ROOTS OF (WARLIKE) CHRISTIAN ZIONISM
(or, It’s the Rapture, Stupid !)

by Dave MacPherson

First, let’s get something straight. Many conservative
evangelicals in America are not longing for the “world’s end” or
“judgment day” or a “millennium” 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” which is expected several
years ahead of the second coming and most assuredly BEFORE a future
“great tribulation”!
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
48 words when airing a brief 19th century document – hardly good
publicity! After sales slowed down, it was re-issued as “Rapture
Under Attack” (with the same 48 missing words) and appeared to the
public to be a new book. But not even the title change 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 seems to miss an opportunity, when
preaching, to remind his audience that he most certainly believes
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.
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 can
be observed today in Christian Zionist preachers like John Hagee
and Jerry Falwell.
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 organized
church 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 35-year collection of rare
material including those issues and Robert Norton’s valuable 1861
book.)
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
176-year-old pretribulation rapture merchandised today by Hagee,
LaHaye, Falwell, Lindsey, Swaggart, Van Impe etc. for their pet
agendas – an escapist view never taught by any church for 1800
years! If you don’t have time for my book, I invite you to read my
internet items including “Pretrib Rapture Diehards,” “Deceiving and
Being Deceived,” “Famous Rapture Watchers,” “Thomas Ice
(Bloopers),” “Appendix F: Thou Shalt Not Steal,” “The Rapture Index
(Mad Theology),” “Pretrib Hypocrisy,” and “Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty.”
BTW, my book “The Rapture Plot” is available at online bookstores.
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?
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, Falwell and other pretrib rapture
merchandisers 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!

(The now famous “rapture” view promoted by politics-loving American
evangelicals is related to various topics. If you would like to
publish the above non-copyrighted paper, feel free to even change
the title to “Armageddonism and Politics” or “The History of Dispensationalism”
or anything else.)

There are clear and specific answers to your questions. Unfortunately, it seems that even in your own mind your conclusions are based on caricatures and straw-man argumentation. I was saved 25 years ago at age 26 and know some of the best dispensational theologians in the world (including Dr. Ryrie) – and I have never once heard any of them suggest that we “curse the darkness” or that we shouldn’t engage our culture. That is just not true – yet by singling out Dr. Ryrie (and his “ilk” – which is an very derogatory term) and talking about “cursing the darkness” you give the impression that this is what he believes and teaches. That is both misleading and I would suggest dishonest.

The argument against dispensationalism based on it being “relatively new” is so weak it doesn’t even rise to the level of being an argument at any level. (Please see my blog on this charge at http://www.biblicalintegrity.org/blog/?p=245)

Concerning Israel and the Church: It isn’t as if dispensationalists have never thought about the passages talking about Israel and the Church or that they aren’t familiar with the passages you cite and haven’t written extensively on them. It isn’t quite so simple as it might seem to someone who reads your blog.

I understand that there are some who hold to dispensationalism who make unfortunate statements, but those do not invalidate dispensationalism as a system. Dispensationalism can only be judged on the basis of biblical exposition. I would suggest that do this if we are going to argue for or against any theology or theological system.

There has been much excellent work done by many godly scholars do are firmly dispensationalists – because it isn’t so much about dispensational theology – which is only a result – but it is about how and why one arrives there through a biblical hermeneutic.

Dave James
http://www.biblicalintegrity.org

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I was really encouraged by your philosophy of Christian Education. I found it while preparing a talk for the Florida League of Christian Schools which I will present next month. I work at a Christian camp in NC and God has given us a heart of love for Christian schools. We offer retreats specifically focused on Christian schools throughout the year. I just wanted to let you know that there are others like-minded with you in your philosophy. Keep up the good work.

Under His Mercy,

Zach

No, the president should not attempt to politicise the event, as we know Obama will.

The galling thing is the curriculum our unconstitutional federal Department of Education tried to foist on our nation’s schools.

The other galling thing is the hypocrisy of the Democrats who cried foul when George H. W. Bush did the same thing. They asserted the wishy-washy, uninspiring Bush the senior was trying to recruit the kids into being little Republicans. Now that it’s their commie stooge in the White House, the Sociocrats think the address is wonderful.

I’m thinking of keeping my kids home on Tuesday.