The History of the Rapture | Biblical Eschatology Blog Skip to content Biblical Eschatology Blog Many great expositors of the Bible have gotten End Times and Revelation wrong Menu Home About Methodology Tribulation Eschatology Last Days? Rapture? Revelation Intro Revelation-1 Revelation-2 Revelation-3 Revelation-4 Revelation-5 Revelation-6 Revelation-7 Revelation-8 Revelation-9 Revelation-10 Revelation-11 Revelation-12 Revelation-13 Revelation-14 Revelation-15 Revelation-16 Revelation-17 Revelation-18 Revelation-19 Revelation-20 Revelation-21 Revelation-22 HomeThe History of the Rapture The History of the Rapture December 4, 2008 Biblical Guy RaptureAugustine, Bible Knowledge, biblical scholarship, Catholic Apostolic Church, caught up, Clement, Dallas Seminary, Darby, doctrine, Early Church Fathers, exegete, fundamentalists, Hal Lindsey, hermeneutical rules, History, isogeted, Jesus Is Coming, John Walvoord, Margaret Macdonald, Millerites, Origen, prophetic vision, raeptius, Rapture, Scofield Study Bible, Scripture references, The Rapture Question, William Blackstone This doctrine is new; it was never taught or even discussed prior to the 1830’s. It seems to have first come from a “prophetic vision” by Margaret Macdonald, a woman in 1830, who was a part of the cult group the “Irvingites,” while having an emotional experience. Through a “mingled prophecy and vision” (breakdown), and saying “the power of the Holy Spirit,” she came up with this. She was very ill and delusional according to physicians and learned observers at the time. How, how, how did this get to doctrinal status? In spite of her condition, people believed her. Not ministers trained in the Word, not those who were pious Christians, not those with discernment, but those seeking a new fad and emotional experience, just as so many do today. By the way, she was a cultist! Then another cult group in England picked this up by the name of “The Catholic Apostolic Church,” headed by Edward Irving (1792-1834). After that, another cult group called the “Millerites,” predicted the return of Christ on October 22, 1844. It did not happen; that should have been a clue, but this would not die. At the same time, this belief was then picked up by Irish born minister, lawyer, evangelist and author, John N. Darby in 1930, who took this new fad to America in 1862 to 1877. He was looking for a “hook” in his motivational Bible speeches to attract crowds in England and on his visit to the Americas, USA, and Canada. People who knew him said he was not well schooled in the Bible or original languages, read into the Bible all kinds of ridiculous ideas. Many people today still believe in him, especially Baptists who love this guy; he is a favored son. I have his commentaries and find them insightful in places and they are also posted in our sister site http://www.withtheword.org/. But you have to be very discerning and know the Bible before reading them, so you can filter out the garbage to get to the pearls. He was, in fact, a failed lawyer who was very “intolerant to criticism” and prideful. This should be another clue. He managed to become an Anglican priest in 1826 and his theories were rejected by all in his denomination. He then developed a poor method of biblical interpretation called dispensationalism (The Problem with Dispensationalism!)—another clue. But he is a testament on how God uses our foolishness. He founded the Plymouth Brethren Church and has been very popular amongst fundamentalists. The very popular commentary of the Bible he produced has many great insights and with great financial backing, he was able to give free copies to just about every preacher and minister in England and America who were starved for resources. Many only had a Bible and that was it. A well-done commentary, or so they thought, was received with open arms. And this spurred on countless sermons. But he did not do his homework in the Bible. It is filled with errors and illogical content amongst the good stuff, as he put in many of his not so well thought out ideas as fact. Then his theories were picked up by another great reference, the very first study Bible, given out to just about every preacher and evangelist beginning in 1909, and one we still have today, The Scofield Study Bible. Where are the Bible passages for this? Is this not clear in Scripture? Many people think so, but take a look for yourself. The most popular Bible references are John 14:2–3; 1 Corinthians 15:49–55; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-7. The best thing to do is read the passages in their context and you will clearly see for yourself what they say. If you “read into” them, you can make them say anything as you “feel” the words. But God calls us to faith and to reason, as these texts also state! What happened? How did this get all mixed up? Scofield took the Latin word, raeptius, which is an equivalent of the Greek word harpazo used in the 1 Thessalonians 4:17 passage. Harpazo means “caught up” as we previously saw and the Latin means more like “taken away”. It is believed he anglicized it to be the first to use the term Rapture. By the way “caught up” and “taken away” are used in most newer English translations of the Bible. The word caught up or taken away is correctly placed. But in the English, not knowing what this means may cause all sorts of runaway thinking. Then this was further popularized the book, Jesus Is Coming by