Myths of the Origin of Pretribulationism (Part 1)

Dr. Thomas Ice

Ahistory of the rapture is of necessity a history of pretribulationism, sincemost other views do not distinguish between the two phases of Christ'sreturn-the rapture and second advent. The partial rapture andmidtribulationism have been developed only within the past 100 years.

Thatthe earliest documents (in addition to the New Testament canon) of the ancientchurch reflect a clear premillennialism is generally conceded, but greatcontroversy surrounds their understanding of the rapture in relation to thetribulation. Pretribulationists point to the early church's clear belief inimminency and a few passages from a couple of documents as evidence thatpretribulationism was held by at least a few from the earliest times.

Aswas typical of every area of the early church's theology, their views ofprophecy were undeveloped and sometimes contradictory, containing a seedbed outof which could develop various and diverse theological viewpoints. While it ishard to find clear pretribulationism spelled out in the fathers, there are alsofound clear pre-trib elements which if systematized with their other propheticviews contradict posttribulationism but support pretribulationism.

Sinceimminency is considered to be a crucial feature of pretribulationism byscholars such as John Walvoord,[1] it is significant that the ApostolicFathers, though posttribulational, at the same time just as clearly taught thepretribulational feature of imminence.[2] Since it was common in the earlychurch to hold contradictory positions without even an awareness ofinconsistency, it would not be surprising to learn that their era supports bothviews. Larry Crutchfield notes, "This belief in the imminent return ofChrist within the context of ongoing persecution has prompted us to broadlylabel the views of the earliest fathers, 'imminent intratribulationism.'"[3]

Expressionsof imminency abound in the Apostolic Fathers. Clement of Rome, Ignatius ofAntioch, The Didache, TheEpistle of Barnabas, and TheShepherd of Hermas all speak ofimminency.[4] Furthermore, The Shepherd ofHermas speaks of thepretribulational concept of escaping the tribulation.

You have escaped from great tribulation on accountof 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 themthat this beast is a type of the great tribulation that is coming. If then yeprepare yourselves, and repent with all your heart, and turn to the Lord, itwill be possible for you to escape it, if your heart be pure and spotless, andye spend the rest of the days of your life in serving the Lord blamelessly.[5]

Evidenceof pretribulationism surfaces during the early medieval period in a sermon someattribute to Ephraem the Syrian entitled Sermon on The Last Times, TheAntichrist, and The End of the World.[6]The sermon was written some time between the fourth and sixth century. Therapture statement reads as follows:

Why therefore do wenot reject every care of earthly actions and prepare ourselves for the meetingof the Lord Christ, so that he may draw us from the confusion, which overwhelmsall the world? . . . For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior tothe tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see theconfusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.

Thisstatement evidences a clear belief that all Christians will escape thetribulation through a gathering to the Lord. How else can this be understoodother than as pretribulational? The later second coming of Christ to the earthwith the saints is mentioned at the end of the sermon.

By the fifth century a.d., the amillennialism of Origen andAugustine had won the day in the established Church-East and West. It isprobable that there was always some forms of premillennialism throughout theMiddle Ages, but it existed primarily underground. Dorothy deF. Abrahamsenotes:

By medieval timesthe belief in an imminent apocalypse had officially been relegated to the roleof symbolic theory by the Church; as early as the fourth century, Augustine haddeclared that the Revelation of John was to be interpreted symbolically ratherthan literally, and for most of the Middle Ages Church councils and theologiansconsidered only abstract eschatology to be acceptable speculation. Since thenineteenth century, however, historians have recognized that literalapocalypses did continue to circulate in the medieval world and that they played a fundamental role in thecreation of important strains of thought and legend [emphasis added].[7]

It is believed that sects like the Albigenses, Lombards, and theWaldenses were attracted to premillennialism, but little is know of the detailsof their beliefs since the Catholics destroyed their works when they werefound.

It must be noted at this point thatit is extremely unlikely for the Middle Ages to produce advocates of a pretribrapture when the more foundational belief of premillennialism is all butabsent. Thus, the rapture question is likewise absent. This continued untilthe time of the Reformation, when many things within Christendom began to berevolutionized.

