From the OP:
Chuck Missler Proves The Pre-Trib Rapture
Since the thesis of the OP is predicated on the credibility of Chuck Missler, it would be wise to first examine the work of the man and his attempts to rewrite church history to fit his theological beliefs.
Another Calvary Chapel figure, Missler uses the tactic of misrepresenting his theological opponent's motives and beliefs. Concerning post-tribulationists, Missler recently said "It's interesting today to see the hostility that occurs...the post-tribulationists, all kinds of people are angry, hostile, 'cause we're taking Israel seriously, Biblically. Interesting reaction. I often feel by their non-love whether or not they're non-Christians...."
1
This is typical of the subtle sleight that goes on in this seamy slander. Chuck Missler is deliberately attempting to put forth the proposition that post-tribulationists are not really hostile about being fired from their ministries for their views, they're not upset at being thrown off radio stations for reading scripture on the air, they're not angry because the rapturists have repeatedly lied concerning the historical record, they're not upset at all about the lying pastors defending a false doctrine as they attempt to suppress any opposing views; instead he says post-tribulationalists are upset because "we [the rapturists] take Israel seriously"!
2
He then has the nerve to suggest that when individuals emotionally react to the repeated thefts, intellectual dishonesty, blatant lies, and underhanded attacks for simply disagreeing with a dubious doctrine, he can't help but "...feel by their non-love whether or not they're non-Christians."
3 Incredible!
The fact is, Chuck Missler has been getting away with literary murder for so long he seems to think he has a scholarly license to kill. In a series of commercially marketed audio tapes entitled
The Feasts of Israel,
The Seventy Weeks Of Daniel, and others, Chuck reveals the lengths he is willing to go in the pursuit of his pre-trib holy grail. In these tapes (apparently recorded at various live presentations), he grossly misrepresents historical reality to such a degree that he must be convinced no-one in the audience has a library. Either that, or he figures all his students are too lazy to bother to look up the actual citations he so maliciously misrepresents.
The following is a word for word transcription taken from three public presentations by Chuck Missler concerning the pre-tribulation rapture:
"In the early church...it was clearly the doctrine. The Bible teaches, and the early church taught that the Lord was to be expected at any moment. If there are any post-tribulationists here, I apologize, but that's the truth...pre-tribulationism did not start with Darby,
it started in the first century. I won't get into that one here. [Contrary to his last statement, he then proceeds to 'get into that one.']
4
"This idea [the pre-trib rapture] is not a new idea. There's a myth going around that this is all a recent invention. You can find the ideas in The Epistle of Barnabas, which is in the 1st century....Irenaeus, in his Against Heresies, Hippolytus, in the 2nd century, Justin Martyr, Dialogue With Trypho...."
5
"...Augustine, and others all had this thing of the 2nd coming being very close. Specific dates were predicted by Joachim of Floris in 1260...Joseph Mede in 1660, William Whiston in 1715, and then again in 1734, and then again in 1866. J A Bengel in 1836...William Miller predicted the famous events in 1843. And then again in October 22 of 1844. CT Russell declared 1874 as the definite date...."
6
"One of the recent discoveries of just a year ago is some writings of Ephraem the Syrian....One of the most prolific writers for the Eastern Orthodox Church is a person by the name of
Ephraem The Syrian...
He wrote in the 4th century...they discovered a manuscript in which in one of
his sermons called
On The Last Times, Antichrist And The End Of The World, you find this phrase 'for all the saints and elect of God are gathered prior to the tribulation that is to come that are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.' Interesting phrase...this doesn't prove the doctrine's correct, but it's interesting it was held in the very early times."
7 [emphasis mine]
This tactic has worked so well at Missler's speaking engagements that, by my count, he's used this boilerplate speech dozens of times for at least several years. Let's look at the actual facts. First and foremost, let's set the record straight.
Not one early historical figure mentioned by Chuck Missler ever held to a pre-tribulation rapture. In his impressive linguistic legerdemain, Missler does not offer a single quote from the historical figures he mentions. The one quote he inaccurately attributed to "Ephraem The Syrian," is not only NOT a Pre-Trib rapture citation,
it was not even written by Ephraem!