evangelist William Blackstone, who also sought hooks to motivate people and not so much the Lord, or it seems so from his writings. This work sold more than one million copies. Then the rapture gets a new day by in 1957, when respected Theologian from Dallas Seminary, Dr. John Walvoord, wrote a book called, “The Rapture Question.” He has done great work in Romans and I love what he did with Hebrews, but it seems he did not check his facts and read into the passage a presumption he saw as fact because it was in his favorite work, Scofield Study Bible. But he did not declare it a dogmatic fact, but left it open for further research and debate. Apparently he did not “exegete;” he “isogeted.” (By the way, his one volume commentary, The Bible Knowledge, is very well done, except he tends to read in ideas that are not there and he gets Revelation completely wrong.) Then, the rapture gets popular with the publication of Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth, which sold over 15 million copies; his other works and even other popular authors keep spinning this tail. Some proponents such as Hal Lindsey have taught that Early Church Fathers such as and Origen even Augustine taught the dogma of a Rapture. This is just very bad scholarship at Clement best or lying at worst. I poured over their writings trying to prove a rapture and I never found it. Now with modern software it is easier to search, still not there. Then I asked for the references from the people who think the Church has taught this before; I looked them up; not there either. The emperor has no clothes; they never said it or even alluded to it. So if someone insists this is a valid doctrine, ask for the Scripture references, then ask for any solid biblical scholarship on it. You will find none as I did not. Yes, many great people think this is true and teach it passionately. They get so caught up in it, pun intended, they do not look it up. Many have made grievous errors by thinking like this such as one of my heroes, Chuck Smith who dogmatically predicted that Jesus would return in 1981. Smith recanted and feels ashamed and forgiven. I personally went to Hal Lindsey to interview him for this article, which in 1991 was a seminary paper. I was for the rapture view then. However, following that meeting, I knew it was as wrong as my professor had said. Hal was prideful and condescending; he also was not able to answer any of my questions, such as to exegete the key words in the 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 passage, and refused to look at the references he said taught this. I had copies with me. I was there to prove him right, but he proved himself wrong. So the history of a rapture started out as a prophetic vision inspired by the emotional breakdown of a cultist, that then was picked up by emotional zealots and more cultists unconcerned for biblical truth. Furthermore, it was used as a hook by a prideful preacher who only wanted to give out his nonsensical theorems, then by other evangelists not concerned or trained in the Word. Afterwards, it creeps into the first study Bible, then popular books, and now is it is in the landscape of popular Christian thought. Share this: Reddit Twitter Facebook Print Email Like this: Like Loading... Related Post navigation ← What About the Rapture? The Rapture Question? → 37 thoughts on “The History of the Rapture” gary clay says: December 25, 2008 at 4:50 pm I believe that the lost will be taken first Reply Mary says: December 30, 2008 at 3:36 am Whew, what a great blog – and one that I can really relate to. Speaking of pretrib history, journalist/historian Dave MacPherson seems to be the leading expert on it since he has researched it for many years and has produced many books and internet articles on it. Readers can check him out if they Google “Famous Rapture Watchers,” “Pretrib Rapture Diehards,” “X-Raying Margaret,” “Thomas Ice (Bloopers),” “Letter from Mrs. Billy Graham,” “Revisers of Pretrib Rapture History,” “Deceiving and Being Deceived” etc. and also obtain his bestselling book “The Rapture Plot” which I bought at Armageddon Books online. If history isn’t anyone’s cup of tea and they want great scholarship dealing with the theology of the pretrib view, they won’t go wrong if they obtain the eye-opening prophecy books by Joe Ortiz (see Author House online). I am finding that lots of Christians these days are finding out these long-hidden facts about pretrib and are abandoning it in droves! Mary Reply thekeynote00 says: January 10, 2009 at 1:26 pm WOW… nicely researched. There are a few more crazies that got there hand on this idea early on. But all in all well documents evolution of the rapture Doctrine. Thank you. Reply biblicaleschatology says: January 10, 2009 at 6:12 pm If you have some more “crazies” go ahead and list them…this is what this blog is for…your ideas and research too….be blessed! Reply Is the Rapture Biblical? « Certainty is a Travisty says: January 13, 2009 at 3:17 pm […] https://biblicaleschatology.