February 13, 2006

Not One Uncontested Historical Reference to a Pretrib Rapture

by Charles Cooper

One of the charges commonly leveled against pretribulationists is that theirs is an entirely new doctrine having no historical references before John Nelson Darby (1800–1882). The confidence with which some have asserted this position evidences itself in John L. Bray’s challenge. He writes,

Though money is not an easy matter for me to obtain, right now I am willing to pay FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($500.00) to any person who will furnish me with a documented statement by anybody (in a sermon, article or commentary) in any country, published BEFORE LACUNZA’S TIME, which taught that the second coming of Christ will be divided into two stages (Rapture and Revelation) and separated by a period of time such as 45 days, 3 1/2 years, or 7 years (1).

Bray’s challenge went unanswered for many years. Dave MacPheson also challenged the pretribulational Rapture position on the grounds of modernity. In his book, The Incredible Cover-Up, he argues that the teaching of a “secret” Rapture can be traced back to Margaret Macdonald in 1830 (2).

Until 1994, the only response pretribulationists had to Bray and MacPherson’s attack was an admission similar to the one Larry V. Crutchfield made in response to comments of Millard J. Erickson. Erickson states that

While there are in the writings of the early fathers seeds from which the doctrine of the pretribulation rapture could be developed, it is difficult to find in them an unequivocal statement of the type of imminency usually believed in by pretribulationists (italics added).

In response, Crutchfield states, “We [pretribulationists] do not say that the early fathers were pretribulationists in the modern sense, only that the seeds were indeed there….” (3) Indeed, Crutchfield’s own investigation of the writings of the early church fathers forced him to admit that

With few exceptions…the premillennial fathers of the early church believed that they were living in the last times. Thus they looked daily for the Lord’s return. Even most of those who looked for Antichrist’s appearance prior to the second advent, saw that event as occurring suddenly, and just as suddenly being followed by the rescue and rapture of the saints…. This belief in the imminent return of Jesus Christ within the context of ongoing persecution has prompted us to broadly label the views of the earliest fathers: “imminent intratribulationism” (4).

These so-called “seeds” were all pretribulationists could claim in the writings of the earliest church fathers. Like good soldiers, Bray, MacPherson and others exploited the pretrib position at this weak point. One result of the compounding attacks of Bray, MacPherson, and others against pretribulationism was the establishment of the Pre-trib Research Center (PTRC) in 1994. PTRC defines itself as a ‘“think tank committed to the study, proclamation, teaching and defending of the Pretribulation Rapture (pre-70th week of Daniel) and related end-time prophecy” (5). PTRC took Mr. Bray’s challenge head on.

However, it is sad to report that after eight years, tens of thousands of dollars and many hours of searching, the PTRC can only report three possible historical references prior to Darby’s teachings. The depth to which pretribbers will descend to defend their theory is shameful and without precedent among conservative evangelicals. The type of documents in whichtwo of the three supposed historical references occur lack any credibility whatsoever. Such documents would never be used to defend any other truth of the faith. The only logical conclusion to be drawn from the actions of the PTRC is that pretribbers are desperate.

Pseudo-Ephraim
In 1995, Grant R. Jeffrey, a member of PTRC, made the bold assertion that an ancient document that supports a pretrib Rapture does exist. “During the summer of 1994, after a decade of searching, I found several fascinating manuscripts that contain clear evidence of pretribulation rapture teaching in the early church,” (6) writes Mr. Jeffrey.

If indeed the sentence stated below does refer to a pretribulational rapture, it would be the first and only explicit statement in known literature prior to the 17th century. It would not prove that the position is true--only that it was taught much earlier in church history than previously thought by the pretrib attackers. In fact, pretribulationists insist that pretribulationism is not a modern view but one held by the church fathers. This would effectively silence those who attack pretribulationism on the basis of modernity.

The particular document that Mr. Jeffrey refers to is a sermon entitled, On the last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World. It is in the early portions of this sermon that the following important phrase appears:

“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.”

