Sunday 12-18-22 1st. Day Of The Weekly Cycle, Kislev 23, 5783 86th. Fall Day
Origin of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Doctrine
The escapist belief of the “rapture” has been employed by Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Falwell, Hal Lindsy, and Tim LaHaye in his series of novels built around the subject. Its supporters have lied, twisted, distorted, and misrepresented the true origin of this fatal belief.
The rapture belief entered the Plymouth Brethren through John Nelson Darby, their most influential prophecy teacher. Its origin traces back to 1830 when a certain Margaret McDonald had a “vision” of the end-times. She had been ill and bed-ridden for a year and a half. She read Matthew 24:40 about someone being “taken”, and then read in Thess.2:7 about a “restraining” influence being “taken out of the way.” She put the two passages together and reasoned that the “one” taken out of the way, before the rising of the Antichrist, must be the church! Darby and others subsequently took up this belief, and he popularized it in the Scofield Reference Bible, from where it has entered mainstream Protestantism like a “thief in the night,” catching millions unawares.
Margaret’s “revelation” has led a charmed life. She began “speaking in tongues” several months after her initial revelation, which supports the conclusion that her source of “inspiration” was not the Spirit of God. God is not the Author of confusion, or phony “tongues” (I Cor.14:33; see my article on “The Truth about Tongues”).
For a thorough study of the origin of the pre-Tribulation rapture theory, read The Rapture Plot by Dave MacPherson (Millennium III Publishers, Simpsonville, South Carolina, 1995).
“Taken”
But what about this passage in Matthew 12:40 about two women, one being “taken” and one being “left”? What does it mean?
We read, “But AS the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and did not know till the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken [that is, killed, as the flood “took them all away,” in Noah’s day], and the other left [alive]. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken [die] and the other left [alive]. WATCH therefore, for you do NOT KNOW what HOUR your Lord is coming” (Matt.24:37-42).
Notice that it was the “Flood” that “took them all away.” The masses died as a result of the Flood! They were not “taken” to heaven to be spared! Likewise, Yeshua is telling us, when He comes, and when the Tribulation is about to begin, one person will die in the melee, and invasion, and one will be left alive. That is the import of His statement here. Those “taken” and who die are those who have not been alert, watchful, and vigilant, observing the “signs of the times.” Those who are left alive are those who will be more heedful, watchful, and prudent (see Proverbs 14:26 again).
On the other hand, what about the passage in II Thess.2:6-7? Paul tells us, “And you know what is restraining him, so that he may be revealed when his time comes. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work but only until the one who now restrains it is removed.” What is restraining the arising of this key end-time figure? In the ultimate sense, of course, it is God Himself and His Spirit, His influence on the earth. God is holding it back until His time comes for the final revelation He is holding it back, I suggest, to give His people time to prepare themselves, to grow spiritually strong, to overcome and get ready.
The one “taken out of the way” to prepare for the rising up of the Antichrist is not specifically identified in II Thessalonians 2:7. However, it would appear that this could also refer to a person or nation which stands in the way of the arrival of this supreme Dictator – one who must depart the political scene before the “Beast” can take his place in full power. This restraining power could well be the United States and President George Bush! When the power of the United States is diminished due to onerous debt and over-extending its reach, the resultant world configuration will be free to elect a man over the United Nations – the end-time “Beast” – who will fulfill the prophecies of the Antichrist!
In other words, the passage Matthew 24:40 does not mention a “rapture” at all. The ones who are “taken” are going to be KILLED – their lives “taken,” as occurred in the Flood. The ones who are “left” are left ALIVE – as survivors – during the coming Great Tribulation and Holocaust that are fast approaching.
Are You Prepared?
Yeshua warned: “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake – for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else me may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake” (Mark 13:32-37).
What about you? Are you watching and keeping alert? Are you preparing for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb? Are you praying day and night for God’s mercy and protection and deliverance from the frightful days to come, and to stand worthy before the Son of Man?
By William F. Dankenbring
Love, Walter and Debbie