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/the-history-of-the-rapture/ […] Reply Jon says: March 12, 2009 at 7:28 pm Would you check out this site and tell me what you think of his research. I am a seeker of what is true and would like to know what you see in this article as true or not, http://www.midnightcall.com/articles/prophetic/A-Brief-History-of-the-Rapture.html Thanks! Reply biblicaleschatology says: March 13, 2009 at 7:03 pm I just answered this on a new post. Thanks for your input! https://biblicaleschatology.org/2009/03/13/did-the-early-church-fathers-teach-a-rapture-or-a-particular-position-of-it/ Reply Rudi says: December 9, 2009 at 12:27 am Brother After reading your blog I decided to print it out and use it as part of a Bible study….an example of what not to do You refer to the irvingites as a cult, but upon futher research I found that they believed in the Gospel, the trinity and salvation by grace, the had a few interesting twist’s on the five fold ministry, but that hardly makes them a cult. So be careful “brother” who you call a cultist, if you indeed know Him who is the savior, you may very well be condemning your own brothers and sisters just because you dis agree on some interpretation’s of scripture. In Christ Reply biblicaleschatology says: July 22, 2010 at 10:17 am You may want to learn about “Eisegesis” http://www.churchleadership.org/apps/articles/default.asp?articleid=67933&columnid=4624 Be blessed! Phil 1:6 Reply Faith says: September 13, 2020 at 3:32 pm Do not know if you are my brother in the Lord or not, but do know that I was raised in the Catholic Ministry and then left to go to the off shoots of the Catholic Ministry being the Protestants who none of them ever completely left the Catholic faith, and continue to teach things not in my bible, and remain in error. The Catholics though, are so off from the word of God that they deny His word for the most part, altogether to the point of being an Apostate faith. They have written and proclaim they had the right to change His written word and have indeed changed His laws and much more, but it is written; Matthew 5:17-18 KJV Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot (period) or one tittle (apostrophe) shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. And they claim the Pope is God upon the earth and that the Priest is the go between God and man but it is written; KJV For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. So having said that I will not in love intentionally hurt or degrade those who are Catholic, yet having received the Holy Spirit through the sacrifice of our Lord,while in error and deceived they are indeed my brothers and sisters in the Lord. But I am and will be forever bound as Martin Luther once said it is neither right nor safe not to speak the truth nor to keep silent where God and His written word is concerned, and so I say sadly but without apology that Catholicism is in fact a cult. And all forms of it are indeed a cult. You are sadly mistaken that the Irvingites were not a cult, while they were better than most catholic cults,and while i am I am sure some had received The Lord because of the one teaching of the sacrifice they were still a cult. The Pope Is Jesus Christ On Earth Many Catholics do not know what their own church teaches. When I conversed via letter with a Master’s Degree graduate of a Florida Catholic college about the Pope being Christ on earth, he replied, “Get your facts straight before coming up with such nonsense.” So, without further adieu, let the Catholic Church speak for itself on this matter. The following are from their own published works. Most of these are ancient, but still serve as reliable sources and proof-texts for this damnable doctrine. These words appeared in the Roman Canon Law: “To believe that our Lord God the Pope (emphasis mine) has not the power to decree as he is decreed, is to be deemed heretical. The Gloss “Extravagantes” of Pope John XXII Cum inter, Tit. XIV, Cap. IV. Ad Callem Sexti Decretalium, Paris, 1685. Father A. Pereira says: “It is quite certain that Popes have never approved or rejected this title ‘Lord God the Pope,’ for the passage in the gloss referred to appears in the edition of the Canon Law published in Rome in 1580 by Gregory XIII.” Writers on the Canon Law say, “The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in heaven and earth.”- Barclay Cap. XXVII, p. 218. Cities Petrus Bertrandus, Pius V. – Cardinal Cusa supports his statement. Pope Nicholas I declared that “the appellation of God had been confirmed by Constantine on the Pope, who, being God, cannot be judged by man.” – Labb IX Dist.: 96 Can. 7, Satis evidentur, Decret Gratian Primer Para. “The pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man…he is as it were God on earth, sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ, chief of kings, having plenitude of power.” -Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca, 1763, Volume VI, ‘Papa II’, pp.25-29 “The supreme teacher in the Church is the Roman Pontiff. Union of minds, therefore, requires…complete submission and obedience of will to the Church and to the Roman Pontiff, as to God Himself.” -Leo VIII, On the Chief Duties of Christians as Citizens, Encyclical letter, 1890. “God separates those whom the Roman Pontiff, who exercises the functions, not of mere man, but of the true God…dissolves, not by human but rather by divine authority.” Decretals of Gregory IX», Book 1, Chapter 7.3 “Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of the lower regions (infernorum).” -Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca, 1763, Volume VI, ‘Papa II’, p.26) “Innocent III has written: “Indeed, it is not too much to say that in view of the sublimity of their offices the priests are so many gods.” The Dignity of the