Because of this sentence, Jeffrey declares,

A number of these authors (7) will have to drastically revise the next edition of their books based on the discovery of new pretribulation rapture texts from the writings of the early church.

To Mr. Jeffrey’s claim, however, this author would council, “caution!” The jury is still out concerning the meaning of the critical statement Jeffrey favors. My first question is this: does Pseudo-Ephraim make any references to a period of time that would coincide with the time frame of Daniel’s Seventieth Week? Just for the sake of argument, this author will grant that Pseudo-Ephraem may support a rapture before Daniel’s Seventieth Week. Given the importance of the issue before us, the reader should evaluate this document very carefully, especially in light of other documents that clearly and unambiguously support a return of the Lord to rapture His church after the persecution of Satan/Antichrist starts.

A glace at the authorship, date, and theology of Pseudo-Ephraem calls into question any possible support this document lends to a conservative evangelical doctrine. The history and background of Pseudo-Ephraem makes it a totally inadequate basis for a pretrib rapture, in our opinion.

Pseudo-Ephraem
Authorship
All modern scholarship is agreed that the author of this sermon is unknown; consequently, a pseudo Ephraem has been listed as the author. The word pseudo means false. It is a Greek prefix used by modern scholars to differentiate between a true author and someone writing in a famous person’s name. During the early centuries of Christianity, it was common to write a book and put a famous person’s name on it as the original author. Usually such works were easily recognized as fraudulent because in every case the famous person was dead. Therefore, the author of the sermon is an unknown masquerading as a famous person. No document of this type has ever been used to support a doctrine of the conservative evangelical church.

Concerning the issue of authorship of Pseudo-Ephraem, Paul J. Alexander, an authority on Byzantine apocalyptic tradition writes,

One of the most interesting apocalyptic texts of the early Middle Ages is a sermon On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World preserved in Latin in four manuscripts and ascribed in them either to St. Ephraem or to St. Isidore.

Date
Paul J. Alexander dates this sermon in the sixth century. In relation to the question of the time of writing, he writes, “this text was written by some unknown writer in the sixth century and was derived from an earlier Pseudo-Ephraem manuscript.” This conclusion is confirmed by C.P. Caspari who undertook the job of editing the sermon and offered a commentary concerning its meaning.

Theology
The sermon is divided into ten paragraphs. The second major paragraph states,

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, and there is not other which means, 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 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 the world?...Because all saints and the Elect of the Lord are gathered together before the tribulation which is about to come and are taken to the Lord, in order that they may not see at any time the confusion which overwhelms the world because of our sins (italics added).

The reader should pay close attention to what is stated in this paragraph. The signs predicted by the Lord in Matthew 24 have been fulfilled, and nothing remains except the coming of the Evil one in connection with the consummation.

The final paragraph requires comment as well. It states,

And when the three and a half years have been completed, the time of the Antichrist, through which he will have seduced the world, after the resurrection of the two prophets, in the hour which the world does not know, and on the day which the enemy or son of perdition does not know, will come the sign of the Son of Man, and coming forward the Lord shall appear with great power and majesty, with the sign of the word of salvation going before him, and also even with all the powers of the heavens with the whole chorus of the saints, with those who bear the sign of the holy cross upon their shoulders, as the angelic trumpet precedes him, which shall sound and declare: Arise O sleeping ones, arise, meet Christ, because his hour of judgment has come! Then Christ shall come and the enemy shall be thrown into confusion, and the Lord shall destroy him by the Spirit of his mouth (Italics added).

This is an amazing paragraph in light of the supposed pretrib statement of paragraph two above. The sermon argues that after the three and a half years of Antichrist’s rule and the resurrection of the two prophets, Christ will be introduced to the earth by the sign of the Son of Man and accompanied by the powers of the heavens, a whole chorus of saints and an angelic trumpet. The angelic trumpet will call the dead to life (resurrection). The coming of Christ will result in Antichrist’s binding and being thrown into the everlasting fire along with Satan and the unrighteous.

