, turned the Great Commission into the Great Commotion?

    Many of the above historical details are in my 300-page book "The Rapture Plot," the most complete and documented history of the 182-year-old pretribulation rapture merchandised today by Hagee, LaHaye, Ice, Strandberg, Lindsey, Swaggart, Van Impe, Markell, etc. for their pet agendas - an escapist view still held by Americans and others who have had little persecution!
    To see my web articles, Google or Yahoo "Pretrib Rapture Diehards,"
"X-Raying Margaret," ""Edward Irving is Unnerving," "The Unoriginal
John Darby," "Famous Rapture Watchers," "Thomas Ice (Bloopers),"
"Pretrib Expert John Walvoord Melts Ice," "Pretrib Rapture Secrets,"
"The Rapture Index (Mad Theology)," "Wily Jeffrey," "Pretrib Rapture
Secrecy," "Appendix F: Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Pretrib Hypocrisy,"
"Pretrib Rapture Politics," "Christ's return is NOT imminent," "Islam
will purify Jews and Christians" and "Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty."
BTW, my book "The Rapture Plot" is available at online bookstores
like Armageddon Books.

    Do Hagee and his fellow preachers really love Jewish persons as much as they say they do? Then why do they pervert Scripture to try to get themselves raptured off earth before their future and final "tribulation" instead of wanting to remain on earth during that period to minister love to ALL of earth's citizens including Jews and Muslims?

    Hagee stated on July 19, 2006 that "The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West...." Which Bible verse inspired him to utter this - the one that says "Love ye your enemies" or the one saying "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord"?
    It would appear that Hagee and other pretribulation rapture traffickers and Christian Zionists are trying to identify with the predicted group whose love will "wax cold" (a la Matthew 24:12) during what Hagee etc. see in the future as earth's darkest days!

[What They Are Saying About ... THE RAPTURE PLOT by Dave MacPherson:

 

Gary DeMar (President American Vision): "A majority of prophecy writers and speakers teach that the church will be raptured before a future tribulational period. But did you know that prior to about 1830 no such doctrine existed. No one in all of church history ever taught pretribulational rapture. Dave MacPherson does the work of a journalistic private investigator to uncover the truth....The Rapture Plot is the never-before-told true story of the plot - how plagiarism and subtle document changes created the 'mother of all revisionisms.' A fascinating piece of detective work." Robert H. Gundry (Professor Westmont College): "As usual MacPherson out hustles his opponents in research on primary sources. C. S. Lovett (President Personal Christianity): You don't read very much of Dave MacPherson's work before you realize he is a dedicated researcher. Because his work has been so honest and open his latest work The Rapture Plot has produced many red faces among some of the most recognized rapture writers of our time. When their work is compared to his it is embarrassing for them to see how shallow their research is." R. J. Rushdoony (President Chalcedon): "Dave MacPherson has been responsible for major change in the eschatology of evangelical churches by his devastating studies of some of the central aspects thereof. In The Rapture Plot MacPherson tells us of the strange tale of 'rapture' writings, revisions, cover-ups, alterations and confusions. No one has equaled MacPherson in his research on the 'pretrib rapture.' Attempts to discredit his work have failed...." About the Author: Born 1932 of Scotch/English descent Dave MacPherson is a natural for British historical research. His calling was journalism. Receiving a BA in English in 1955 he spent 26 years as a newsman reporting and filming many notable events persons presidents and dignitaries.]

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