Was A Pre-Tribulation Rapture Taught Before The 1800's?

Most often, the teaching re-appears during times of world crisis, social upheaval, pandemics, war, rumors of war, etc., to help bring focus on the soon coming return of Jesus who will stop it all and set up His Kingdom on Earth for 1,000 years.

The Second Coming of Jesus is the blessed hope of the Church (Titus 2:3; also Amos 5:18). The first "coming of the Lord" was at His birth. Jesus told the Disciples that He would return in power and "descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel," for His second "coming" immediately after the seventh and final trumpet sound of the Tribulation, which begins the day of His wrath that will be unleashed on those who have rejected Him as Lord and Savior, as He 'gathers' all His people; both the righteous living and those who have died, and take them with Him in spectacular power and glory to Israel to fight and defeat the Antichrist and his armies, and then begins His Millennial reign as "all things are subjected to Him" to establish the "Kingdom of Heaven" (2 Peter 1:16; Matthew 24:29-31, 37-39; John 6:40, 44,54; Romans 2:5; 1 Thessalonian 4:4:16,13-18,5:1-10; 2 Thess 1:7-11, 2:1-4; Revelation 11:15-19, 19:20; see also 1 Corinthians 15:23,28,51-54; Zechariah 14:2; Jeremiah 6:11).

Over the last 200+- years, two theories emerged known as the Pre-Tribulation and Mid-Tribulation removal of Born-Again Christians from the Earth by Jesus, commonly called the Rapture, before His return. The word 'rapture' does not appear anywhere in the Bible. St. Jerome (c. 347-420 A.D.) translated the Greek word 'harpazõ' into the Latin 'rapiemur' when he translated the Latin New Testament from the Greek New Testament. The Latin verb form of 'rapiemur' is 'rapio' and means "to seize, snatch away" and is used 13 times in the New Testament. The English word "rapture" came from these Latin words and was chosen to encompass how Jesus would remove the Church (Gk: 'ecclesia') from the Earth prior to the pouring out of God's wrath upon those who reject Jesus as Lord and Savior on the single and final day of judgment at the end of history where He will judge all (Amos 5:18-20; Zephaniah 1:14,15,18,2:2; Matthew 10:15; 11:22,24; 2 Peter 2:9; 3:7; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:2,4; 2 Peter 2:9, 3:7; 1 Corinthians 1:8, 3:13; 2 Corinthians 1:14; Philippians 1:6,10; Jude 6; Romans 2:5,16; Hebrews 10:25; Revelation 6:17). This final wrathful judgment, also known as 'Jacobs trouble, 'begins after the Great Tribulation (Revelation 20:11-15, also Jeremiah 30:7).

HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS

Only a handful of historical documents are used as evidence to support the Pre-Tribulation Rapture theory. In context, the writers were living during times of tribulation against the Church. In virtually every case throughout history, the writers who are used to validate the removal of the Church in some form or another were living in times of great tribulation and believed they would not be on Earth when God's imminent judgment and wrath would be poured out. It wasn't until the 1800s that the Pre and Mid-Rapture doctrines began and became widespread within the Church.

Here are seven of the major and most often quoted authors.

1. The Shepherd of Hermas (95-150 A.D.) wrote:

"You have escaped from great Tribulation on account of your faith, and because you did not doubt in the presence of such a beast. Go, therefore, and tell the elect of the Lord His mighty deeds, and say to them that this beast is a type of the great Tribulation that is coming. If then ye prepare yourselves, and repent with all your heart, and turn to the Lord, it will be possible for you to escape it, if your heart be pure and spotless, and ye spend the rest of the days of your life in serving the Lord blamelessly."

The actual issue addressed is about focusing on Jesus alone and remaining loyal to Him and the Church.

2. Irenaeus (A.D. 120-202) wrote "Against Heresies," which was one of the prophetic writings of the early Church. He believed that Jesus would soon take the Church and set up His earthly kingdom here on Earth for a literal 1000 years. He wrote;

"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." For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which, when they overcome they are crowned with incorruption."

He lived in a time of ever-increasing persecution (aka tribulation) against the Church during the reign of Marcus Aurelius and later died a martyr. He spoke of the end as the last "contest of the righteous" when they are ultimately "crowned with incorruption."

3. Cyprian (200-258 A.D.) was the first Bishop and martyr of Africa. He wrote enthusiastically about the imminent coming of the Lord. In his work “Treatise of Cyprian,” he wrote: