This week in Christian history: Anglican clergyman Frederick Faber converts to Catholicism; End Times theologian born
John Nelson Darby born – Nov. 18, 1800
This week marks the anniversary of when John Nelson Darby, a 19th-century theologian who heavily influenced how modern Evangelical Christians view the End Times, was born.
A native of Ireland who was raised in England, Darby became an Anglican clergyman. Over time, he became associated with a religious sect known as the Plymouth Brethren.
Darby was an early and important champion of dispensationalism, which states that God has ordered history into different ages, or dispensations, and that Israel was not replaced by the Church during the New Testament age.
James Fazio, dean of Bible and Theology at Southern California Seminary, wrote that there were “very few individuals through the entire course of church history who, when named within Evangelical circles, invoke so varied a response as that of John Nelson Darby.”
“[N]early all of his teaching and ministry has gone on to shape much of what is considered today as ‘the fundamentals’ of evangelical faith,” wrote Fazio.
“In addition to his advocacy of dispensational theology, Darby also gave much consideration to biblical prophecy, the priesthood of every believer, and the pre-tribulation rapture.”
