In Defense of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture

In Defense of the Pre–Tribulation Rapture

Left behind or led astray?

By Dr. David R. Reagan

The Pre-Tribulation Rapture

[read in Lamplighter (pdf)]

A pastor in California recently issued a video album titled, “Left Behind or Led Astray?”1 It is a very hard–hitting documentary film that is designed to debunk the concept of a Pre–Tribulation Rapture.

The album contains two DVD discs that run a total of 4 hours and 22 minutes. The presentation is very tedious and highly repetitious, to the point of quickly becoming downright boring. It was tiresome, to say the least. I wanted to shout “Hallelujah!” when it finally ended — and in order to prepare this review, I had to sit through it twice!

The video was produced by Joe Schimmel, the pastor of Blessed Hope Chapel in Simi Valley, California. He also serves as president of an apologetics ministry called Good Fight Ministries (www.GoodFight.org). It is this ministry that actually produced the video.

Pastor Schimmel is a Premillennialist who believes in a Post–Tribulational Rapture. In other words, he believes that the Rapture and the Second Coming are all one event that will happen at the end of the Tribulation. The purpose of this video documentary is to disparage the doctrine of a Pre–Tribulational Rapture.

An Exercise in Character Assassination

The program begins with a very irenic spirit, emphasizing that differences in opinion about the nature and timing of the Rapture should not divide Christians. It also ends with the same spirit as the host, Pastor Schimmel, gives a big bear hug to Colin Le Noury, the director of the oldest Pre–Trib Rapture ministry in the world — namely, The Prophetic Witness Movement International in England.

But between those irenic bookends there is an all–out effort to besmirch the reputations of every major person that Schimmel considers to have played a role in the development of the Pre–Trib doctrine. He begins with a “sinister” 16th Century Spanish Jesuit priest named Francisco Ribera, followed by an 18th Century Baptist pastor from Wales, Morgan Edwards, who ends up being defrocked for immorality, and then quickly focuses on another “devious” Latin American Jesuit Priest, Manuel Lacunza, who wrote in the 19th Century. He then ties that priest to Edward Irving, a “flamboyant and eccentric” English prophecy teacher who also ends up being defrocked for heresy. To make matters worse, he spends most of the four hours of the program trying to prove that the real turning point in the development of the Pre–Trib doctrine came in 1830 when a 15 year old Scottish girl named Margaret MacDonald got caught up in Charismania and began to experience emotional seizures and visions that were demonic in nature.

The concept of a Pre–Trib Rapture was supposed to have emerged from all these warped people, only to be picked up by another Englishman, John Darby, who systematized the doctrine and then falsely claimed he had originated it. Darby then supposedly became a dogmatic and tyrannical cult leader. When the doctrine spread to the United States, it was popularized by C. I. Scofield in his popular study Bible. The only problem being that Scofield was a drunk, a crook, a jail bird, a shyster and a ruffian, among other nefarious things!

Left Behind or Led Astray?

And then there is Clarence Larkin, the great illustrator of prophetic truths who turned out to be involved in pyramidology. And if that is not enough to turn your stomach against the Pre–Trib Rapture doctrine, then consider some of the doctrine’s modern day proponents like Chuck Missler and J. R. Church who are portrayed as dabblers in astrology. Whew! By the time you get to the end of the video you feel like you have been watching an episode from some slimy modern–day TV reality program.

And then there is their treatment of the foremost contemporary spokesman in behalf of the Pre–Trib Rapture doctrine — namely, Tommy Ice, the director of the Pre–Trib Research Center located in the Dallas, Texas area. He is derisively written off as “Tim LaHaye’s bulldog.” I found that label particularly interesting in view of the fact that two of the leading experts featured in the video are Jacob Prasch and Dave MacPherson, both of whom come across as sarcastic, mocking, vilifying pit bulls who make Tommy Ice look tame in comparison.

