HAS ANYONE ELSE HEARD OF JOHN N. DARBY AND DISPENSATIONALISM?

by juni 3 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  juni

  There was a TV show the other night about the "ANTICHRIST". I missed it.

  It was about John Nelson Darby "the father of dispensationalism". He was of Irish/Scot heritage. Interesting history. You can Google it to get further information.

  Seems that in the 19th century - early 1800's to late 1800's - these groups started popping up all over, but the American history on this movement was most interesting to me as the JW's religion is based in those beliefs and started in the US.

  Why is this interesting? Because Charles T. Russell was included in this belief that there would be a battle between good and evil at Armageddon and other ideas that the JWs believe today.

  Strange that the Almighty would choose such a "follower" of the popular belief at the time.

  And then on to "Judge" Rutherford the tyrant........ I would certainly NOT be proud of that history if I were the WTB&TS.

  Juni
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  stev

  Russell combined Millerism and Dispensationalism. See the Countdown to Armageddon on Google Books. This book is about the change of chronology from Russell to Rutherford.

  See Carl Olaf Jonsson's book on the Signs of the Times, in the Appendix, Jonsson describes how Russell and Barbour adopted the doctrine of the two-stage return of Darby, the first stage invisible to rapture the saints, with an intervening period followed by the visible return of Christ with the saints. This intervening period Russell called the "harvest", "Millennial Dawn" . Sometime in the 1880s Russell gave up on the rapture and visible return, but maintained the invisible return in 1874.

  Russell and Barbour show no indications of knowing Darby, although Darby did visit the U.S. around 1874, and visited Boston where he met some Adventists and converted them to the two-stage doctrine. Barbour might have been there at the time, or learned it from these Adventists, or others. Barbour adopted the two-stage return around 1874.

  Jonsson surmised that Russell adopted it in 1874 as a result of reading the Prophetic Times journal edited by Joseph Seiss. There were enough prophetic students that had adopted the belief that its roots to Darby were not known. There still seems to be some question that Darby was the first one. There might have been others before or at the same time as Darby.

  Darby is the father of the Left Behind, pre-tribulation rapture dispensationalists. Dispensationalism was very sophisticated and included more beliefs than the secret rapture. Russell adopted other beliefs as well. See the "Theocratic Kingdom" by Peters. Peters discusses Barbour and Russell and the similarities and differences.
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  juni

  Thanks Stev for your informative post.

  Juni
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  Monkeyironfoot

  I think most Christians today are dispensationalist in one form or another. Darby may have started it but people like Hal Lindsay, John Hagee, Jack Van Impe, and Tim Lahaye are running with it as they all believe that the anti-christ is already alive today and living in Europe. He is said to have a peace treaty with Israel for seven years but in the middle of the seven years, he will break the treaty and turn against Israel. At the end of the seven years, Armageddon will occur. The Church will have been raptured right before the seven year tribulation begins (according to the most popular view). They all believe that the last days began and the gentile times ended in 1948 when Israel became a state and were given their land back. They say that the generation that saw the events of 1948 is the one that Jesus spoke of that will see his return. So logically, they believe we are living in the last days.