Darby's Division

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Darby's Division

(See: John Nelson Darby 1800–1882)
– a good man whose end-time views sadly continue to undermine the Church's readiness for her greatest triumph –

view is more widespread in the evangelical Christian church today than the idea that the Church will escape the end-time persecution of Antichrist by God's sudden removal of true Christians 7 or 3½ years before the return of Christ to rule this world.

Effectively, Darby erroneously divided the blessed return of the Lord Jesus Christ into two returns:
• first – for His Church as her Bridegroom; and,
• second – for Jacob's descendants, Israel (not the political state), as their Messiah.

all the centuries of the history of Christianity this dualism in Christ's return is completely unknown.

This in itself should have warned thinking Christians that the Holy Spirit, who is preeminently faithful to God's people, had not kept this truth hidden if it were ever true.

This dualistic view is usually called 'pre-tribulation rapture' and developed largely from John Darby's pessimistic view of the future of the Christian Church on earth.

was joined in this view by various evangelical leaders during the liberal-fundamentalist tensions within the Christian Family/Church and so the double-return view became popularised to the extent that it is even written into the creedal statements of many Christian denominations and is therefore a condition of membership in them.

This view is a of a Church-less end to this age, in which a converted-Israel of 12,000 from each 12 tribes without the Holy Spirit completes the Christian mission for Christ which He had given to His Church.

'12', as in God's promise to Abraham about Ishmael (Gen.17:20), carries a precious symbolic message of God's-governance, from the division of the year into 12 moons/months.

In all sincerity, this teaching not only abuses Holy Scripture in its effort to prove itself, but robs Christianity of its most glorious hour, the overcoming of Antichrist's intimidation.

contrast to the encouraging promise of Christ concerning whatever believers face in this world ("I am with you always, to the end of the age" Matt.28:20), Darby's popular evacuation-doctrine of pretribulation rapture is a distracting deception.

It teaches, in effect, that when Satan finally plays his trump card, Christians, the Spirit-anointed people of God, will need to be rescued from Satan's Antichrist. This directly contradicts the plain declaration of God the Father to the Lord Jesus Christ at His Ascension, when He said –

"Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool."

Psalm 110:1 ESV.

Rather, of

Satan's trump-card the Antichrist – it is written into the future of God's people –

"And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,
for they loved not their lives even unto death."

Revelation 12:11.

For this reason Satan will then be barred from coming before the Throne of God as their accuser, as he had done against Job, against Peter, and has done against God's people through the ages until this coming time. The Spirit-filled People of God will conquer! Hallelujah!

Please note in this regard: the disturbing words of Oswald Smith, the great missions promoter, concerning the potential damage of this Pretribulation view on world evangelism which the Church is required to complete.