Priesthood, by Liguori p. 36 “The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, he is Jesus Christ himself, hidden under the veil of flesh.” Catholic National July 1895. “We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty” Pope Leo XIII Encyclical Letter, June 20, 1894. “For thou art the shepherd, thou art the physician, thou art the director, thou art the husbandman, finally thou art another God on earth.” Labbe and Cossart’s, History of the Councils. Vol. XIV, col. 109 The title, ‘Lord God the Pope,’ is found within a gloss of Extravagantes of Pope John XXII, title 14, chapter 4 In an Antwerp edition of the Extravagantes, the words, “Dominum Deum Nostrum Papam” (Our Lord God the Pope) can be found in column 153. In a Paris edition, they are found in column 140. Roman Catholic Canon Law stipulates through Pope Innocent III that the Roman pontiff is “the vicegerent upon earth, not a mere man, but of a very God;” and in a gloss on the passage it is explained that this is because he is the vicegerent of Christ, who is “very God and very man.” Decretales Domini Gregorii translatione Episcoporum, (on the transference of Bishops), title 7, chapter 3; Corpus Juris Canonice (2nd Leipzig ed., 1881), col. 99; (Paris, 1612), tom. 2, Devretales, col. 205 “The pope is the supreme judge of the law of the land… He is the vicegerent (replacement) of Christ, who is not only a Priest forever, but also King of kings and Lord of lords.” La Civilia Cattolica, March 18, 1871, quoted in Leonard Woosely Bacaon, An Inside View Of The Vatican Council (American Tract Society ed.), p.229, n. The Bull Unam Sanctam… Issued by Pope Boniface VIII reads as follows: “The Roman Pontiff judges all men, but is judged by no one. We declare, assert, define and pronounce: to be subject to the Roman Pontiff is to every human creature necessary for salvation that which was spoken of Christ ‘thou has subdued all things under his feet’ may well seem verified in me… I have the authority of the King of Kings. I am all in all and above all, so that God himself and I, the vicar of God, are one, and I am able to do all that God can do.” “Christ entrusted His office to the chief pontiff;… but all power in heaven and in earth has been given to Christ;… therefore the chief pontiff, who is His vicar, will have this power.” Corpus Juris, chap. 1 column 29, translated from a gloss on the words, Porro Subesse Romano Pontiff. “The pope is the supreme judge of the law of the land…He is the vicegerent of Christ, and is not only a priest forever, but also King of kings and Lord of lords”–La Civilta Cattolica, March 18, 1871. “All the faithful must believe that the Holy Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff [the Pope] possesses the primacy over the whole world, and the Roman Pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and is true vicar (earthly replacement) of Christ, and head of the whole church, and father and teacher of all Christians; and that full power was given to him in blessed Peter to rule, feed, and govern the universal Church by Jesus Christ our Lord.” First Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ, “Eternal Pastor,” published in the fourth session of the Vatican Council, 1870, chap. 3, in Philip Schaff’s, Creeds of Christendom, vol. 2, p. 262. “The Pope’s authority is unlimited, incalculable; it can strike, as Innocent III says, wherever sin is; it can punish every one; it allows no appeal and is itself Sovereign Caprice; for the Pope carries, according to the expression of Boniface VIII, all rights in the Shrine of his breast. As he has now become infallible, he can by the use of the little word, “orbi,” (which means that he turns himself round to the whole Church) make every rule, every doctrine, every demand, into a certain and incontestable article of Faith. No right can stand against him, no personal or corporate liberty; or as the [Roman Catholic] canonists put it, “The tribunal of God and of the pope is one and the same.” Ignaz von Dollinger, A Letter Addressed to the Archbishop of Munich, 1871; as quoted in MacDougall, The Acton Newman Relations (Fordham University Press) pp. 119,120. “The Saviour Himself is the door of the sheepfold: ‘I am the door of the sheep.’ Into this fold of Jesus Christ, no man may enter unless he be led by the Sovereign Pontiff; and only if they be united to him can men be saved, for the Roman Pontiff is the Vicar of Christ and His personal representative on earth.” (Pope John XXIII in his homily to the Bishops and faithful assisting at his coronation on November 4, 1958). “This is our last lesson to you: receive it, engrave it in your minds, all of you: by God’s commandment salvation is to be found nowhere but in the Church; the strong and effective instrument of salvation is none other than the Roman Pontificate.” Pope Leo XIII, Allocution For The 25th Anniversary Of His Election, February 20, 1903; Papal Teachings: The Church, Benedictine Monks of Solesmes, St. Paul Editions, Boston, 1962, par. 653). “Furthermore, in this one Church of Christ no man can be or remain who does not accept, recognize and obey the authority and supremacy of Peter and his legitimate successors.” Pope Pius XI, Encyclical, Mortalium animos, January 6, 1928, The Papal Encyclicals, Claudia Carlen, I.H.M., McGrath Publishing Co., 1981, pp. 317, 318. “We define that the Holy Apostolic See (the Vatican) and the Roman Pontiff hold the primacy over