John Nelson Darby (18 November 1800 – 29 April 1882) was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern

Dispensationalism Dispensationalism is a system that was formalized in its entirety by John Nelson Darby. Dispensationalism maintains that history is divided into multiple ages or "dispensations" in which God acts with humanity in different ways. Dispensationali ...

and Futurism. Pre-tribulation rapture theology was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible. He produced translations of the Bible in German "Elberfelder Bibel", French "Pau" Bible, Dutch New Testament, and English (finished posthumously) based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called '' The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby''. It has furthermore been translated into other languages in whole or part.

Biography

Early years

John Nelson Darby was born in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, London, and christened at St. Margaret's on 3 March 1801. He was the youngest of the six sons of John Darby and Anne Vaughan. The Darbys were an Anglo-Irish landowning family seated at Leap Castle, King's County, Ireland, (present-day County Offaly). He was a nephew of Admiral Henry D'Esterre Darby who served with

Lord Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...

at the Battle of the Nile, and it was in recognition of this family connection that John was given his middle name. Darby was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

where he graduated Classical Gold Medallist in 1819. Darby embraced Christianity during his studies, although there is no evidence that he formally studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He joined an inn of court, but felt that being a lawyer was inconsistent with his religious belief. The future Bishop of Meath and evangelical Joseph Singer tutored him at Trinity. He, therefore, chose ordination as an Anglican clergyman in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, "lest he should sell his talents to defeat justice". In 1825, Darby was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

of the established

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

and the following year as priest.

Middle years

Darby became a curate in the Church of Ireland parish of

Delgany Delgany () is a small rural village in County Wicklow in Ireland, located on the R762 road which connects to the N11 road at the Glen of the Downs. It is about south of Dublin city centre. While it is an older more rural settlement, it is cl ...

, County Wicklow, and distinguished himself by persuading Roman Catholic peasants in the Calary district within this parish to abandon the Catholic Church. The well-known gospel tract "How the Lost Sheep was Saved" gives his personal account of a visit he paid to a dying shepherd boy in this area, painting a vivid picture of what his work among the poor people involved. He later claimed to have won hundreds of converts to the

. However, the conversions ended when William Magee, the Anglican Archbishop of Dublin, ruled that converts were obliged to swear allegiance to

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

as the rightful king of

. Darby resigned his curacy in protest. Soon afterwards, in October 1827, he fell from a horse and was seriously injured. He later stated that it was during this time that he began to believe that the "kingdom" described in the Book of Isaiah and elsewhere in the Old Testament was entirely different from the Christian church. Over the next five years, he developed the principles of his mature theology – most notably his conviction that the very notion of a clergyman was a sin against the Holy Spirit, because it limited the recognition that the Holy Spirit could speak through any member of the Church. During this time (1827–28) he joined an interdenominational meeting of believers (including

Anthony Norris Groves Anthony Norris Groves (1 February 1795 – 20 May 1853) was an English Protestant missionary, who has been called the "father of faith missions". He launched the first Protestant mission to Arabic-speaking Muslims, and settled in Baghdad, and la ...

, Edward Cronin, J. G. Bellett, and Francis Hutchinson) who met to " break bread" together in Dublin as a symbol of their unity in Christ. By 1832, this group had grown and began to identify themselves as a distinct Christian assembly. As they travelled and began new assemblies in Ireland and England, they formed the movement now known as the Plymouth Brethren. It is believed that John Nelson Darby left the Church of Ireland around 1831. He participated in the 1831–33 Powerscourt Conference, an annual meeting of Bible students organized by his friend, the wealthy widow Lady Powerscourt. At the conference, Darby publicly described his ecclesiological and eschatological views, including the pre-tribulation rapture. For about 40 years William Kelly (1821–1906) was his chief interpreter and continued to be a staunch supporter until his own death. Kelly in his work ''John Nelson Darby as I knew him'' stated that "a saint more true to Christ's name and word I never knew or heard of". Darby defended

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

doctrines when they came under attack from within the Church in which he once served. His biographer Goddard states, "Darby indicates his approval of the doctrine of the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

as expressed in Article XVII of the Thirty-Nine Articles" on the subject of election and

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...

. Darby said:

Later years

Darby travelled widely in Europe and Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, and established many Brethren assemblies. He gave 11 significant lectures in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

in 1840 on the hope of the church (''L'attente actuelle de l'église''). These established his reputation as a leading interpreter of biblical prophecy. America did not embrace Darby's ecclesiology as it did his eschatology, which is still being propagated (in various forms) at such places as Dallas Theological Seminary, and by authors and preachers such as

Hal Lindsey Harold Lee Lindsey (born November 23, 1929) – known as Hal Lindsey – is a best-selling American evangelical writer. He is a Christian Zionist, a dispensationalist and a television host. He wrote a series of popular apocalyptic books – beg ...

and John Hagee. In 1848, Darby became involved in a complex dispute over the proper method for maintaining shared standards of discipline in different assemblies that resulted in a split between Open Brethren, which maintained a congregational form of government and Exclusive Brethren. After that time, he was recognized as the dominant figure among the Exclusives, who also came to be known as "Darbyite" Brethren. He made at least 5 missionary journeys to North America between 1862 and 1877. He worked mostly in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