Premillennialism began to be revivedas a result of at least three factors. First, the Reformers went back to thesources, which for them was the Bible and Apostolic Fathers. This exposed themto an orthodox premillennialism. Specifically significant was the reappearanceof the full text of Irenaeus' Against Heresies, which included the last five chapters thatespouse a consistent futurism and cast the 70th week of Daniel into the future.

Second, they repudiated much, notall, of the allegorization that dominated mediaeval hermeneutics by adopting amore literal approach, especially in the area of the historical exegesis.

Third, many of the Protestants cameinto contact with Jews and learned Hebrew. This raised concerns over whetherpassages that speak of national Israel were to be taken historically orcontinued to be allegorized within the tradition of the Middle Ages. The morethe Reformers took them as historical, the more they were awakened topremillennial interpretations, in spite of the fact that they were oftenlabeled "Judaizers."

By the late 1500's and the early1600's, premillennialism began to return as a factor within the mainstreamchurch after more than a 1,000 year reign of amillennialism. With theflowering of biblical interpretation during the late Reformation Period,premillennial interpreters began to abound throughout Protestantism and so didthe development of sub-issues like the rapture.

It has been claimed that someseparated the rapture from the second coming as early as Joseph Mede in hisseminal work Clavis Apocalyptica(1627), who is considered the father of English premillennialism. Paul Boyersays that Increase Mather proved "that the saints would 'be caught upinto the Air' beforehand,thereby escaping the final conflagration-an early formulation of the Rapturedoctrine more fully elaborated in the nineteenth century."[8] Whatever these men were saying, it is clear that the application of a moreliteral hermeneutic was leading to a distinction between the rapture and thesecond coming as separate events.

Others began to speak of the rapture.Paul Benware notes:

Peter Jurieu inhis book Approaching Deliverance of the Church (1687) taught that Christ would come in the airto rapture the saints and return to heaven before the battle of Armageddon. Hespoke of a secret Rapture prior to His coming in glory and judgment atArmageddon. Philip Doddridge's commentary on the New Testament (1738) and JohnGill's commentary on the New Testament (1748) both use the term rapture and speak of it as imminent. It is clear thatthese men believed that this coming will precede Christ's descent to the earthand the time of judgment. The purpose was to preserve believers from the timeof judgment. James Macknight (1763) and Thomas Scott (1792) taught that therighteous will be carried to heaven, where they will be secure until the timeof judgment is over.[9]

Frank Marotta, a brethren researcher,believes that Thomas Collier in 1674 makes reference to a pretribulationalrapture, but rejects the view,[10] thus showing his awareness that sucha view was being taught. Perhaps the clearest reference to a pretrib rapturebefore Darby comes from Baptist Morgan Edwards (founder of Brown University) in1742-44 who saw a distinct rapture three and a half years before the start ofthe millennium.[11]

As futurism began to replacehistoricism within premillennial circles in the 1820's, the modern proponent ofdispensational pretribulationism arrives on the scene. J.N. Darby claims tohave first understood his view of the rapture as the result of Bible studyduring a convalescence from December 1826 until January 1827.[12] Heis the fountainhead for the modern version of the doctrine.

The doctrine of the rapture spreadaround the world through the Brethren movement with which Darby and otherlike-minded Christians were associated. It appears that either through theirwritings or personal visits to North America, this version of pretribulationismwas spread throughout American Evangelicalism. Two early proponents of theview include Presbyterian James H. Brookes and Baptist J. R. Graves.

The rapture was further spreadthrough annual Bible conferences such as the Niagara Bible Conference(1878-1909); turn of the century publications like The Truth and Our Hope; popular books like Brookes' Maranatha, William Blackstone's Jesus Is Coming, and The Scofield Reference Bible (1909). Many of the greatest Bible teachers ofthe first-half of the twentieth century help spread the doctrine such as ArnoGaebelein, C.I Scofield, A.J. Gordon, James M. Gray, R.A. Torrey, HarryIronside, and Lewis S. Chafer.