the whole world.”A Decree of the Council of Trent, quoted in Philippe Labbe and Gabriel Cossart, The Most Holy Councils, col. 1167. “Of what sublime dignity is the office of the Christian priest who is thus privileged to act as the ambassador and the vicegerent of Christ on earth! He continues the essential ministry of Christ; he teaches the faithful with the authority of Christ, he pardons the penitent sinner with the power of Christ, he offers up again the same sacrifice of adoration and atonement which Christ offered on Calvary. No wonder that the name which spiritual writers are especially found of applying to the priest is that of alter Christus. For the priest is and should be another Christ” Faith of Millions, John O’Brien, Ph.D., LL.D., 268-269; nihil obstat, by Rev. T. E. Dillon; Censor Librorum and Imprimatur, by John Francis Noll, D.D., Bishop of Fort Wayne). Reply biblicaleschatology says: February 6, 2010 at 6:25 pm We stand by what we said, perhaps you may want to do some actual research and not glean info from said periodicals with revisionist bias…the Irvingites and Millerites were indeed a cult, booth socially and doctrinally…. Reply Terry says: July 21, 2010 at 12:11 pm Well, regardless of church history, that fact of the matter is we have Scripture (1 Thess. 4:16-17, 1 Cor. 15 to name just a couple of passages) that teaches the catching up of the saint to be with the Lord in the air in a new and glorified body (call it what you will). When this will take place is a further matter of debate but to say the rapture (from the Latin) is a recent invention of crazed and sick minds ridiculous. This was taught clearly by the Anti-Nicene fathers and only fell out of popular theology after the merge of the Roman government with Christianity. Many other orthodox beliefs were changed during that era also. Reply biblicaleschatology says: July 22, 2010 at 10:15 am I once thought as you did until I read the passages and then did an honest, non Eisegesis, exegetical study… https://biblicaleschatology.org/rapture/ “Anti-Nicene Fathers”? I thought this was fact too, until I read through it… not a peep, so as I always ask, show me the references…. https://biblicaleschatology.org/2009/03/13/did-the-early-church-fathers-teach-a-rapture-or-a-particular-position-of-it/ Be blessed! Phil 1:6 Reply 2010 in review « Biblical Eschatology Blog says: January 3, 2011 at 12:55 pm […] The History of the Rapture December 2008 12 comments 5 […] Reply Kerry says: January 12, 2011 at 4:37 am Wow, some of you guys are so focussed on justifying your opinions about the rapture you are becoming less than charitable. Personally I hope the rapture is a reality however I am inclined to doubt it having read all scripture refs quoted. It’s fair to say Jesus would want us to focus more on overcoming our defects than debating whether the rapture’s for real. God bless all. Reply debij65 says: January 9, 2018 at 9:52 am Well said, I felt the same way. When I see people getting riled up and not just calmly presenting their research then the “testing of the spirit” becomes clear very quickly. Reply Nick says: March 2, 2011 at 10:19 pm So, I’m putting together a presentation on pretribulationism in my eschatology class for school, and that’s what brought me to this article. While I’m always open to looking into different sides of every point, as long as their well researched (and prove so by siting their sources {{{HINT TO AUTHOR OF ARTICLE}}}), I found this particular blog to be full of opinion with very little source siting to back it all up. I’ll remain objective enough to take what you said and research the groups you’ve mentioned, but you really offered nothing of any substance to anyone really seeking to learn anything other than your opinion. NOTE TO READERS– Don’t swallow this article as truth. Research the matter for yourself, and START WITH SCRIPTURE. Opinionated people can be extremely detrimental to anyone’s learning process if not discerned and taken in stride. In Christ, Nick Reply biblicaleschatology says: March 2, 2011 at 11:10 pm You said, “don’t swallow this article as truth. Research the matter for yourself, and START WITH SCRIPTURE. Opinionated people can be extremely detrimental to anyone’s learning process…” I say you are absolutely correct! This blog is based on inductive research, not reading in opinions, and each article is a snippet, so you may want to see the entire series or the “About” and the entire research is here for your answers, http://www.churchleadership.org/pages.asp?pageid=67280 Be blessed! Richard Phil 1:6 Reply biblicaleschatology says: March 2, 2011 at 11:17 pm References From the Books “The Early Church Fathers” The Shepherd of Hermas, 2; 23:5.