South African Bible Believers

ASSEMBLY HISTORY 4 - JOHN NELSON DARBY

Purpose:

 Passages: See Lesson Notes.

One of the features which distinguished assemblies of brethren from all the other ecclesiastical systems was an intense interest in the Lord's Return.®®In the early 1800's stirring and perplexing events nationally and internationally involving the political, religious, moral, industrial and social spheres impelled Christians in the United Kingdom to turn to God's Word for direction, and the Lord's Return so occupied many hearts and minds as never before in the history of the Church that prophetic conferences in various locations were held, attracting much discussion and exploration of themes connected with the last days, or Eschatology.

Current views in those days (Post-millennialism, Post-tribulationism, Amillennialism and even Pre-millennialism) were so vague, so confusing, so varied, so unsystematic, so contradictory, and so inadequate that the early "brethren" in 6 yearly conferences in Powerscourt House (1831 - 1833) and elsewhere in Dublin (1834 - 1836) each covering 4 - 6 days, set out to discover for themselves the Lord's plan for the future.

From all these conferences one man emerged who was so exercised and so clear in his profound study of prophetic events that the discoveries he made have become fully established not only among assembly circles but also among denominational evangelical churches as well.

He was John Nelson Darby, a remarkable man, brilliant in his approach to many Biblical truths, a literary giant with volumes of writing to his credit, a hymn-writer and poet, an indefatigable traveller, preacher and teacher - a genius, yet a man dogged by controversy owing to his intransigent nature, nevertheless a great man of God.

JOHN NELSON DARBY (1800 - 1882)

Consecration

Born in 1800 in Ireland he entered Trinity College, Dublin, at 15, graduated as Classical Gold Medallist at 19, was called to the Irish Chancery Bar at 22, was saved shortly after, and was ordained a deacon of the Anglican Church in 1825 and a priest in 1826, becoming a curate in County Wicklow, Ireland.

Disillusioned by Anglican bishops whose policies halted the conversion in large numbers of Irish Catholics to Protestantism, he began penning the earliest of his voluminous writings - pamphlets, tracts, treatises, letters, essays, articles, booklets, books and large tomes - at first against the bishops' policies, and as his spiritual perception underwent a radical change regarding the Church, gathering in the Lord's Name, fellowship, communion and reception, apostasy and the Lord's Return, his writings were directed to these themes.

In 1828 Darby began meeting with a group of believers in Dublin who were contemplating leaving the existing churches, and in 1829 "broke bread" in remembrance of the Lord with them in Fitzwilliam Square (see lesson 2).  Darby eventually left the Anglican Church in 1834, as he saw the Anglican Church a mixture of saved and unsaved and not a New Testament Church of believers only, united to the Lord.

In 1830 Darby went to Oxford and later to Plymouth where he was associated with the formation of a new assembly whose leaders were himself, B.W. Newton, P.F. Hall, G.V. Wigram, J.L. Harris and H. Borlase.

Darby however engaged in an extensive itinerant ministry helping to form new assemblies and teach and encourage existing ones in Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, between 1830 and 1845.  In fact the history of European assemblies is a reflection of Darby's biography.

Compassion

Although his father was a well-to-do landowner and merchant Darby had great concern for the poor, and many stories are told of his love for children and the needy.

He travelled long distances over mountains and valleys in the United Kingdom, Europe and America so that the gospel might reach the poor, and many poor and influential were greatly touched by his compassion and gripped by his teaching.

Groups of young men taught by him preached all over Europe, suffering assault and violence, but their work spread remarkably.  Numerous accounts of how saints were imprisoned for breaking bread and reading the Bible in Catholic and Protestant countries abounded.

Controversy

After a very sad and protracted controversy regarding certain teachings concerning our Lord's Incarnation attributed to but not held by Newton in Plymouth, and the reception of some brethren from Plymouth by Bethesda assembly in Bristol - a controversy in which Darby's intolerance and Newton's autocracy and both men's intractability featured prominently - the assemblies split into two streams in 1848, one group following Darby called the "Exclusives" (or Darbyites in Europe) with central headquarters receiving into fellowship only those who belong to the same group, and the other commonly called "Open assemblies of brethren", who receive to the Lord's Table every saint who loves the Lord, who hold firmly to New Testament principles and practices, and are autonomous.

Constancy in labour

After the tragic parting Darby's labours were intensified in Europe. He produced the "Elberfeld Bible" for the Germans, the "Pau Bible" for the French assemblies, and his English Bible appeared in 1890.

From 1859 Darby ministered in Canada, the United States, the West Indies, New Zealand, Holland and Italy.  He was a man of prodigious energy and laboured constantly for the Lord.  For 50 years he was occupied with original exposition of Scripture.  His 'Synopsis of the Books of the Bible' in 5 volumes was recommended by theological schools and a scholar even referred to it as "the standard of appeal.  Every departure from that model is bitterly resented."

A complicated and immense personality his genuine and intense devotion to the Lord continued until his death in 1882.

Before his home-call there is evidence of a changed attitude towards those whom he had alienated.  When Henry Craik was dying in 1866 Darby wrote affectionately to him, regretting their "ecclesiastical separation."  Of Robert Chapman whom his associates criticised, he said, "Leave Robert Chapman alone.  We talk about the heavenly places, but he lives in them."  And of B.W. Newton, his strongest opponent, 10 years before Darby died he referred to him as "Dear brother Newton...the most godly man I ever knew."

Darby's Conviction and Contribution

Darby's greatest contribution to the Church was on Eschatology.

The prophetic conferences in Dublin explored questions and matters perhaps considered for the first time in detail.  These were:-

 After much study Darby introduced and later developed the following teaching:

In 1840 Darby gave a series of 11 lectures in Lausanne where he expressed his full and mature insight on Eschatology.

The following features summarise his teaching on God's future programme:-

Darby's contribution to the understanding of Eschatology was immense.  He was the first to set out very clearly God's revealed plans and purposes for the Church, the Jews and the Gentiles, the 70th week of Daniel, the difference in purpose and time of the Rapture of the Church and the Return to the Earth, and many other features.  His teachings form the structure on which later assembly writers added other details of Eschatology as the Holy Spirit illumined them, such as the Western Revived Roman Empire, the Northern, Eastern and Southern  blocs surrounding Israel, the building of the temple etc.  Now that Israel has become a nation for more than 40 years we see how well John Nelson Darby and the early brethren grasped Eschatology, more than 160 years ago, when many Christians considered the Jews' return an impossibility, and that the Church had replaced the Jews in God's plan.

  ASSEMBLY HISTORY 5

1991/PW