Ancient Church and the Rapture
Irenaeus
Irenaeus (130 A.D. – 202 AD) was a
bishop of the church in Lyons, France. He was an eyewitness to the Apostle John
(who wrote the Book of Revelation) and a disciple of Polycarp, the first of the
Apostle John’s disciples. Irenaeus is most-known for his five-volume treatise, Against
Heresies in which he exposed the false religions and cults of his day
along with advice for how to share the Gospel with those were a part of them.
In his writings on Bible prophecy, he acknowledged the phrase “a time, times
and dividing of times” in Daniel 7 to signify the 3 ½ year reign of the
Antichrist as ruler of the world before the Second Coming of Christ. He also
believed in a literal Millennial reign of Christ on earth following the Second
Coming and the resurrection of the just.
On the subject of the Rapture,
in Against Heresies 5.29, he wrote:
“Those nations however, who did
not of themselves raise up their eyes unto heaven, nor returned thanks to their
Maker, nor wished to behold the light of truth, but who were like blind mice
concealed in the depths of ignorance, the word justly reckons “as waste water
from a sink, and as the turning-weight of a balance — in fact, as nothing;”(1)
so far useful and serviceable to the just, as stubble conduces towards the
growth of the wheat, and its straw, by means of combustion, serves for working
gold. 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.”(2) For this is the last contest of the
righteous, in which, when they overcome they are crowned with incorruption.”
Irenaeus in this passage describes the church leaving the sinful world just before unprecedented disasters. Note his use of the term “caught up” which is Rapture terminology as that is the meaning of harpazo, the term for “caught up” in the King James Bible describing the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4. He then quotes Matthew 24:21 where The Lord Jesus Christ says: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” And it is during this time that those who convert to Christianity during the final years will receive the incorruptible crown mentioned by the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 9:25. In Irenaeus’ belief, the Rapture took place prior to the end times Great Tribulation.
Cyprian
Cyprian (200
AD – 258 AD) – Cyprian was Bishop of the church in Carthage. During his short
stint as leader of the church, he guided the flock through intense persecution
at the hands of the Roman Empire. In 258 AD after spending seven months of
confinement to his home by order of Roman authorities, he was beheaded for his
faith. Several of his works still exist today.
In Treatises of Cyprian he wrote in describing the end times Great
Tribulation:
“We who see that terrible things
have begun, and know that still more terrible things are imminent, may regard
it as the greatest advantage to depart from it as quickly as possible. Do you
not give God thanks, do you not congratulate yourself, that by an early
departure you are taken away, and delivered from the shipwrecks and disasters
that are imminent? Let us greet the day which assigns each of us to his
own home, which snatches us hence, and sets us free from the snares of the
world and restores us to paradise and the kingdom.”
Again we see use of language
commonly found in reference to the Rapture as Cyprian describes the judgments
of the end times as “imminent.” And he makes his belief on the timing of the
Rapture when he wrote that Christians will have an “early departure” and be
“delivered” from the devastating global judgments that come during the Day of
The Lord.
In line with the Apostle Paul who wrote that “God has not appointed us
to wrath, but salvation..” Cyprian expressed joy and encourages the
believing reader to rejoice that the Church will be “taken away” before the
disastrous Great Tribulation. Just as The Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24 used
the same language of one “taken away” and the
other “left.” Additionally Cyprian references the mansions which The
Lord Jesus Christ promises to come back and take His believers to in John 14.
“Let not your heart be troubled:
ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions:
if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto
myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” – John 14:1-3.
In both the Matthew 24 passages (“one taken, the other
left”) and in John 14 (“..receive you unto myself..”) the Greek work paralambanÅ is
used for taken and receive. The meaning of that word is “join to one’s self”
indicating that Jesus is coming to fully unify with His church – which takes
place at the Rapture. Clearly Cyprian believed and taught that the
Rapture takes place before the Great Tribulation.
