Pastor Kenneth Kirkland

Valdez, Alaska

What is the origin of Pre-trib/Dispensationalism? The testimony from history reveals it is barely 170 years old. Worse yet, latest research has found its origins are closely tied to the occult! Dave MacPherson, author, who has spent 25 years researching pre-trib origins, making many trips to the British Isles digging up old documents, has proof that this is indeed the case.

MacPherson’s previous books traced pre-trib origins to the Irvingites of Britain in the year 1830, with John Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, coming along a few years later, plagiarizing pre-trib from the Irvingites, making a system of prophetic doctrine out of it, the system we now know as "Dispensationalism."

Pentecostal pre-tribs say we make too much out of all this. After all, all the Irvingites of England did was restore original truth just as the Pentecostal movement has done by restoring original Apostolic truths. Not so. History does indeed authenticate Apostolic truths. One is struck by how much historical proof there is for Oneness when the earliest writings of church history are examined. Oneness Vs Trinitarian controversy raged back then (actually, not over the Trinity as we know it, but an infantile form of it), - but, here’s our point - one will look in vain to find the same concerning Post-trib Vs Pre-trib!

The reason there was controversy over Oneness back then is obvious, the Oneness belief of the original Apostolic church was still around in "post-Apostolic" times. We know Post-trib was around back then too, we have an overwhelming mass of evidence for it in these writings. Post-trib, just like Oneness, was carried over from the first century AD representing the belief of the original Apostolic church. So, why was there no post-trib Vs pre-trib controversy back then? Obviously because pre-trib did not exist!

"We can conclude from the survey of early Christian writings that the early church was explicitly posttribulational…We discover NOT A PASSING REFERENCE TO, MUCH LESS A REFUTATION OF, ANY WHO BELIEVED OTHERWISE … Every writer who touches in any detail upon the tribulation, rapture, resurrection, or Second Coming portrays a post-tribulational persuasion." Robert Gundry, Professor of New Testament Studies, Westmont College, Calif.

It has yet to dawn upon most of our modern day Apostolics, so careful for things Apostolic, that the system of prophecy they so enthusiastically believe in is simply NOT APOSTOLIC! Pre-trib is no "restoration" of original truth at all. Rather, It is but the sheer inven-tion of men, having no precedence in scripture or in history. Later modifications of pre-trib, such as mid-trib (originating in the 1940’s), and pre-wrath (originating in the 1980’s), are even less historically valid. The most famous aspect of this system of prophetic interpretation is, of course, the pre-trib rapture, but the system itself, "Dispensationalism," which makes Judaism the central theme of prophecy, the church reduced to a parenthesis or "dispensation" in God’s prophetic plan, is not verified in history either. Scripture clearly refutes it, the New Testament says the church is the central theme of all prophecy, THE ELECT, THE ISRAEL OF GOD. The publication, "The Christian News," rightly notes:

"J.N. Darby formulated a whole new type of premillenialism, founded on the idea that the Christian Church is not Israel. This doctrine was unheard of for 1800 years of Church history. Such famous names as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian (2^nd and 3^rd centuries AD) used the Church as "the Israel of God" as an argument when they were debating the Jews."

And the "Encyclopedia of Early Christianity" tell us, under it’s time frame of Second to Fourth Centuries AD:

"By the 2nd century, the Christian apologists had amassed a collection of themes to defend themselves against pagan and Jewish opposition. The Adversus Judaeos tradition, a broad literary stream within early Christianity was... a group of beliefs based on earliest Christian literature...these BELIEFS ARE THAT THE CHURCH IS THE TRUE ISRAEL; THAT CHRIST ABROGATED THE LAW; and that Judaism, always rebellious and INCLINED TOWARD IDOLATRY, refusing to obey the prophets, continued to exist primarily as an example of spiritual degradation...Jews enjoyed a REPUTATION FOR MAGIC AND ASTROLOGY, reflected in their beliefs that Moses and Solomon were practitioners of magic; this Adversus Judaeos attitude persisted in Christian communities, admiration shown toward Jewish rabbis irritated Christians."

The encyclopedia in describing these occultic practices and beliefs is describing what is known today as the Jewish KABBALAH. Astoundingly, MacPherson reveals that the Irvingites, instead of distancing themselves from this Jewish system of mysticism, magic, and outright witchcraft, openly embraced it. In the Irvingite’s main publication "The Morning Watch" they actually tout the Kabbalah for their inspiration!

Britain, home of the Druids, land of moors, mists and mystery; land of ghosts, leprechauns, goblins, witches, castles, and village "seers," people with so called "second sight," every little village seemed to have a woman with occult powers who could predict the future. MacPherson sees this in Margaret McDonald, the Irvingite who "prophesied" a two stage second coming of Jesus Christ.