, Ontario, and the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

region, but took one extended journey from Toronto to Sydney by way of San Francisco, Hawaii, and New Zealand. A Geographical Index of his letters is currently available and lists where he travelled. He used his classical skills to translate the Bible from Hebrew and Greek texts into several languages. In English, he wrote a Synopsis of the Bible and many other scholarly religious articles. He wrote hymns and poems, the most famous being, "The Man of Sorrows", (not to be confused with "Man of Sorrows, What a name" by Philip Bliss (1838-1876)). He was also a Bible commentator. His writings were collected in his lifetime and published from January 1866 as "The Collected Writings of J. N. Darby"; there were 32 volumes published – two per year 1866–81 and two more soon after. He translated the Bible with the help of various brethren in different countries into German, French and English. He declined, however, to contribute to the compilation of the Revised Version of the King James Bible even though the revisers consulted Darby's work. He died 1882 in Sundridge House, Bournemouth and is buried in Bournemouth,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, England. Grab von John Nelson Darby

Darby is noted in the theological world as the father of "

dispensationalism Dispensationalism is a system that was formalized in its entirety by John Nelson Darby. Dispensationalism maintains that history is divided into multiple ages or "dispensations" in which God acts with humanity in different ways. Dispensationali ...

", whose eschatology was adopted and later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. Mackintosh popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. In the early twentieth century, the Brethren's teachings, through

Margaret E. Barber Margaret Emma Barber or M. E. Barber (1866–1930; Chinese language, Chinese: 和受恩; Pinyin: ''Hé Shòuēn''; Foochow Romanized: ''Huò Sêu-ŏng''), was a British people, British missionary in China. She was born in 1866 in Peasenhall, Suf ...

, greatly influenced the Little Flock or Church Assembly Hall of

Watchman Nee Watchman Nee, Ni Tuosheng, or Nee T'o-sheng (; November 4, 1903 – May 30, 1972), was a Chinese church leader and Christian teacher who worked in China during the 20th century. His evangelism was influenced by the Plymouth Brethren. In 1922, ...

and

Witness Lee Witness Lee (; September 5, 1905 – June 9, 1997) was a Chinese Christian preacher and hymnist belonging to the Christian group known as the local churches (or Local Church) in Taiwan and the United States. He was also the founder of Livin ...

. Darby has been credited with originating the ''pre-tribulational rapture theory'' wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world to its heavenly destiny before the judgments of the tribulation. Thus the prophetic program resumes with Israel's earthly destiny. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the ways of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfil all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham.

Criticism

Charles Haddon Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He wa ...

, Pastor of the

Metropolitan Tabernacle The Metropolitan Tabernacle is a large independent Reformed Baptist church in the Elephant and Castle in London. It was the largest non-conformist church of its day in 1861. The Tabernacle Fellowship have been worshipping together since 1650. ...

and contemporary of Darby, published criticism of Darby and Brethrenism. His main criticism was that Darby and the Plymouth Brethren rejected the vicarious purpose of Christ's obedience as well as

imputed righteousness Imputed righteousness is a concept in Christian theology proposing that the "righteousness of Christ ... is imputed to elievers— that is, treated as if it were theirs through faith." It is on the basis of Jesus' righteousness that God accept ...

. He viewed these of such importance and so central to the Gospel that it led him to publish this statement about the rest of their belief in the Sword and Trowel. James Grant wrote: "With the deadly heresies entertained and taught by the Plymouth Brethren, in relation to some of the most momentous of all the doctrines of the Gospel, and to which I have adverted at some length, I feel assured that my readers will not be surprised at any other views, however unscriptural and pernicious they may be, which the Darbyites have embraced and zealously seek to propagate"

Works

* ''The Holy Bible a new translation by J.N. Darby, a parallel edition'', Bible Truth Publishers: Addison, Illinois.
The Writings of J. N. Darby
courtesy o
Stem Publishing

The Holy Scriptures (A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby)
courtesy o
Stem Publishing

* ttp://www.plymouthbrethren.org/article/10884 The Collected Writings Of J. N. Darby, Ecclesiastical No. 1, Volume 1: The Character Of Office In The Present Dispensation* ''The Watching Servant'', Words of Truth: Belfast, Northern Ireland

References

Sources

* * * * Kelly, William
''John Nelson Darby – as I knew him''
Words of Truth: Belfast, Northern Ireland. * * * *

External links

a biography of J. N. Darby
The writings of John Nelson Darby

Darby & Other Resources
* * * L’Attente actuelle de l’église et prophéties qui établissent la vérité du retour personnel du sauveur, exposées en onze soirées à Genève, (1840)
Bible translated by John Nelson Darby

J.N. Darby's Early Years

Correspondence between Darby and Rev. James Kelly of the Church of England – 5 megabytes

Papers of John Nelson Darby
– Archive of Darby's personal papers at the University of Manchester Library, Manchester, England
Writings by J. N. Darby and his contemporaries

Roy A. Huebner: Historian regarding J. N. Darby, early Brethren, their theology, and dispensationalism

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darby, John Nelson Alumni of Trinity College Dublin British Plymouth Brethren Christian fundamentalists English evangelicals Irish Plymouth Brethren People educated at Westminster School, London People from Westminster Plymouth Brethren Premillennialism Translators of the Bible into English 1800 births 1882 deaths 19th-century translators People buried at the Wimborne Road Cemetery, Bournemouth