(An early Church Father whom many say came up with this theory) Blackstone, William. Jesus is Coming (1878). Now published by Kregel (1989). Boyer, Paul. When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1992), page 75. Benware, Paul. Understanding End Times Prophecy: A Comprehensive Approach (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), pages 197-198. Ice, Tommy. “Morgan Edwards: A Pre-Darby Rapturist,” The Conservative Theological Journal, April 1997, pages 4-12. Denny, Timothy J. and Ice, Thomas D. “The Rapture and an Early Medieval Citation,” Bibliotheca Sacra, July-September 1995 LaHaye, Tim. “Target Number One,” Pre-Trib Perspectives, September 2002, pages 1-3. Lindsey, Hal, The Rapture, Bantam Books (1983), p. 25 Gundry, Robert, “The Church and The Tribulation”, Zondervan (1973) Scofield, C. I. The Scofield Study Bible (London: Oxford University Press, 1909). Larkin, Clarence. Dispensational Truth (Philadelphia, 1920). Keeley, Robin, Eerdmans’ Handbook to Christian Belief, Wm B Eerdmans Publishing, (1982), p.415 Lindsey, Hal. The Late Great Planet Earth (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1970). LaHaye Tim and Jenkins, Jerry. The Left Behindbook series. Chris Nelson. (2002-06-18). “A Brief History of the Apocalypse; 1971 – 1997: Millennial Madness” Retrieved on 2007-06-23. MacPherson, Dave. The Unbelievable Pre-Trib Origin (Heart of America Bible Society, 1973). MacPherson, Dave. The Incredible Cover-Up: Exposing the Origins of the Rapture Theories (Plainfield, NJ: Logos 1975) Rosenthal, Marv: “The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church: Is It Biblical?”, Regular Baptist Press (1991) Snobelen, Stephen D., Isaac Newton and Apocalypse Now. 2007 “The World Did Not End Yesterday”, Boston Globe(Associated Press), 1992-10-29. Walvoord , John, “The Rapture Question, 1957.” From the Web: “St. Ephraem”in the Catholic Encyclopedia on the Internet. Ed Reese, “Henry (Harry) Allan Ironside” 3. http://www.aroundomaha.com/sschool/rapture.html 4. http://www.geocities.com/lasttrumpet_2000/timeline/jeffrey.html 5. http://www.khouse.org/articles/1995/39/ 6. http://www.bibleprophesy.org/ancient.htm 7. http://www.geocities.com/lasttrumpet_2000/timeline/ephraem.html 8. http://us.geocities.com/worldview_3/2tribchurch.html 9. http://bibleprophesy.org/jesuitrapture.htm 10. http://www.raptureready.com/ 11. http://www.bibleprophesy.org/ 12. http://www.raptureready.coml/ 13. http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Position_Papers/pp_4182_rapture.cfm 14. http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/articles/full.asp?id=9%7C21%7C40 15. http://www.gonethefilm.com/ 16. http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blrapture.htm(this is here because it is funny and make an excellent sermon illustration to this article) 17. http://www.rapturefund.org/ 18. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millerites © 1991, 2008, R. J. Krejcir, The Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development, http://www.truespirituality.org/, http://www.churchleadership.org/ Reply Lmc says: June 1, 2012 at 3:48 pm I have read the passages you mentioned. What do you say they mean if not “rapture?” I understand it is a made up word, but if I call a rose by a different made up name it is still a rose. From the scripture it states that at some time the Lord will return, and those of us still alive will be transformed (after the dead). There is also the part about being caught up into the sky. Without reading into it I take each point literally. You warned not to read into it, but if the notion of rapture is reading into the passages, then what do you say they mean? Reply biblicaleschatology says: June 1, 2012 at 5:15 pm YES! Transformed! It is all about the Glory of our Lord and His Second Coming! The rapture is a red herring, like arguing about which mustard to put on a hot dog for 3 hrs and miss the fact you are at the World Series… See what this Passage meant to a 1st century Jew and Roman: https://biblicaleschatology.org/2008/12/04/what-about-the-rapture/ Be blessed! Reply Cindy says: July 10, 2012 at 10:29 pm I was raised Pentecostal, but I don’t believ the rapture theory…I too studied the origin and went to Israel with my dad, who is a pastor…we witnessed to many Palestinians and Jews, unfortunately we tagged along with a calvary chapel group that made fun of us for being Pentecostal even to the point of pretending to be slain in the spirit and mocking/blasphemy of the holy spirit. I wrote chuck smith when we returned and he didn’t even reply. A week after our return an earthquake hit west covina, Ca and the only damage was to that Calvary chapel church…their roof split down the middle ! I have no respect for chuck smith or his teachings, other than ur hero chuck, I would say you are right on the money. We did not push our beliefs on anyone from Calvary chapel, but the chastised us for witnessing g to the locals…said we were there to sight see not witness. Nice bunch…Jesus would be proud…not! Reply Paul says: July 4, 2013 at 10:44 am Chuck Smith says that Catholics are basically Christians! I guess he missed the 50 million slain Christians over the last 600 years by the Jesuit Order of the Roman Catholic Church. Darby sighted a Jesuit priests writings on the book of Revalation in 1630 named Francisco Ribera. Darby who is called the father of the Rapture theory actually got his theory from a jesuit preist. I guess he missed the counter reformation movment, which by the way still exists today. The catholic church is behind nearlly all the decietful false doctrines that exist in the protestant church today. Calvary Chapel is a false witness and is a movement just like the Pentacoslal is a movement not a Church. The office of prophet is closed as well as physical healing, other toungues and the likes. There are no new Apostles to Christ or Prophets. Ribera coined futerism as a doctrine and Darby turned it into a false doctrine. The Rapture is not biblical and Christ will only return to you after you die to bring your soul with him into heaven. Heb. 9:27,28 