At face value, it would seem that this author sees no place for a 1000-year reign of Christ on earth following His return. Equally, it would appear that a midtrib position is better argued from Pseudo-Ephraem than from pretribulationism. At no point in the sermon is any evidence given for a seven year pre-tribulation rapture. That pretribbers would use this document in any shape, form or fashion is difficult to understand. It is not too much to say that one can sense desperation in their choice.

Morgan Edwards
The next supposed historical reference to a pretrib rapture occurs in the writings of Morgan Edwards. He became an educator and the premier baptist historian of the 1700’s. Edwards published his beliefs in 1788, and is reported to have taught that “The distance between the first and second resurrection will be somewhat more than a thousand years” (8). Closer examination of his writings reveal the belief that the Lord’s coming for His own and the Lord’s coming with His own is separated by at least three and a half years.

Given the extent of Edwards’ writings on prophecy, one can conclude that he was in no way a pretribber in the modern sense of the word At best, Edwards was a midtribber. Pretribbers totally disregard the man’s explicit statements in this respect. Edwards writes,

Another event previous to the Millennium will be the appearing of the son of man in the clouds, coming to raise the dead saints and change the living, and to catch them up to himself, and then withdraw with them, as observed before. This event will come to pass when Antichrist be arrived at Jerusalem in his conquest of the world; and about three years and a half before his killing the witnesses, and assumption of godhead (9).

Conclusion
Scripture is the first and final arbiter for any Rapture position. However, wisdom would demand that the position of the early church fathers should carry weight in our final decision. The overwhelming majority of early church fathers before Augustine were premillennial “imminent intertribulationists.” That is, they believed that Christ would return and Rapture the church during Antichrist’s persecution of God’s elect. Christ would then punish the wicked and setup a kingdom on earth for one thousand years—a position now echoed in the prewrath position and supported by the overwhelming majority of the earliest church fathers.

In contradistinction, in what must be labeled “an act of desperation,” in order to blunt the effective criticisms of Bray, MacPherson and others, pretribulationists offer Pseudo-Ephraem--one document out of 1, 500 years of church history. It is a document with a very dubious past but is the best pretribulationists can dig up. Written by a person of no reputation, the document depends on the popularity of a past giant of the faith. It sets forth supposedly a two-phased return of the Lord—a “truth” pretribulationists insist could only be found in “seed” form in the early church fathers. At present, this author cannot remember any doctrinal position of the conservative faith that utilizes a suspect document as proof for its authenticity. Perhaps this is the reason why so few pretribulationists have weighed in with their voice of support for Pseudo-Ephraem.

Notes
1. John L. Bray, The Origin of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Teaching (Lakeland, FL: John L. Bray Ministry, 1980), 31.
2. Dave MacPherson, The Incredible Cover-Up, (Medford: Omega Publications, 1993), 79.
3. See footnote #77 in Larry V. Crutchfield, “The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation in the Apostolic Fathers,” which appears in Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy, When the Trumpet Sounds, (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 1995), 454.
4. Larry V. Crutchfield, “The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation in the Apostolic Fathers,” which appears in Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy, When the Trumpet Sounds, (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 1995), 103.
5. This definition was taken from the web-site of the Pre-Trib Research Center.
6. See Grant R. Jeffrey, “A Pretrib Rapture Statement in the Early Medieval Church” in When the Trumpet Sounds, Eds. Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy, (Eugene: Harverst House Publishers, 1995), 108.
7. The immediate context would indicate that Jeffrey is talking about Dave MacPherson, John Bray and G. E. Ladd.
8. Thomas Ice, “Yet, Another Pre-Darby Rapture Statement”, found at http://www.pre-trib.org/article-view.php?id=76#_ednref7
9. See Morgan Edwards, “Two Academical Exercises on Subjects Bearing the Following titles: Millennium, Last-Novelties. At http://www.geocities.com/lasttrumpet_2000/resources/morgan.html. See page 20.