The Eschatology of John Nelson Darby and His Impact on Western Christianity

Credit: "John Nelson Darby" by Edward Penstone

In the mid-nineteenth century, John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren set out to change the way in which the Christian world understood eschatology… or did they? Nearly all historians agree that John Nelson Darby was influential regarding the way in which many Christians understood biblical end times prophecy. However, there is disagreement as to how Darby’s influence is to be understood. Some, such as Dave MacPherson, argue that Darby is mistakenly credited with developing the idea of the pretribulation rapture. He argues that this concept of the pretribulation rapture was first introduced by a Scottish girl by the name of Margaret MacDonald. Furthermore, he takes a theological as well as historical approach arguing that this teaching is false because it is not biblically supported and not found in Christian tradition. [1] Others, such as Thomas D. Ice directly attacked MacPherson’s conclusion and point out that Margaret MacDonald’s 1830s prophecy did not align with Darby and Brethren eschatology. [2] Jordan Ballard expands upon Ice’s criticism of MacPherson, showing evidence that the pretribulation rapture was taught prior to Darby’s time. [3] These scholars look at both the validity of Darby’s eschatology as well as whether he did in fact develop the idea of the pretribulation rapture.

Alan Thomas Terlep took a unique approach looking at the state of American society at the time Darby and the Brethren taught their end times theology in the United States. His work sought to develop an understanding of why American’s were so open to accepting this teaching. He focused on events that were occurring in the United States and around the world and believed that the Brethren used these events to teach their theology. [4]

More closely related to my interest is the work of Crawford Gribben and Wilburn T. Stancil. These historians took more of a popular culture approach. Gribben followed apocalyptic fiction and connected those writings to the changing end time doctrine.[5] Stancil on the other hand, looked at non-fiction writings to understand changing attitudes surrounding the expansion of pretribulation rapture theology. [6]

Most of the work on John Nelson Darby and his pre-tribulation rapture theology focus on either the validity of his argument, or they argue whether or not Darby developed the concept of a pretribulation rapture. Only a few such as Stancil and Gribben have focused on his impact, but their work was more focused on proving that Darby’s eschatology was impactful and why. Like most Christians, I have my views as to Darby’s biblical interpretation of end times prophecy. I am; however, a historian and I am interested in a historical argument not a theological one. We know that Darby was a significant historical figure in Christian history. I believe scholars like Ballard made compelling arguments that Darby was not the first to suggest a pretribulation rapture. What I want to demonstrate in my research is how John Nelson Darby changed western perceptions of end times prophecy. This has some similarities in its purpose to that of Gribben and Stancil, but my methods will be significantly different. I want to look at official church doctrine, non-fiction (and some fiction) writing, sermons and church affiliation to understand what pre-Darby Christianity looked like in regards to eschatology. I then want to look at the changes that occurred by analyzing these same documents during the early Brethren movement, (1831-1882). Finally, I will analyze the same documents as listed above but also include modern day surveys of Christians to see where they stand on the topic of the pretribulation rapture, in the post-Darby era, gauging the influence of pretribulation rapture theology. I will also look at areas within Brethren influence and compare them to Christianity in areas outside their influence such as the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Historians like Gribbin and Stancil set the stage for my research by clearly demonstrating that pretribulation rapture theology is very much present in modern day western culture. Other historians, whether they believe Darby “created” pretribulation rapture theology or whether it existed, in some form, prior to Darby agree that he and the Brethren were influential in spreading the teaching. An area of history that has been explored very little is a study of how Darby changed eschatology and the magnitude of his influence. By comparing pre-Darby with post-Darby areas of Europe and America and also comparing areas in which the Brethren taught to areas that went untouched by the group, I will create a better understanding of how Darby impacted the teaching of pretribulation rapture. In regards to the validity of his stance, some theologians may use my work to support the idea that the pretribulation rapture is not found within Christian tradition. It is not my intent, however, to make an argument for or against Darby’s teaching.

[1] Dave MacPherson. The Unbelievable Pre-Trib Origin (Kansas City: Heart of America Bible Society, 1973)

[2] Thomas D. Ice. "Why the Doctrine of the Pretribulational Rapture did not Begin with Margaret Macdonald" (1990). SOR Faculty Publications and Presentations. 102. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/sor_fac_pubs/102

[3] Jordan P. Ballard. “A Case for the Pretribulation Rapture of the Church.” (presentation, Liberty University, 2015). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=symp_grad.

[4] Alan Thomas Terlep. "Inventing the Rapture: The Formation of American Dispensationalism, 1850–1875." Order No. 3408606, The University of Chicago, 2010. In PROQUESTMS ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/inventing-rapture-formation-american/docview/607918822/se-2.

[5] Crawford Gribben. “Rapture Fictions and the Changing Evangelical Condition.” Literature and Theology 18, no. 1 (2004): 77–94. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23925696.

[6] Wilburn T. Stancil. “The Cultural Adaptation of Apocalyptic Imagery: A Case Study.” New Blackfriars 80. no. 946 (1999): 542–51. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43250287.