One of the most unpopular beliefs among Christians today is that of the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Many not only scoff at our expectation of meeting Jesus in the air, but also ridicule those of us who believe it could happen at any moment.
The resulting silence in most pulpits today regarding our “blessed hope” has opened the door for a great many misconceptions about it to flourish. For many, social media and Internet searches have replaced sound biblical teaching regarding our “blessed hope.”
Below are five popular lies about the Rapture.
1. BELIEF IN THE RAPTURE BEGAN WITH JOHN DARBY
Despite clear and overwhelming evidence to the contrary, most Christians remain convinced that belief in the pre-Tribulation Rapture began with John Darby. They claim that since no one in the church held this viewpoint prior to the nineteenth century, we shouldn’t ascribe to something no one believed before the time of Darby.
This assertion is blatantly false.
In AD 180, Irenaeus wrote Against Heresies to refute the errors of Gnosticism. In Book 5, Chapter 29, of Against Heresies he wrote these words:
And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, “There shall be Tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be.”[1]
In the above quote, this early prominent early church theologian used the same Greek word for “caught up,” harpazo, that Paul used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, a favorite Rapture verse of many. He clearly had this passage in mind.
While his words don’t specify a pre-Tribulation Rapture, they do reveal Irenaeus’ belief that the event portrayed in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, the harpazo, would come before a time of extended Tribulation on the earth as presented in Matthew 24:21ff during which time the church would be absent from the earth.
His words also confirm an early belief in Jesus’ appearance for His church that’s separate from the Second Coming. He didn’t combine the two events as most do today.
In my book, The Triumph of the Redeemed, I document beliefs similar to that of Irenaeus in the following documents or writers:
The Shepherd of Hermas (about AD 140)
Cyprian (AD 200–258)
The Apocalypse of Elijah (Third Century AD)
Ephraim the Syrian (AD 306–373)
Morgan Edwards (1722–1795)
Each of the above examples, which predate John Darby by an exceptionally long time, express the belief that Jesus would remove His church from the earth before a period of extended judgment upon it. Ephraim clearly believed in a pre-Tribulation Rapture although Morgan Edwards placed it at the midpoint of the Tribulation.
Ongoing research into the history of the church continues to uncover more occurrences of a belief in the removal of the church from the world followed by a time of tribulation and after that, the Second Coming.
In his book, Dispensationalism Before Darby, Dr. William C. Watson devoted an entire chapter to instances of belief in the Rapture during seventeenth century England. In a few of the cases, writers used the word “Rapture” while others referred to some who would be “left behind.” Church history is full of references, long before the time of Darby, that place Jesus’ appearing for His church before a time of tribulation that precedes the Second Coming.
No comments:
Post a Comment