McDonald’s closest friend, Mary Cambell, practiced automatic writing and telepathy. McDonald, herself, according to Robert Norton, her biographer, was into levitation. No, Pre-trib did not come to birth in a move of the Holy Ghost as some Pentecostal per-tribs allege, but is of quite a different spirit! Pentecostal per-tribs need to sharpen up their spiritual discernment, can they tell the difference between the Holy Ghost and the occult spirit of clairvoyance?

Britain, largely due to its affinity for things mystic, became the seedbed for major subversions that have swept the world. Freemasonry claims Britain as the place of its origination. By the 19th century, Britain was experiencing a major revival of occultism/Kabbalism. Think for a minute at what came out of nineteenth century Britain. Such occult based subversions as:

• Socialism/Communism (Marx and Engels, the Fabian Society)
• One World Government (Cecil Rhodes created the secret order which became the CFR here in the US, and then evolved into the UN.)
• The theory of Evolution (Charles Darwin)
• New Age (Helena Blavatsky, Annie Besant, and Alice Bailey)
• Corruption of the Bible (Westcott and Hort. All modern versions are derived from the corrupt text fabricated by these two men. Here’s a shocker, both men were heavily involved in occult groups which practiced necromancy, clairvoyance, telepathy, seances, levitation!)

Last but not least, Pre-trib / Dispensationalism. Arising out of the occult milieu of nineteenth century Britain, it belongs in this illustrious list. It has proven itself to be every bit a far-reaching subversion as others in the list have been. We might diverge for a bit of humor. It’s not surprising that evolution and pre-trib are in this list. They do have certain parallels. Both are but theories of men. Both desperately look for "missing links." Closing their minds to vast amounts of creationist evidence, evolutionists go bananas when they think they have found a "missing link."

Likewise, the per-tribs. Straining to find something, anything, to bolster their cause in a veritable sea of historical post-trib evidence, any old bone they find is cause for great excitement in their camp. The only bone they claim to have found is the 4th century document "pseudo-Ephraim." Truth is, it is about as authentic a proof for pre-trib as a few jawbone fragments and a few teeth were for the evolutionists when they found "Ramapithecus."

Evolutionists constructed an entire ape man (in their minds) from such scanty evidence. Creation scientists point out that "Ramapithecus" was not an ape man at all, the bones were actually those of a baboon! Likewise, only the overwrought imaginations of per-tribs find in "pseudo-Ephraim" any proof for pre-trib.

Back to occultic and Kabbalist influence in the development of Pre-trib/Dispensationalism. The occult beliefs and practices of the Irvingites were widely known back then. Darby and his group were not able to escape being identified with it either. I have in my possession, pages from a very large old book we came across a few years ago, "TEXT BOOK OF CHURCH HISTORY," published in Philadelphia, 1881. The book is divided into sections: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and "Anti-Christianity."

Under the heading of "Anti-Christianity" it has: Mormons, Templars (Masons), IRVINGITES, and DARBYITES. Now think about that for a minute! In 1881, students of Church history knew that Mormons, Masons, and pre-tribism had occult origins, termed "antichrist" by the textbook (Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, was a high mason and heavily involved in the occult. Masonry is occultic and based on the Kabbalah). Per-tribs were considered in the same category with Mormons and Masons!

Pre-tribism had a real problem, something had to be done about this. Somehow Pre-trib had to be disassociated from its occultic origins. Beginning in 1889, the cover-up began. Enter William Kelly on the scene, the editor of Darby’s works, a master revisionist, theological con-man, and huckster. By the time Kelly was through (MacPherson has found over 1300 changes he made in the historical record) Darby emerged as a distinguished theologian.

Kelly covered up how the Plymouth Brethren stole pre-trib from the Irvingites; severing every connection of pre-trib / dispensationalism with the Irvingites and the occult. Pre-tribism today doesn’t realize how much it owes to William Kelly. Without the clever cover-up he masterminded pre-tribism today would still be classified along with the Mormons and Masons. Too bad for William Kelly. The truth can be suppressed for only so long.

The connection of Dispensationalism with the Jewish Kabbalah is becoming more obvious everyday. Just like the Irvingites, Chuck Missler, a rising star in current pre-tribism, in his newsletters and in pre-trib prophecy conferences, regularly cites from the Kabbalah in support of Dispensationalism. Like Britain in the 19th century, America no longer has abhorrence for any connection to the occult. We’re not surprised at this return of Dispensationalism to its roots since Dispensationalism is but the prophetic scheme of apostate, Kabbalist Judaism cloaked in Christian garb - and definitely not Apostolic.

Let us "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints," Jude 3

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