An Irrelevant Focus

Personally, I found all this character assassination totally irrelevant to the question of the validity of the Pre–Trib Rapture doctrine. After all, the only people God has to work through here on this earth are sinners. Take Morgan Edwards, for example. Yes, he was defrocked when he experienced what appeared to be an emotional breakdown and stopped attending church and started drinking. But no mention was made of his many years of faithful service to the church in Wales, Ireland and here in the United States after he emigrated to this country in 1761. Nor was there any mention of the fact that he co–founded the first Baptist university in the American colonies, known today as Brown University. Oh, and also, no mention was made of the fact that he was completely restored to the church and thereafter lived an exemplary life.2

And then there are the two Jesuit priests who believed the Rapture would occur 45 days before the end of the Tribulation and the return of Jesus. Over and over we are reminded that they were Catholics who were members of the sinister Jesuit Order — as if nothing good could ever come from a Catholic priest. On that basis, I guess we will have to fault the revival of the true Gospel by Martin Luther in the 16th Century since he was also a Catholic priest.

Martin Luther

In fact, based on the reasoning of this video presentation, we will have to throw out all of Martin Luther’s reforms since he ended up becoming the worst anti–Semite in the history of Christendom. Keep in mind that he wrote a pamphlet near the end of his life in which he provided the blueprint for the Holocaust. This was acknowledged by Hitler in his book, Mein Kampf, when he described Luther as “a great warrior, a true statesman, and a great reformer.”3 Later, after he came to power, Hitler paid further tribute to Luther by saying:4

Martin Luther has been the greatest encouragement of my life. Luther was a great man. He was a giant. With one blow he heralded the coming of the new dawn and the new age. He saw clearly that the Jews need to be destroyed, and we’re only beginning to see that we need to carry this work on.

Margaret MacDonald

And then there is Margaret MacDonald, the hyper–Charismatic 15 year old Scottish girl who supposedly affirmed the Pre–Trib Rapture in her emotional trances in 1830 which are portrayed as demon–induced. They have an actor portraying her in the video, and she is shown over and over and over again throughout the tedious four hours of the program sitting in the corner of a room rocking back and forth and looking terribly distressed.

I grew up in an Amillennial church were I never once ever heard the word, Rapture. After attending that church for 30 years, if you had asked me to define the Rapture, I probably would have said, “It is a sensation you feel when your girlfriend kisses you.” I came to a belief in a Pre–Trib Rapture through my study of the Scriptures, and it was years later before I ever even heard of Margaret MacDonald.

Todd Strandberg, the founder of the Rapture Ready website, has written, “I cannot recall ever hearing any Pre–Trib speaker say, ‘I believe in the Rapture because Margaret MacDonald told me so.'”5 He goes on to say that he searched all the prophecy books in his library written by those with a Pre–Trib viewpoint, and he could never find even one reference to Margaret MacDonald. He concluded, “It was like looking for the cartoon character, ‘Where’s Waldo.’ Only in this case, no Waldo was to be found.”6

Todd Strandberg

I first heard of Margaret MacDonald when a Pre–Trib critic told me that the Pre–Trib Rapture doctrine had to be false because it originated with a teenage Scottish girl who experienced a demonic seizure. That perked my curiosity, so I went searching for this girl, and I found her in a book written by Dave MacPherson in 1973 entitled, The Unbelievable Pre–Trib Origin.7 Since that time, MacPherson has written at least six subsequent books on the topic, several of which come across as being nothing but the original book with a new title. As one writer has put it, “MacPherson has dedicated his life to full time Rapture hating . . .”8

I will never forget how amazed I was when I finished reading Mac–Pherson’s book. That’s because the book had an appendix that contained Margaret MacDonald’s prophetic vision, and I could not find even so much as a hint of a Pre–Trib Rapture in what she supposedly said. Here was a whole book dedicated to the proposition that this girl was the originator of the doctrine and not one trace of that doctrine could be found in the vision that MacPherson presents as proof!

