Edward
Irving (August 1792 – December 1834)
Some OAC
members believe the OAC can trace its roots back to the Scotsman Edward Irving
from the Church of Scotland. OAC members commonly believe that only an apostle
can ordain another apostle. Was Edward Irving an ordained apostle? Read and
decide for yourself.
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| Edward Irving |
The most
complete writings about Edward Irving are found in "The Life of Edward
Irving" by Mrs. Oliphant. Written in 1862 in 2 volumes, it extensively used
Irving's journals, letters and other personal writings supplied by those
closest to him.
You can read
his biography here: http://healingandrevival.com/BioEIrving.htm
The
biography is based on various sources and they are all listed here: http://healingandrevival.com/BooksEIrving.htm
- For the Oracles of God, Four Orations (1823)
- For Judgment to come (1823)
- Babylon and Infidelity foredoomed - A Discourse on the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse which relate to these latter times, and until the Second Advent (1826, 2nd edition 1828)
- Sermons, etc. (3 volumes, 1828)
- Exposition of the Book of Revelation (1831)
- An introduction to The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty (a translation of Manuel Lacunza's* book in 1827)
- An introduction to Horne's** Commentary on the Psalms.
- The last days: a discourse on the evil character of these our times, providing them to be the “perilous times” of the “last days” (J Nisbet Pub. 1850)
Edward
Irving, a minister in the Church of Scotland, preached in his church at Regent
Square in London on the speedy return of Jesus Christ and the real substance of
his human nature. He earnestly preached that the end of the world was nigh and
that the church had sinned grievously by not instituting all the posts as he literally interpreted them in Ephesians 4:11
- particularly the apostolate. He pleaded for the immediate introduction of
this post so that the “apostle” designate could “seal” the believers for
salvation.
Catechism of the Old Apostolic Church of Africa…Part 2;
Question 38 (page 68):
“Who can
understand the scriptures?”
(Sic)
“Ans. Those whose spiritual eye has been opened by the
spirit of God. We read in Luke 24 v. 45, with reference to the Apostles…”
Edward
Irving declared that there will be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit and
then Jesus would return. This is in stark contrast to what the OAC believe
today.
Catechism of the Old Apostolic Church of Africa…Part 2; Question
27 (pages 62-63):
“Has Christ
already come, or do we still expect him?” (Sic)
“Ans. (a) Because
the world expects that Christ will come on a natural cloud, they still look
forward to his coming. From Matt. 16 v. 28, it is however clear, that Christ
must already have come…”
“Ans. (b) From 2
Tim. 4 v. 7-8 it is clear that Christ must already have come during Apostle
Paul’s life on earth…”
“Ans. (c) For us
Christ has come, and we see Him, because it is revealed to us through the Holy
Spirit and is our life…”
Catechism of the Old Apostolic Church of Africa…Part 2; Question
31 (page 65):
“On which clouds
will Christ appear?”
“Ans. We must not
confuse these clouds with natural clouds... It is the cloud of
witnesses… It is the same cloud under which
the flock of God was led out of Egypt…”
Catechism of the Old Apostolic Church of Africa…Part 2;
Question 40 (page 68):
“Can a church of
God be established out of the scriptures?” (Sic)
“Ans. No: God
Himself has ordained His church through Jesus of Nazareth and the scriptures
testify of this church.”
From
question 40 above it’s obvious that Edward Irving was wasting his time if the
church of God had already been ordained.
People who
had been driven out of other churches for the exercise of “spiritual gifts” gathered
around him as well as other congregations of different origins. Shortly after
Edward Irving's trial and deposition (1831), he restarted meetings in a hired
hall in London, and many of his original congregation followed him. These, over
the course of the next two years, accepted the presence of “restored apostles”
and guided by words of “prophecy”, saw Edward Irving officially serving as
their “bishop”. This congregation became known as the "Central
Church", one of seven that were defined in London as forming a pattern for
the whole Christian Church.