KJV: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation”. the word men is plural that means all men will die first then Judgment. The rapture is false and does not happen period. Toungues Prophecy Healing and name it claim it pentacostal preachers lie like an old rug. Paul Reply Wayne says: May 29, 2015 at 12:25 pm Sorry, Paul, but I only read your misinformed statements today. Perhaps this will help you understand that prophecy has not yet ceased in spite of what some believe 1 Cor. 13:8 states. “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1 Cor. 13:8). G1108 γνῶσις gnōsis gno’-sis From G1097; knowing (the act), that is, (by implication) knowledge: – knowledge, science. “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth” (Rev. 11:3). How can one proclaim prophecy or prophesying has ceased since Rev. 11:3 has not been fulfilled yet? If you receive a prophecy from a true prophet (Jesus had warned about false prophets in the future), you may be quite amazed at what God can reveal to them about your own private life. I also have a friend who has been instrumental in several healings brought forth by Jesus after his prayer. You would do well to not just believe everything a particular minister tells you. Research the Word, Jesus Himself, and listen to other viewpoints before declaring questionable things. Blessings to you. Reply journeyboost.com says: June 12, 2021 at 6:17 am Thanks Paul. I was looking for the connection to the Catholic priest and the doctrine of the rapture. I was surprised that the original article did not point out this link. As for the gifts of the Spirit being active today – I pray we will see the genuine work of the Spirit in whatever way God desires to bring His presence. Sticking to Scripture and seeking to be a vessel for God’s work alone. I appreciate your humble apology too. Reply Bruce Stadtler says: October 15, 2021 at 12:22 am Rapture will happen & please read below where I explain MANY people who supported the rapture between the 1600`s-1800`s. People wrote there was no one before John Darby or ey,& that statement is NOT TRUE Bruce Stadtler I will explain Heb.9:27-28 as it pertains to the rapture @ another time,I am not arguing with you just saying what I believe & with 22 yrs of studying Hebrew & Greek.I disagree with one other thing you said,there is healing today but not like you see on TV with the Benny Hinns etc,& I agree that the Catholic church is the biggest cult in America,Have a Blessed day, Bruce Stadtler Reply Paul says: August 20, 2015 at 5:47 am Sorry to leave a bitter taste, I am not usually bitter and am sorry, please forgive my rant. I am blessed to have a savior in Jesus that will raise me up in the day of judgment and hope to be found cleansed of my sin! Peace be with you! Reply Bruce Stadtler says: October 15, 2021 at 12:32 am I didn`t read your rant,but your sins are forgiven @ the moment of salvation,when truly in your heart put your faith & trust in what Christ did on the cross,with his shed blood you sins are washed away to never to be brought up by Christ again so please don`t worry about your sins being cleansed,Calvary covered it ALL if your a true Born Again Believer John 3:3-7 they are forgiven forever,Amen & Hallelujah!!! Bruce Reply Mark says: April 13, 2019 at 5:02 am Try reading the bible from genesis to revelation and not by imputing and impuning your understanding on it by a retrograde application of what the new testament says. Then you might understand eschatology and the things of the latter end. Reply Biblical Guy says: April 23, 2019 at 5:05 pm Exactly that, yes, which is our point, be blessed! Phil 1:6 Reply DanD says: February 8, 2021 at 12:32 am Institutional Zionism is both Xtian Rapture theology’s most covert cultural sponsor and secret political master. The Scofield bible sustains Xtian Zionism as the Earth’s premier Xtian warrior cult. If the Scofield bible (or something like it) had not popularly been distributed as it was in the earliest 20th century, Zionland (also called Israel) could never have been established. DanD Reply Bruce Stadtler says: October 15, 2021 at 12:01 am The Rapture was taught back in the 1600`s,check these names out,Morgan Edwards (1722-1795),Ephraem The Syrian (AD c.303-373),,Irenaeus,Against Heresies,The Ante-Nicene Fathers,Lucian(died 312),Theodore(AD 350-428) Chrysostom(AD 354-407)Theodoret(AD 386-458) & Diodorus of Tarsus all believed in the rapture.Early early Christians after the Apostles taught this,Justin Martyr,Irenaeus,Tertullian & Methodius.The Apostles believed in imminent return of Christ,Rapture of the Saints,saved from the tribulation,a literal Antichrist,return of Christ. Cyprian (AD 200-258)-Treatises of Cyprian,Victorinus(240-303) Thomas Vincent (1634-1678),Joseph Mede (1586-1639)Jeremiah Burroughs (1600-1646)Nathaniel Homes (1599-1678),William Aspinwall(1605-1662),John Browne(1582-1659),William Hook(1600-1677) Anonymous Tract (1699),Oliver Heywood(1630-1702),Increase Mather(1639-1723). There are many more but it is 2:00am & am Tired,these all believed in the Pre-Trib Rapture, Amen & Amen Please do research 1st before saying NOBODY before the 1800`s taught the rapture was true. Reply Bruce Stadtler says: October 15, 2021 at 12:04 am Why would my comment need moderation,many longer than mine & please leave as is,will add many names later. Bruce Stadtler Reply Biblical Guy says: March 3, 2022 at 1:03 pm Sorry, I am backed up and sometimes no