Dave MacPherson

And what is really amazing is that Pastor Schimmel admits this in his video program when he says:9

Our personal position at Good Fight Ministries is that Margaret MacDonald’s end time Rapture vision is convoluted, and we can’t say for sure that Margaret MacDonald had a partial Pre–Trib Rapture in mind…

The fact of the matter is that this young woman’s vision was about the Second Coming, and the only novel things about it were, first, her unbiblical concept that it would be “secret and invisible” rather than an event that “every eye will see” (Revelation 1:7), and second, that it would consist of a partial rapture of Spirit–filled saints.10

The claims concerning the importance of Margaret Mac–Donald in the development of the Pre–Trib concept of the Rapture are so silly that Todd Strandberg was motivated to write:11

From reading the writings of anti–Rapture authors, one would think we Pre–Tribbers would be reverencing MacDonald as Catholics do Mary. But clearly we don’t. Pre–Tribbers don’t go around reciting, “Hail Margaret full of grace, blessed art thou among visionaries, pray for us sinners at the time of the Rapture.”

Doctrinal Development

The Pre–Tribulation concept of the Rapture did not suddenly appear on the scene in the 1830s. It had been developing slowly over a long period of time, with strands of it coming from various sources.

One of the cardinal concepts of the doctrine is imminency, which is the biblical idea that the Lord can return at any moment. This was clearly taught by the early Church Fathers.12 The point here is that for the Lord’s return to be imminent, there must be a Rapture that is separate and apart from the Second Coming because there are many prophecies that must be fulfilled before the Lord returns to earth. In other words, the Second Coming is not an imminent event.

One Way Sign

Evidence of the specific idea of a Pre–Tribulation Rapture has been found in a sermon preached sometime between the 4th and 6th Centuries by a person who referred to himself as “Pseudo–Ephraem.” In the sermon he said, “For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.”13 The later Second Coming of the Lord is mentioned at the end of the sermon.

Another early reference to the idea of a Rapture separate and apart from the Second Coming can be found in the writings of an individual known as Brother Dolcino who was a member of a 14th Century sect called the Dulcinites. He taught that after the Antichrist made his appearance in the world, the true believers would be “transferred into Paradise” where they would remain until the Antichrist dies.14

A two–stage concept of the Lord’s return was proposed by Joseph Mede (1586–1639) in a letter written in 1627. However, he did not place the Tribulation between the two advents. Rather, he pictured the Church being taken to Heaven and remaining there until the earth had been cleansed with fire to prepare it for the Lord’s reign.15

A book published in 1674, written by Thomas Collier, rejects the idea of a Pre–Trib Rapture, indicating that the idea must have been circulating at that time.16 A few years later in 1687, Peter Jurieu published a book in which he taught that Christ would come in the air secretly to Rapture the saints and return to Heaven before the battle of Armageddon.17

In the 18th Century, two men — Philip Doddridge (1738) and John Gill (1748) — wrote commentaries on the New Testament in which they used the term, Rapture, and spoke of it as imminent.18 Tommy Ice observes that “it is clear that these men believed that this coming will precede Christ’s descent to the earth and the time of judgment.”19 Two other authors — James MacKnight (1763) and Thomas Scott (1792) — taught that the redeemed would be carried to Heaven, where they would be secure until the time of judgment ended.20

Morgan Edwards

Tommy Ice claims that one of the clearest references to a Pre–Tribulation Rapture before the time of John Darby is to be found in the writings of Morgan Edwards.21 Almost a century before John Darby systemized and popularized the Pre–Trib Rapture viewpoint, Edwards proposed a Rapture 3½ years before the return of Jesus. This did not mean he believed in a Mid–Trib Rapture because he viewed the second half of Daniel’s 70th Week of Years to be the Tribulation.

Edwards first wrote about this novel viewpoint in a college essay in 1742. It was published in book form in 1788. I think it is interesting to note that when he originally wrote the essay, it contained a note to his supervising professor in which he said, “I will work by a rule you have often recommended, viz, ‘to take the scriptures in a literal sense, except when that leads to contradiction or absurdity.'”22

Edward Irving

In the early 19th Century the foremost Bible prophecy teacher in England was a Scottish minister named Edward Irving (1792–1834). Through a series of Bible prophecy conferences, he and his followers developed the concept of a Rapture separate and apart from the Second Coming.23 It is believed that his ideas originally came from a book published in 1812 by a Jesuit priest from Chile amed Manuel Lacunza.24 In this book he proposed a Rapture that would occur 45 days before the end of the Tribulation. Irving translated the book and published it in English in 1827.