Catechism of the Old Apostolic Church of Africa…Part 2;
Question 49 (page 72):
“By whom has the
foundation of Jesus Christ been laid in us?”
“Ans. By the Apostle, Thus Apostle Paul testifies to his
community…(1 Cor. 3 v. 9-10)”
Catechism of the Old Apostolic Church of Africa…Part 2;
Question 56 (page 77):
“Who ministers us
with the Sacrament of the Holy Sealing?”
“Ans. God, who uses the Apostle as His servant (fellow
worker)…(1 Cor. 3 v 9)”
Catechism of the Old Apostolic Church of Africa…Part 2;
Question 57 (page 77):
“How is the
Sacrament of the Holy Sealing ministered?”
“Ans. Through the laying on of the hands of an Apostle of
Jesus Christ. (Refer Act 19 v. 6 and Acts 8 v. 15-17.)”
Does
Edward Irving who was an excommunicated minister from the Church of Scotland
qualify as an “apostle” of Jesus Christ?
You can read
some of Edward Irving’s prophecies in 1828 on pages 10-22 in the book:
The last
days: a discourse on the evil character of these our times, providing them to
be the "perilous times" of the "last days"
You may also
find the following book interesting where Edward Irving is put on trial before
the Presbytery of Annan: https://books.google.co.za/books?id=w5xdAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=edward+irving%27s+failed+predictions&source=bl&ots=Vru0C46Cdq&sig=UUYvmNKlzsmSNBPcrtCg2vzKGdw&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=edward%20irving's%20failed%20predictions&f=false
Another interesting
book about Edward Irving was written by David Malcolm Bennet:
“Edward
Irving Reconsidered; The Man, His Controversies, and the Pentecostal Movement”
A
tree is known by its fruit and false prophets are known by their false
prophecies.
You can also
read:
- Catholic Apostolic Church (1832 – 1972)
- The Hamburg congregation (1863 – New Apostolic Church)
- Carl George Klibbe (December 1852 – May 1931)
- The schism tree
Additional
notes:
* Manuel Lacunza a.k.a. Emmanuel de
Lacunza a.k.a. “Ben Ezra” (1731 – 1801) was a Roman Catholic Jesuit Priest from
Chile whose book was published in Spain in 1812. He is regarded as one of the
most influential writers to suggest that the church needed to review her
position and look again at what the Word of God has to say on the subject. In
his book he writes about the following:
§ He advises going back to
the literal truth of Scripture
§ He asserts the restoration
of the Jews in the end-times
§ The two-fold coming of the
Lord
§ The millennial reign
§ The setting up of the
temple sacrifice once again
§ The restoration of the earth
following the yet future and final defeat of satan.
His position has been described as
“futurist post-tribulation”. One of the prime reasons for his work was to rebut
the centuries old claims of the “doctors of the church” who sought to put the
church in the position of the Jews both now and during the end times. He refers
back again and again to the inerrant word of God and sweeps away 12 centuries
of replacement and amillenial theology to show again the teaching of the early
church and the Scriptures. For these reasons the Roman Catholic Church banned
the book. He does however occasionally quote church teaching rather than Scripture
where the doctrinal views fail the test of Scripture.
** George Horne (1730 – 1792) was an Anglican
Bishop from England whose book was published in 1771. He saw Christ as the key
to understanding the Psalms. He also warns against the abuse of spiritual interpretation of Scripture, yet declares that
human errors can never invalidate the truths of God. He proceeds to demonstrate
the spiritual and evangelical meaning of the Psalms. He refers to 20 passages
from the Psalms which are cited by Jesus and His apostles, his purpose being
that of showing how the Lord and His disciples applied these passages “to
matters” evangelical. His work explains the Psalms in their literal or historical sense, as they
relate to King David and the people of Israel, yet does not neglect the
allegorical nature or double sense of the book in their application to the
Messiah and His church.