I'll now attempt a point-by-point, and name-by-name refutation of Missler's
twisted account of Christian history.
1- MISSLER'S TWIST
"There's a
myth going around that this [the pre-tribulation rapture] is all a recent invention."
THE TRUTH
Dozens of books and scholars have succinctly documented the fact that the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine originated in 1830, with a young Scottish woman named
Margaret MacDonald.
Dave MacPherson's research has taken 30 years, and has culminated in eight titles. While earlier historians originally attributed the doctrine to MacDonald's contemporaries John Darby and Edward Irving, MacPherson's laborious efforts have demonstrably proved the doctrine originated in an extremely questionable circle of Scots operating with occultic overtones.
2- MISSLER'S TWIST
"You can find these ideas [the pre-trib rapture] in
The Epistle Of Barnabas, which is in the first century...."
THE TRUTH
"The final stumbling-block is near...Therefore we are to pay attention in the last days; for the whole time of our faith will profit us nothing unless now in this lawless time we resist also the coming stumbling blocks...in order that the Black One [Antichrist] may not have a way of slipping in." (Barnabas, Epistle of Barnabas, 4:3-9)
3- MISSLER'S TWIST
"...Irenaeus, in his Against Heresies"
THE TRUTH
Irenaeus is a close link to the disciples for he was taught by Polycarp, who was a disciple of the Apostle John. Concerning the 10 kings of the Apocalyptic period, Irenaeus wrote "And they will...give their kingdom to the Beast and
put the church to flight." (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5:26.1)
In another quote, Irenaeus again places the church
in the tribulation, as he quotes Revelation's author John: "But he indicates the number of the name now [666]
in order that when this man comes we may avoid him by being aware who he is." (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5.30)
4- MISSLER'S TWIST
"Pre-tribulationism...started in the first century...You can find these ideas in...
Hippolytus, in the 2nd century."
THE TRUTH
Hippolytus wrote concerning "...the one thousand two hundred and three score days [half of the 70th week] during which the tyrant is to reign
and persecute the church....(Hippolytus, Treatise On Christ and Antichrist, 61)
5- MISSLER'S TWIST
"In the early church...it [the pre-trib rapture] was clearly the doctrine...
Justin Martyr, Dialogue With Trypho...."
THE TRUTH
Justin wrote the following concerning The Antichrist during the tribulation period: "The man of apostasy...shall venture to do unlawful deeds on the earth
against us the Christians." (Justin Martyr, Dialogue With Trypho, 110)
6- MISSLER'S TWIST
"This idea [pre-trib] is not a new idea...it started in the first century...
Augustine, and others all had this thing of the 2nd coming being very close."
THE TRUTH
In his seminal work concerning prophecy, Augustine (354-430) wrote "the kingdom of Antichrist shall fiercely, though for a short time, assail the church...." (Augustine, The City Of God, XX, 23)
In a recurring tactical shift, Missler mentions date setters in the same context as his citations of alleged early pre-tribulationists. Utilizing this intrinsically deceitful method, Chuck Missler indirectly implies the historical figures he is mentioning believed in the pre-tribulation rapture - when in fact they did not.
7- MISSLER'S TWIST
"This is nothing new, by the way,
Joachim of Floris started setting dates of the 2nd coming, the rapture of the church, and all this in 1260."
THE TRUTH
First of all, Joachim of Floris
died in
1202, so it's highly unlikely he was setting any dates in the year 1260. Assuming Mr. Missler actually meant 1260 as the projected date that Joachim set for what Missler has termed "the 2nd coming, the rapture of the church, and all this...," we still see problems. Even if he set this date while on his deathbed in 1202, he would have expected 51 years (the difference between 1202 & 1260 - minus a 7 year tribulation) to ensue before the rapture - hardly an imminent expectation. Assuming the 1260 date as simply Joachim's predicted 2nd coming, it is self-evident he was deducting the year for day scenario applied to the 1260 day period of Revelation 12:6 - in short, Joachim expected the return of Christ
after the 1260 days, i.e. Joachim was definitely a post-tribulationist.
...continued...
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