Invirtually every major metropolitan area in North America a Bible Institute,Bible College, or Seminary was founded that expounded dispensational pretribulationism.Schools like Moody Bible Institute, The Philadelphia Bible College, BibleInstitute of Los Angeles (BIOLA), and Dallas Theological Seminary taught anddefended these views. These teachings were found primarily in independentchurches, Bible churches, Baptists, and a significant number of Presbyterianchurches. Around 1925, pretribulationism was adopted by many Pentecostaldenominations such as the Assemblies of God and The Four-Square Gospeldenomination. Pretribulationism was dominate among Charismatics in the 1960sand '70s. Hal Lindsey's Late Great Planet Earth (1970) furthered the spread of the pretribrapture as it exerted great influence throughout popular American culture andthen around the world. Many radio and T. V. programs taught pretribulationismas well.

Althoughstill widely popular among Evangelicals and Fundamentalists, dominance ofpretribulationism began to wane first in some academic circles in the 1950s and'60s. A decline among Pentecostals, Charismatics, and Evangelicals began inthe 1980s as the result of a shift toward greater social concern emerged. Pretribulationism is still the most widely held view of the day, but it cannotbe taken for granted in many Evangelical, Charismatic, and Fundamentalistcircles as it was a generation ago.

Thedoctrine of the rapture has not been the most visible teaching in the historyof the church. However, it has had significant advocates throughout the last2,000 years. It has surfaced wherever premillennialism is taught, especiallywhen literal interpretation, futurism, dispensationalism, and a distinctionbetween Israel and the church. Regardless of its history, belief in therapture has been supported primarily by those who attempt a faithful expositionof the biblical text.

Afew years ago, pre-wrath advocate Marvin Rosenthal wrote that the pre-tribrapture was of Satanic origin and unheard of before 1830. "To thwart theLord's warning to His children, in 1830," proclaims Rosenthal, "Satan, the'father of lies,' gave to a fifteen-year-old girl named Margaret McDonald alengthy vision."[13] Rosenthal gives no documentation,he merely asserts that this is true. However, he is wrong. He is undoubtedlyrelying upon the questionable work of Dave MacPherson.

Anotherthing amazing about Rosenthal's declaration is that a few paragraphs later inthe article he characterizes his opposition as those who "did not deal with theissues, misrepresented the facts, or attempted character assassination."[14]This description is exactly what he has done in his characterization ofpre-trib rapture origins. Why would Rosenthal make such outlandish andunsubstantiated charges about the pre-trib rapture?

(ToBe Continued . . .)

Endnotes

[1]John F. Walvoord, The Blessed Hope and theTribulation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976), pp. 24-25.

[2]Kurt Aland, A History of Christianity, Vol. 1 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985),pp. 87-93. Millard J. Erickson, Contemporary Options in Eschatology (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977), p. 112.J. Barton Payne, The Imminent Appearing of Christ (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,1962), pp. 12-19.

[3]Larry V. Crutchfield, "The Blessed Hope and theTribulation in the Apostolic Fathers" in Thomas Ice & Timothy Demy,editors, When The Trumpet Sounds (Eugene,OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1995), p. 103.

[4]Crutchfield, "The Blessed Hope and theTribulation in the Apostolic Fathers", pp. 88-101.

[5]The Shepherdof Hermas 1.4.2.

[6]For more information on this matter see Timothy J.Demy and Thomas D. Ice, "The Rapture and an Early Medieval Citation,"Bibliotheca Sacra (Vol. 152, No.607; July-Sept. 1995), pp. 306-17.

[7]Dorothy deF. Abrahamse, introduction to The Byzantine ApocalypticTradition, by Paul J. Alexander(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), pp. 1-2.

[8]Paul Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1992), p. 75.

[9]Paul N. Benware, Understanding End TimesProphecy: A Comprehensive Approach(Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), pp. 197-98.

[10]Frank Marotta, Morgan Edwards: An EighteenthCentury Pretribulationist(Morganville, N.J.: Present Truth Publishers, 1995), pp. 10-12.

[11]Marotta, Morgan Edwards.

[12]Roy A. Huebner, Precious Truths Revived andDefended Through J.N. Darby, Vol.1 (Morganville, N.J.: Present Truth Publishers, 1991), pp. 63-77.

[13] Marvin J. Rosenthal, "Is the Church in MatthewChapter 24?" Zion's Fire (Nov-Dec1994), p. 10.

[14] Rosenthal, "Is the Church in Matthew Chapter 24?"p. 10.