You lost me there. Many before Darby (including some of the Early Church Fathers) indeed held millennial views, but no one before Darby held today's pre-millennial Dispensationalist schema of the End Times before him. Not even the Reformers. It was almost entirely his own invention.
The majority of Christians today (and who have ever lived, for that matter) do not ascribe to this schema. It was not developed until the early 19th century. It originated in England but is mostly held by many (not all) American evangelicals and fundamentalists and is not the historic interpretation or position among Christians. As the majority of Christians in the world are either Catholic, Orthodox and other Eastern Churches who do not ascribe to modern Dispensationalism vastly outnumber the American influenced Evangelical Protestants and Protestant Fundamentalists that are the ones who primarily embrace modern Dispensationalism, it is important to point out that it doesn't represent the views of most Christians.
I know it makes some Rapturists angry that other Christians would dare to point out there are differing views among Christians about this, but it is what it is.
I don’t ascribe to any “systematic” theology theories, but just because lots of people before or after a certain time believed something should be taken as warning sign to not base one’s beliefs on those of others, rather let the scripture and the Holy Spirit be your guide.
So, If the bible is not *clear* on a certain topic, it should be held in tension - not used as a foundation to build a set of beliefs that are not clearly taught in scripture.
Phil 2:12
All of this is well said on your part. Thank you.
You give yourself too much credit for being able to control others.
And what's a *Rapturist*? I tried googling the term up and it doesn't appear to exist outside of your fabrication of it.
Anyone can have their opinions, but this dispensationalism is backed up by Scripture. Open your Bible and study it for yourself. Just because Catholicism and its offshoots don’t believe it, doesn’t make it false.
All of what people call “dispensationalism” is in the Bible.
Period.
Darby is not necessary to this view.
I have read the Bible cover to cover several times and a plain sense reading of Scripture, while paying attention to literary genre, yields the basic futurist premillennialist view.
All the right pieces are on the chess board.
The only thing we don’t when are the smaller details of the chess match, but the chess pieces are there, the board is the right size and shape.