Edward Irving

After toying with a number of different ideas, Irving finally concluded that the Man Child pictured in Revelation 12:5 was the Church and the child’s ascension to Heaven represented the Rapture of the Church before the last 3½ years of Daniel’s 70th Week of Years.25 This was considered to be a type of Pre–Trib Rapture since Irving viewed only the last 3½ years to be the Tribulation.

John Darby

John Darby (1800–1882) agreed with Irving in his early writings, also identifying the rapture of the Man Child as the Rapture of the Church, despite the fact that Revelation 12:5 is clearly speaking of the birth and ascension of Jesus.26 It was not until about 1846 that Darby began to teach a Rapture that would occur before the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week of Years.27

Darby utilized his training as a lawyer to systemize Dispensational eschatology. He was also the one who effectively popularized the belief, and in the process, he made seven trips to the United States where his doctrine was enthusiastically received.

Irving vs Darby

Incidentally, one of the major issues raised in Pastor Schimmel’s video is how much Darby borrowed from Irving. He argues that Darby was heavily influenced by Irving and the papers that flowed from his prophecy conferences. He also argues that Pre–Trib scholars have tried to ignore Irving’s influence because they are embarrassed by the fact that he was a Charismatic and that his life career ended tragically by being defrocked for heresy.

John Darby

I have detected evidence of this in the writings of Tommy Ice, one of the Pre–Trib Rapture’s foremost defenders. When he discusses Edward Irving, he dismisses him out of hand by labeling him an historicist, whereas Darby was “a consistent futurist.”28 This may have been true, but what does it have to do with the issue of what they believed about a Pre–Trib Rapture? The answer is nothing. Tommy has also labeled me as an “inconsistent futurist” because I believe that end time prophecies are being fulfilled today, and yet I believe in a Pre–Trib Rapture.

I think Pastor Schimmel is correct on this point. I don’t think there is any doubt that Darby was influenced to some degree by his personal association with Irving and by his writings. But the fact that Irving’s career ended in disgrace does not invalidate his prophetic studies. For example, I happen to believe that many of the doctrines of the Catholic Church are terribly unbiblical, but I am not going to throw out the doctrine of the Trinity just because it happens also to be a Catholic doctrine.

I think this brief historical survey makes it clear that a number of people with varied backgrounds were seriously considering the idea of a Rapture separate and apart from the Second Coming long before John Darby came on the scene. And the interesting thing is that more and more ancient examples of people separating the Rapture from the Second Coming are being found continually.

Too New to be True?

This brings us to one of the major arguments that Pastor Schimmel and the experts he features on his video present against the Pre–Trib Rapture doctrine — namely, it is too new to be true.

He starts out emphasizing this point by proving that none of the early Church Fathers had such an idea. As I mentioned earlier, the Church Fathers taught the imminence of the Lord’s return, but they evidently had not thought deeply about their teaching because as I have already pointed out, there can be no imminence without a Rapture that is separate and apart from the Second Coming.

It is always dangerous to base doctrine on the teachings of the Church Fathers. For one thing they were all vehemently anti–Semitic which led them to be proponents of Replacement Theology — the idea that God has replaced Israel with the Church.29 And with regard to prophecy, the greatest of the Church Fathers (in the sense of the one who had the greatest impact on the Church’s eschatology) was St. Augustine who spiritualized God’s Prophetic Word and came up with the theory of Amillennialism. (Prior to Augustine, the vast majority of the Church Fathers had held a Premillennial viewpoint.) Amillennialism was quickly adopted as doctrine by the Catholic Church around 431 AD and has remained the orthodox view of the end times for Catholicism to this day.30

Once Amillennialism was adopted as orthodoxy there could be no further development of prophetic viewpoints because the Roman Catholic Church did not tolerate doctrinal alternatives. Anyone who came up with an interpretation of the Scriptures that varied from Catholic doctrine on any point was burned at the stake, together with their writings.

