(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 –

No 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.

In all the centuries of the history of Christianity this dualism in Christ's return is 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 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. He was joined in this view by various evangelical leaders during the liberal-fundamentalist tensions within the Christian Family and so the double-return view became popularized to the extent that it is written into the credal statements of some denominations and therefore a condition of membership in them.

It is a view of a Church-less end to this age, after which a converted Israel of 12,000 from each tribe completes the Christian mission for Christ. 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.

"I have given you [the Seventy] authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you."

In contrast to this promise of Christ, 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.

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.

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