One of the earliest Rapture references that I personally know of is that of Ephrem the Syrian. This fourth-century theologian and deacon spoke of the pre-Tribulation Rapture 1,500 years before John Nelson Darby was born. As I said in my last post, the importance of that is the false claim of opponents of the pre-Tribulation Rapture that it is a new doctrine that is only a couple of hundred years old. The following is one of the most significant examples of how incorrect that assertion really is. There is some dispute about whether this sermon was actually given by Ephrem the Syrian, which is why the author is sometimes credited as "Pseudo-Ephrem." But even the later date given as a possible date for this sermon still puts it about 1,200 years before Darby.
Ephrem's sermon is titled On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World. Ephrem believed he could be living in the end times when he looked around at a world where true faith was dwindling, crime was growing, wars among the nations, and corruption in the church. That doesn't sound too unlike our world today but, in the words of Sophia Petrillo, "I digress." One error he seemed to make is also similar to that of today in that he connected the end of the age with the end of the Roman Empire. I say that reminds me of the present time because many American Christians interpret the signs of bad things happening in America as a sign that the Rapture must be near. Indeed, we can know the signs of the times, or Jesus would not have given us any. But Israel is God's timepiece, not Rome and not America.
Nonetheless, despite his error in interpreting events of his day as signs that the end was at hand, the relevant portion of his sermon for this post can be found in section 2. For it is there that Ephrem makes this statement: "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?" In this quote, Ephrem states that Christians must loose themselves from earthly cares and keep an eternal perspective because he believed the time was near for Jesus to "draw us from the confusion which overwhelms the world." Does that not sound like a reference to the Rapture when the Lord will indeed do that very thing? Ephrem continues: "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." That is most definitely a reference to the pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. He uses the very words "prior to the Tribulation that is to come."
This writer/speaker understood the promises of Scripture. Jesus said that those who were patiently, steadfastly waiting by enduring and keeping his word, he would keep them from the time of tribulation that was about to come upon the whole world (Revelation 3:10). And 1 Thessalonians 5:9 promises us that God has not appointed us to suffer his anger and wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:36 says that those who believe in, have faith in, cling to, and rely on Jesus Christ already possess eternal life. But whoever is unbelieving and refuses to trust in Christ will not only miss out on eternal life but has the wrath of God abiding over them continually. If the Church were meant to experience the Tribulation, we would be under wrath just like the lost. But that seems to me like a contradiction of Scripture. If the Tribulation was just about persecution, it could rightly be predicted that we might go through it because Jesus warned that his true followers would be persecuted in this life. But the Tribulation (Revelation 6-18) includes 21 judgments that the world will experience as the wrath of God is poured out on humanity in a final attempt to get them to see the error of their ways before it is too late. The church is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33). Therefore, we are not under his wrath.
Ephrem also believed that the Tribulation would only be three and a half years instead of the entire seven that Daniel 9:27 predicts. But, again, the point of this is not to point out where Ephrem got some of the events and timing wrong, but to demonstrate that belief in the pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church is not 200 years old but goes back to early church history. This is only one of the objections raised by those who reject the pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church, but it is one of the most frequently-stated objections, which is why this topic was deserving of more than one post and reference.
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