All that changed with the Reformation in the 16th Century. The masses got hold of Bibles, and people began to study God’s Word on their own. That led to many doctrinal challenges. The in–depth study of Bible prophecy began in earnest, and the Premillennial view of end time prophecy was revived. Also, people began to challenge the concepts of Replacement Theology, arguing that God has not replaced Israel with the Church and that God still has a purpose for the Jewish people.

The idea of salvation by grace through faith, revived by Luther in the 16th Century, could have been declared to be “too new to be true.” I’m sure some made that allegation. The same can be said of Premillennialism. After all, neither one had been taught in the Church for almost 1,100 years. And the idea that God still has a purpose for Israel was just unthinkable.

The point I am making is that there are some very good reasons why developments in the study of Bible prophecy were delayed.

There’s another very important point that must be made in response to the argument of “too new to be true.” It should be kept in mind that the Bible itself states that some end time prophecies will not be understood until the time comes for them to be fulfilled. Daniel was told this (Daniel 12:8–9) as was Jeremiah (Jeremiah 23:20 and 30:24).

The Timing of the Rapture

Another argument against the Pre–Trib Rapture that is repeated over and over throughout the video is that “there is not one verse in the Bible that states that the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation begins.” In fact the video begins and ends with a childish offer of $10,000 to anyone who can produce such a verse.

It is true that the Bible does not provide us with a declarative statement about the timing of the Rapture. Its timing is something that must be determined by inference or deduction. The same is true, for example, of the timing of the War of Gog and Magog which is described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Some place that war in the middle of the Tribulation while others argue it will start at the beginning of the Tribulation or that it will take place before the Tribulation begins.

But the idea that the Rapture will occur before the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week of Years is not something that was manufactured out of nothing. It is biblically based. Simply stated, the Church is promised immunity from the wrath of God (1 Thessalonians 1:10), and scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments describe Daniel’s 70th Week of Years as a time for the pouring out of God’s wrath upon the world (Jeremiah 30:4–7 and Revelation 6:17).

Further, there is no purpose for the Church in the Tribulation. This is true because the entire seven years of the Tribulation are part of the 490 years God has set aside for achieving His purposes among the Jewish people (Daniel 9:24–27).

And then there is the important issue of imminency. The scriptures urge us to live looking for the coming of the Lord and that His appearance could occur at any moment (Matthew 24:36 42, 44). Why should I be looking for the Lord if there are many prophecies that must be fulfilled before He can return, as is the case when you place the Rapture after the beginning of the Tribulation or combine it with the Second Coming at the end of the Tribulation?

The Rapture vs The Second Coming

The one view of the Rapture’s timing that seems unsustainable to me is the Post–Trib view of Pastor Schimmel. This is the view that combines the Rapture with the Second Coming as all one event. How can that be when the descriptions of the two events are so radically different? How could they possibly be talking about the same event? Take a look at Figure 1 and consider the differences:

Figure 1

The only thing these two passages have in common is that they both focus on Jesus. If you combine them into one event, you end up with a strange Yo–Yo Rapture whereby the saints are caught up to Jesus in the sky and then immediately return to earth with Him.

Another problem with Pastor Schimmel’s Post–Trib view is that it does not provide for a population for the Millennial reign of Jesus. If the Rapture and the Second Coming are all one event, then all saints, living and dead, will be glorified when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation. And since the Bible says that when Jesus returns, He will consign to death all those who have not accepted Him as Lord and Savior (Matthew 25:31–46), where then do you get the people who will enter the Millennium in the flesh and who will repopulate the earth?

In contrast, the Pre–Trib view provides a Millennial population because Christians — both living and dead — are glorified at the time of the Rapture. Then, seven years later when Jesus returns to earth, all those saved during the Tribulation and who live to the end of it, are allowed to enter the Millennium in the flesh.

