You said 99.9 percent of the early church believed in a post trib.
How did you come up with those numbers?
Here's one reason we shouldn't rely on Google as a sure way to build doctrine.
Part 1 of 9.
No, you didn't miss it. Neither did Darby. The article title is not suggesting that the Rapture occurred before the days of John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), but rather is pointing out that a belief in the Rapture of the Church (in particular, a pre-tribulation Rapture) existed and was taught before Darby's birth. As an example of the allegation that belief in a pre-tribulation Rapture is relatively recent, Michael Bird wrote, "The pretrib view did not appear on the scene of church history until J.N. Darby in the 1830s."[1] In this article, we will examine some of the references in biblical works pre-dating Darby that either explicitly taught or appear to teach a pre-tribulation Rapture.
Identifying a few people pre-Darby that taught a pre-trib rapture does not show that this view was widely held. Millions upon millions throughout the centuries adhered to only one coming of Christ at the end of the age after the tribulation. The miniscule percentage of those who thought like Darby are very rare, not common.
But I am willing to listen to your thoughts on this.
You said 99.9 percent of the early church believed in a post trib.
How did you come up with those numbers?
Here's one reason we shouldn't rely on Google as a sure way to build doctrine.
Part 1 of 9.
No, you didn't miss it. Neither did Darby. The article title is not suggesting that the Rapture occurred before the days of John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), but rather is pointing out that a belief in the Rapture of the Church (in particular, a pre-tribulation Rapture) existed and was taught before Darby's birth. As an example of the allegation that belief in a pre-tribulation Rapture is relatively recent, Michael Bird wrote, "The pretrib view did not appear on the scene of church history until J.N. Darby in the 1830s."[1] In this article, we will examine some of the references in biblical works pre-dating Darby that either explicitly taught or appear to teach a pre-tribulation Rapture.
See part 2.
Identifying a few people pre-Darby that taught a pre-trib rapture does not show that this view was widely held. Millions upon millions throughout the centuries adhered to only one coming of Christ at the end of the age after the tribulation. The miniscule percentage of those who thought like Darby are very rare, not common.
But I am willing to listen to your thoughts on this.
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