Ephraim The Syrian
Ephraim (306
AD – 373 AD) was made a deacon in the church in Syria in 338 and later became
the bishop of Nisibis. Although he was made a “saint” in the Roman Catholic
Church, he was not involved in Catholicism and did not even live in the Roman
Empire until the final years of his life. The book Pseudo Ephraim was
one of his still existing works. It was called “Pseudo” because of later
dispute over authorship. However the book’s one reference to the rapture is
very compelling:
In his work, On The Last
Times 2, he wrote:
“We ought to understand
thoroughly therefore, my brothers, what is imminent or
overhanging. Already there have been hunger and plagues, violent movements
of nations and signs, which have been predicted by the Lord, they have already
been fulfilled (consummated), and there is not other which remains, except the
advent of the wicked one in the completion of the Roman kingdom. Why therefore
are we occupied with worldly business, and why is our mind held fixed on the
lusts of the world or on the anxieties of the ages? Why therefore do we not
reject every care of worldly business, and why is our mind held fixed on the
lusts of the world or on the anxieties of the ages? Why therefore do we not
reject every care of earthly actions and prepare ourselves for the meeting of
the Lord Christ, so that he may draw us from the confusion, which overwhelms
all the world? Believe you me, dearest brother, because the coming (advent) of
the Lord is nigh, believe you me, because the end of the world is at hand,
believe me, because it is the very last time.
Or do you not believe unless you
see with your eyes? See to it that this sentence be not fulfilled among you of
the prophet who declares: “Woe to those who desire to see the day of the
Lord!” For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the
tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the
confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins. And so, brothers
most dear to me, it is the eleventh hour, and the end of the world comes to the
harvest, and angels, armed and prepared, hold sickles in their hands, awaiting
the empire of the Lord. And we think that the earth exists with blind
infidelity, arriving at its downfall early. Commotions are brought forth, wars
of diverse peoples and battles and incursions of the barbarians threaten, and
our regions shall be desolated, and we neither become very much afraid of the
report nor of the appearance, in order that we may at least do penance; because
they hurl fear at us, and we do not wish to be changed, although we at least
stand in need of penance for our actions!”
With a sense of urgency and
strong warning, Ephraim writes that the end times are upon this world and could
start at any moment. This text very clearly states the saints and elect of God,
all born again believers in The Lord Jesus Christ, will be “taken to the Lord”
before the Great Tribulation. Ephraim also identifies the Old Testament "Day of the LORD" and the end times Great
tribulation as the same event (in line with the teachings of
the Beginning and End Rapture Series). Ephraim quotes Amos 5:18which says: “Woe unto
you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the
LORD is darkness, and not light.”
The point he makes is that a Christian should know the Day of the Lord is coming. In the first part of the passage Ephraim notes that:
“We ought to understand thoroughly therefore, my brothers, what is imminent or
overhanging. Already there have been hunger and plagues, violent movements of
nations and signs, which have been predicted by the Lord, they have already
been fulfilled (consummated)” And not only that but that true Christians will
be taken away before it starts.
Here he is describing the first 3 of the first 4 seals of Revelation 6 – wars,
famines and plagues. These are the same end times signs Jesus Christ describes
in Matthew 24:
And as he sat upon the mount of
Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall
these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of
the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive
you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive
many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not
troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For
nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall
be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are
the beginning of sorrows. – Matthew 24:3-8.
Jesus describes these events
as “the beginning of sorrows.” He also says that when these
things come to pass “the end is not yet.” Ephraim’s writing
agrees with this interpretation as he says those same events have been
“fulfilled (consummated)” in his day, but it was still not the actual Great
Tribulation. (The
first four seals of Revelation 6 were opened at the time Jesus Christ ascended
to Heaven. And the rapture itself does not occur until the opening of the 6th
Seal.)
Ephraim in very strong language
warns the reader not to be consumed with the cares of the world because the
world in its current form, is coming to an end. As the Second Advent or Coming
of The Lord Jesus Christ grows near, believers are to look to Heaven and set
their hearts on pleasing God. It is clear that Ephraim distinguishes the Second
Coming of Christ from the rapture, placing the Rapture before the Great
Tribulation to come.
From the original: Endtimes.org
Where is the "Rapture" found in the Bible?
Above: Presbyter King gives many details regarding this most important subject.
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