There’s another sticky problem with Pastor Schimmel’s Post–Trib view. It has to do with the fact that the Bible teaches that no one can know the day or the hour of the Lord’s return. But the book of Revelation reveals that when the Antichrist signs a treaty with Israel, launching the Tribulation, Jesus will return exactly 2,520 days later (Revelation 11:3 and 12:6). So, those alive at the time the Tribulation begins will be able to calculate the exact date of the Lord’s return. Therefore, the statement that no one can know the day or the hour must apply to the Rapture and not the Second Coming, and that makes the Rapture an event that is separate and apart from the Second Coming.

Preaching the Gospel to all the World

Strangely, one of the most important arguments that Pastor Schimmel emphasizes against the Pre–Trib Rapture is that it takes the Church out of the world before it has finished its task of proclaiming the Gospel to all the world.

I say this is a strange argument because the Bible never says that the Church will accomplish that task. Rather, it teaches that the task will be accomplished by an angel who will be sent forth before the final pouring out of God’s wrath. This angel will circumnavigate the globe, proclaiming the “eternal Gospel” to “every nation and tribe and tongue and people” (Rev. 14:6).

2 Thessalonians 2:1–3

The cornerstone passage that Pastor Schimmel uses throughout his video to attack the Pre–Trib Rapture is found in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. It reads as follows:

1) Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,
2) that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
3) Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction…

Pastor Schimmel argues that these verses clearly teach that the Rapture (“our gathering to Him”) will not occur until two things take place: the great apostasy and the revelation of the Antichrist. Since the Bible teaches that the Antichrist will not be revealed until after the Tribulation begins, this passage means the Church will be on earth during the Tribulation.

The problem is that almost every time this verse is quoted, the second verse is left out, making it sound like the “it” in verse 3 is referring to the “gathering” in verse 1. But when you read all the verses, it becomes obvious that the antecedent of “it” is really not the “gathering.” Instead, it is “the day of the Lord.” The gathering refers to the Rapture. The “day of the Lord refers” in this context to the Tribulation and the Millennium.

This passage is actually a very strong proof text for a Pre–Trib Rapture. Paul had obviously taught the Thessalonians about the Rapture and that it would occur before “the day of the Lord,” or the beginning of the Tribulation. But someone had sent them a fake letter from Paul claiming the day of the Lord had begun. Accordingly, they thought they had missed the Rapture! Paul tries to assure them that has not happened because the day of the Lord, the Tribulation, will not begin until the apostasy occurs and the Antichrist is revealed.

A Mystery

I wonder why a biblical doctrine that is supposed to be so wrong has been so marvelously blessed by the Lord?

The first best–selling Bible prophecy book in history was Jesus is Coming, written by William E. Blackstone and published in 1878.31 Blackstone was an American Evangelical and Christian Zionist. The book sold multi–millions of copies worldwide and was translated into 48 languages. It is still in print today. In the book, Blackstone affirmed his belief that the Jews would be gathered back to their homeland, and he endorsed the concept of a Pre–trib Rapture.

The Scofield Study Bible, first published by the Oxford Press in 1909 became the most popular such book in the world, and continues to be distributed worldwide today.32 Scofield was an ardent advocate of the Pre–Trib Rapture.

And then there are the sermons of Harry Ironside at the Moody Church in Chicago and W. A. Criswell at First Baptist Church in Dallas. Both taught the Pre–Trib Rapture, and their books have been greatly blessed with widespread distribution.

Or consider the fact that Hal Lindsey’s Pre–Trib book, The Late Great Planet Earth,33 was the number one best selling book (except the Bible) for ten consecutive years (1970–1980), only to be outdone by the Left Behind series of books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins which have sold more than 60 million copies.34

I think the Lord is trying to provide hope to His people in the midst of a rapidly darkening world by assuring them that they will escape the Tribulation that is on the horizon.

And yes, I used the word, escape. That word drives Post–Trib advocates like Pastor Schimmel up the wall because they think that Christians are called to suffer for the Lord during the Tribulation. But Jesus Himself is the one who used the word when He said that when we see all the end time signs converging, we are to pray that we might “escape all these things that are about to take place . . .” (Luke 21:36).

Conclusion

I see no biblical basis for combining the Rapture and the Second Coming. I believe the Bible clearly teaches that the Lord’s return will be in two stages — first, the Rapture and then the Second Coming.

There is plenty of room for disagreement about the timing of a Rapture that is separate and apart from the Second Coming. I believe the best inference of the Scriptures is that the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation begins. Those who do not agree with that viewpoint should at least recognize that it is biblically based, and they should offer biblical arguments against it rather than rely on character assassination.

Reference Notes

1) Joseph Schimmel, Left Behind or Led Astray? A video program produced by Good Fight Ministries, Simi Valley, California, 2015.

2) Thomas Ice, “The History of the Doctrine of the Rapture, Part 1: A History of Pre-Darby Rapture Advocates,” www.bbc.edu/barndollar/barndollar_pre-darby_rapture.pdf. Page 11.

3) Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf, volume 1 (1925), chapter VIII.

4) Phyllis Petty, Christian Hatred and Persecution of the Jews,” www.therefinersfire.org/antisemitism_in_church.htm.

5) Todd Strandberg, “Margaret MacDonald Who?” www.raptureready.com/rr-margaret-macdonald.html, page 1.

6) Ibid.

7) Dave MacPherson, The Unbelievable Pre-Trib Origin, (Heart of America Bible Study, 1973).

8) Rapture Ready, “The Inventor of the False Pre-Trib Rapture History,” www.raptureready.com/who/DaveMacPherson.html, page 1.

9) Schimmel, Disc 1 at 1:37:45.

10) Thomas Ice, “The History of the Doctrine of the Rapture, Part 4: A Refutation of False Origins of the Rapture Theories,” www.bbc,edu/barndollar/barndollar_refutation_rapture. pdf, page 10

11) Strandberg, page 1.

12) Keith Sherlin, “The History of the Pre-Trib Rapture,” http://www.essentialchristianity.com/pages.asp?pageid=21918, pages 3-4.

13) Ice, “The History of the Doctrine of the Rapture, Part 1,” pages 6-7.

14) Ibid., pages 7-9.

15) Joey Faust, “The Pretribulation Rapture Has Been Taught throughout Christian History,” www.jesus-is-savior.com/Believer’s%20Corner/Doctrines/rapture_history.htm, Pages 4-5,

16) Ice, “The History of the Doctrine of the Rapture, Part 1,” pages 9-10.

17) Paul N. Benware, Understanding End Times Prophecy: A Comprehensive Approach, (Chicago: Moody Press, 2006), Page 247.

18) Thomas Ice, “A Brief History of the Rapture,” www.pre-trib.org/articles/view/brief-history-of-rapture, Page 2.

19) Ibid.

20) Ibid.

21) Ice, “The History of the Doctrine of the Rapture, Part 1,” pages 10-14.

22) Ibid., page 11.

23) Thomas Ice, “The History of the Doctrine of the Rapture, Part 4: A Refutation of False Origins of the Rapture Theories,” www.bbc.edu/barndollar/barndollar_refutation_rapture.pdf, pages 3-7.

24) Manuel Lacunza, The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty, (published in Spain in 1812).

25) Schimmel, Disc 1 at 1:16:15.

26) Schimmel, Disc 1 at 1:50:57.

27) Schimmel, Disc 1 at 1:52:37.

28) Thomas Ice, “The History of the Doctrine of the Rapture, Part 4 . . .” www.bbc.edu/barndollar/barndollar_refutation_rapture.pdf, page 5.

29) David R. Reagan, The Jewish People: Rejected or Beloved? (McKinney, TX: Lamb & Lion Ministries, 2014), pages 93-124.

30) David R. Reagan, God’s Plan for the Ages: The Blueprint of Bible Prophecy (McKinney, TX: Lamb & Lion Ministries), pages 172-174.

31) William E. Blackstone, Jesus is Coming, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1989). This is a reprint of the book that was first published in 1878.

32) C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Reference Bible (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1909).

33) Hal Lindsey and C. C. Carlson, the Late Great Planet Earth (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Press, 1970).

34) Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, The Left Behind series of books consists of 16 novels published between 1995 and 2007. They were published by Tyndale House in Carol Stream, Illinois.

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