The third major issue that the PTRT brings to the forefront is the false teaching/teachers that it has brought into the church. If there are no Bible texts to support the 'at any moment' return of Christ, and in fact there are plenty of Bible passages that confirm that there are necessary 'intervening events' which need to take place before His coming, as outlined in Part I, then what must be done to correct this conflicting message!
Dr. S.P. Tregelles whom we have referred to earlier, pointed out that two major issues were his great concern, due to the adoption of the PTRT, one being the denial of 'intervening events' and the introduction of 'false teachers' in the church'. It is significant that the PTRT was born during the era of the birth of false religious cults such as the Jehovah's [False] Witnesses-1870, Seventh Day Adventists-1830's the Mormons-1827, the Christian Scientists-1848. It's beginnings, although found in the writings of Morgan Edwards in 1788, the real development and advancement of the theory did not take form until the now famous dream and prophesying of Margaret MacDonald in 1832.
Even though the Scripture forbids women from speaking 'in the churches' (I Corinthians 14:34) her prophesying was accepted as from the Lord in Edward Irving's Pentecostal Catholic Apostolic Church and became the foundation of the PTRT. Her dream, being the source of her prophesying, is also shown to be out of order in that the church age will be characterized by: 'young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams'(Acts 2:17) not young women, and therefore even her dream must be rejected as not being from the Lord. This same verse does authorize prophesying: 'your sons and your daughters shall prophesy' but, the key here is that it is not to be done in the church where women would be in authority over men!
So, a false doctrine was born, much to the dismay of those who knew the Word of God during that time, and men like the great scholar Dr. S.P. Tregelles was at the forefront of battle. Although he was and is a recognized Biblical scholar of the highest degree, having published The Englishman's Greek Concordance, The Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance along with six other study volumes including The Greek New Testament with Ancient Readings in full, and Jerome's Latin Version, he was ignored by those who based their PTRT on theories founded primarily on the dream and prophesying of a young women!
However, we are now a full century and a half from that day, and this theory has become 'tradition' not needing the support of the truth of the Word of God, but simply the word of 'great men' of the past. This seems to be the substance necessary to uphold and confirm this grievous error! And so, introducing the truth of Scripture, at a moment like this, is first met with the cry 'heretic', 'Just what does he think he's doing, I've been preaching and teaching this for thirty years' [therefore it must be the truth] they say.
Yes, I remember well when I was first confronted concerning my 'errant prophetic beliefs'. A friend, who still is my friend, came to me to 'straighten me out' on the subject, and after thirty minutes or so of loving explanation, he was 'scratching his head' and considering my position. He was not aware of the relative 'newness' of the PTRT and how it was born etc., etc., etc.
But, the issue that needs to be resolved is this: There are false teachers in the church and they don't have a clue as to the degree and 'doctrine' because, for the most part this 'different from tradition' message of truth concerning the coming of Christ and the end of the age, in the fundamental Bible teaching church, is being ignored or soundly rejected as heretical without a good evaluation of the truth itself!
Therefore, we, who know and hold to this truth, must continue to teach and preach it at all opportunities the Lord provides. We must begin at home with our loved ones and indoctrinate thoroughly those whom God puts under our authority, with the truth of Scripture, so that their minds will not be darkened or deceived by the tradition of the PTRT and therefore make them vulnerable to being unprepared for the fierce and deadly persecution that is coming, yes, even now is increasing, upon us all who believe!
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