wifi…. Reply Bruce Stadtler says: March 3, 2022 at 7:56 pm Sorry but I have no idea who you are,please explain & If it has to believing the rapture,I believe & VERY easy to Prove. Have a Blessed day. Bruce S On Thu, Mar 3, 2022 at 2:03 PM Biblical Eschatology Blog wrote: > Biblical Guy commented: “Sorry, I am backed up and sometimes no wifi…. ” > woman in england 1800s who thought she saw jesus rapture people - Saw Tool says: January 12, 2022 at 12:13 pm […] The History of the Rapture | Biblical Eschatology Blog […] Reply James says: January 26, 2022 at 5:25 pm Something no one is mentioning. The theory of a rapture is counter to all Jesus taught about the Christian and tribulation. Jesus never told his followers that they would escape. The rapture is popular because people don’t want to suffer even for the cause of Christ. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here... Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Email (required) (Address never made public) Name (required) Website You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change ) You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change ) You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change ) Cancel Connecting to %s Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Δ Pages About Eschatology Last Days? Methodology Rapture? Revelation Intro Revelation-1 Revelation-10 Revelation-11 Revelation-12 Revelation-13 Revelation-14 Revelation-15 Revelation-16 Revelation-17 Revelation-18 Revelation-19 Revelation-2 Revelation-20 Revelation-21 Revelation-22 Revelation-3 Revelation-4 Revelation-5 Revelation-6 Revelation-7 Revelation-8 Revelation-9 Tribulation Archives December 2017 September 2017 May 2017 March 2017 October 2016 August 2016 December 2015 October 2015 September 2015 July 2015 May 2015 February 2015 January 2015 October 2014 July 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 March 2013 February 2013 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 February 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 Blogroll A Heart After Christ! Acts29.org Biblical Stewardship Discipleship Tools Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development Francis Schaeffer Into Thy Word ITW Blog ITW Group This Is Marriage With the Word WordPress.com Search for: Recent Posts Promise of Eternity IV September 23, 2017 WILL THE TEMPLE BE REBUILT? Does John 14:1-4 Teach a Rapture? Septemeber 23, 2017 angels antichrist Apocalypse Babylon battle beast Bible study Blessed blood Christ church Come comfort compromise context Covenant crowns defeat Devil Dragon earth End Times Eschatology eternity evil faith faithful faithfulness False Teachers Futurist God God’s wrath grace heaven hermeneutical rules hope immorality In the Spirit into thy word judgment Judgments Lamb Last Days literal loyalty metaphor Nero Parthians passage peace Persecution power praise prophecy Rapture redemption Repent repentance Revelation righteous Satan Second Coming Seven Churches Seven heads sin Son of Man Temple tribulation Trumpets victory Vindication war warning worship Worthy Categories Bible Study False Teachers hermeneutical rules Is Eschatology Important Jesus’ End Times Parables Last Days according to Jesus Rapture Revelation Revelation chp 1 Revelation chp 10 Revelation chp 11 Revelation chp 12 Revelation chp 13 Revelation chp 14 Revelation chp 15 Revelation chp 16 Revelation chp 17 Revelation chp 18 Revelation chp 19 Revelation chp 2 Revelation chp 20 Revelation chp 21 Revelation chp 22 Revelation chp 3 Revelation chp 4 Revelation chp 5 Revelation chp 6 Revelation chp 7 Revelation chp 8 Revelation chp 9 Second Coming tribulation Uncategorized What is Biblical Eschatology Recent Comments Sofia L on Revelation Interpretive Diffic… Bruce Stadtler on The History of the Raptur… Biblical Guy on The History of the Raptur… Denice on Revelation Idealist view Denice on Revelation Idealist view Biblical Eschatology RSS Feed Promise of Eternity IV September 23, 2017 WILL THE TEMPLE BE REBUILT? Does John 14:1-4 Teach a Rapture? Septemeber 23, 2017 Promise of Eternity III Untitled Promise of Eternity II Promise of Eternity PI The Parable of the Leaven, the Tares and the Rapture PII Please prayfully consider donating Get more from life! Enjoy more energy, more vitality and help support our ministry! The New Exodus How to Build your Faith to Share your Faith Building Healthy Relationships... Into Thy Word How to Study the Bible! E Books The Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development RSS Feed It is our VISION and call, and commitment to point the church back onto the path of making disciples. It is our passion and directive to lead Christians away from our false perceptions and into His way. francisschaeffer.org churchleadership.org Bible Reading Plans Into Thy Word Family of Websites intothyword.org withtheword.org pastortraining.org truespirituality.org biblestudynotes.org francisschaeffer.org discipleshiptools.org churchleadership.org biblicaleschatology.org intothyword blog Blog at WordPress.com. Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy Follow Following Biblical Eschatology Blog Join 1,185 other followers Sign me up Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now. Biblical Eschatology Blog Customize Follow Following Sign up Log in Copy shortlink Report this content View post in Reader Manage subscriptions Collapse this bar %d bloggers like this: