The Pre-Trib Rapture in the Writings of the Early Church

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WHAT IS THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE?

The word rapture comes from the Latin word rapturo, which means caught up. The corresponding Greek word is harpazo, which means to seize or catch away. This Greek word is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, where it is translated “caught up”. Dr. Charles Ryrie writes:

"The Greek word from which we take the term 'rapture' appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, translated 'caught up.' The Latin translation of this verse used the word rapturo. The Greek word it translates is harpazo, which means to snatch or take away. Elsewhere it is used to describe how the Spirit caught up Philip near Gaza and brought him to Caesarea (Acts 8:39) and to describe Paul's experience of being caught up into the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2-4). Thus there can be no doubt that the word is used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 to indicate the actual removal of people from earth to heaven."[1]

Some people don’t believe in the rapture because the word “rapture” is not in the Bible. But that way of thinking is self-refuting. These people probably have no problem believing in the Trinity even though the word “Trinity” is never once mentioned in the Bible! Jordan Ballard similarly points out that the word “Sunday” is not found in the Bible, neither is the phrase “the Lord’s prayer”.[2] The word responsibility is never found in the Bible either.[3] 

Although the exact word “rapture” is not specifically found in the Bible, the rapture is clearly described in other ways. For example:

• Jesus described the rapture to His disciples with these words: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3). Dr. Scofield affirms that "an exceedingly important part of our Lord's prophetic ministry has to do with the future state....the Lord Jesus was the greatest of the prophets. He foretold...the rapture (John 14:3)". (Scofield, Scofield Bible Correspondence Course [Chicago: Moody Bible Institute, 1960, 1977], 6 Volumes, Vol. 6, p. 1498.)

• The apostle Paul wrote the following words to the church in Thessalonica: “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air” prior to the Tribulation (see 1 Thess. 4:15-5:11).

• In the book of Revelation, the Lord Jesus said to the church in Philadelphia: “I will keep you from (Greek ek  = “out of”) the hour of testing which is about to come on the whole world” (Rev. 3:10).[4] This speaks of a particular hour of testing, "the hour of testing” that is about to come “upon the whole world”. This is a reference to the coming world-wide Tribulation, and the Church (of which the Philadelphian church is representative) will be glorified and taken up to heaven to be with the Lord prior to the Tribulation that is about to be unleashed upon planet earth.

• In Revelation chapter 4, the apostle John wrote: “After these things [the church things of Revelation chapters 2-3], I saw a door open in heaven and a voice like a trumpet saying, ‘Come up here!’” (Rev. 4:1; cf. 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16). The apostle John (a member of the Church, the bride of Christ) is caught up to heaven before the Tribulation that is described in Revelation chapters 6-19.[5]

In summary, the Pre-Trib Rapture is the teaching that the Church will be caught up (raptured) to be with the Lord prior to the Tribulation described in Revelation chapters 6-19 in the Bible.

THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE IN THE EARLY CHURCH

I quote Dr. Paul Lee Tan from his book The Interpretation of Prophecy:

“The early church believed that the coming of the Lord was imminent. The doctrine of imminency means that Christ may come at any moment and that no prophesied event stands between the Christian and that hour. A common greeting in the early church was ‘Maranatha!’ or ‘The Lord is coming!’ (I Cor 16:22). Even the non-literal interpreter Murray admits that ‘the early church definitely believed in the second coming of Jesus Christ, and seemed to cherish the conviction that His coming was imminent.’ 

Some detractors of pretribulationism observe that the early Christians could not possibly have expected the Lord to come at any moment for the bible does not really depict the coming of the Lord as imminent. The key passage usually cited in John 21:18-19 where Jesus tells Peter, ‘When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee where though wouldest not’ (signifying his death). The argument of critics is that as long as Peter was still alive, the early believers would surely not have expected the Lord’s imminent return. 

In reply, it must be pointed out that this text in the Gospel of John was written some 20 years after Peter’s death. There was no grounds therefore for the early believers’ use of this text to deny the Lord’s imminent return. The early Christians actually expected their Lord to come during the life-time of John (cf. John 21:20-23). This is the whole emphasis of John 21. 

Moreover, in Acts 12:15-16, the early believers (including Peter himself) expected that he would die that very night under the hands of Herod who had just killed James and had already seized Peter (Acts 12:1-3). Peter could have died suddenly without most people knowing it. The early church, therefore, was not waiting for the death of Peter but for the imminent coming of her Lord. 

Since the early Christians expected Christ to return at any moment, it can be inferred that they did not expect any event (such as the Great Tribulation) to come in between. Since the early church accepted the return of Christ as imminent, she certainly was not expecting to go through a period of ‘great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be’ (Matt. 24:21). The early church’s doctrine of the coming of Christ must therefore have been pre-tribulational. ‘If imminent, then pretribulational.’ 

A most interesting illustration of pretribulationism from early church writings is The Shepherd of Hermas (Book I, Vision Fourth, Chapter ii). This early church narrative describes the vision of the shepherd of Hermas who meets a wild beast but is not harmed by the beast. The shepherd reports his harrowing encounter with the wild animal to the heavenly interpreter, ‘I was met by a beast of such a size that it could destroy peoples, but through the power of the Lord and His great mercy I escaped from it.’ The heavenly interpreter explains to the shepherd that his escape from the beast means that the elect of God will escape the Great Tribulation, saying, ‘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 the beast is a type of the great tribulation that is coming.’ 

Another illustration of pretribulationism may be found in Irenaeus’ book Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter xix). [Editor’s note: There is a typo here in Dr. Tan’s statement. The correct reference in Irenaeus’ book Against Heresies is Book V, Chapter xxix. So chapter 29, not chapter 19. Thank you to Grant for pointing this out in the comments!] After describing the sinfulness of the present age, the church father Irenaeus comments: “And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this [evil age], it is said, ‘There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning; neither shall be.’” 

Thus, it may be seen that the Lord’s coming before the Great Tribulation is a concept not unknown in the early Christian church. 

It must be noted, however, that the early fathers did not refine and think through the doctrine of pretribulationism as a precise eschatological system. The church was then fighting for her very existence, and other more basic doctrines were clamoring for her attention and systemization. The question of whether the Lord’s coming is to be before or after the Great Tribulation was not a main one at that time. In their common distresses, the early fathers did not have much concern for a yet-future Tribulation period. 

Although the expectation of the early Christians is certainly pretribulational in its implication, it seems wiser to classify the early fathers as Premillennial rather than specifically Pre- or Post- Tribulational. The doctrine of the pretribulational rapture—like many Bible doctrines—comes from the thorough exegesis of Scripture, not by polling the fathers. 

In summary, we note that the early church was premillennial in her doctrine because she interpreted prophecy literally. Moreover, the early church expected the imminent return of the Lord, and this is the product of literal interpretation of prophecy.”[6]

Under the heading “Progressive Illumination”, Dr. Tan goes on to write:

“Down the Christian centuries, as the Holy Spirit illumines the Word, doctrines are thought through and refined, orthodoxy is preserved, and Christ is glorified. John F. Walvoord traces this process of illumination, saying: ‘There is some evidence that the church has been progressing throughout the centuries of its history through the major areas of doctrine beginning with bibliology and theology proper as in the early centuries of the church, advancing to such subjects as anthropology and hamartiology in the fourth and succeeding centuries, and dealing with soteriology and ecclesiology in the Protestant Reformation. It has been mostly in the last century that eschatology has really come to the fore as an area for scholarly study and debate.’ 

Moreover, since Christ promises that the Holy Spirit’s work of illumination will concern even ‘things to come’ (John 16:13), we may expect that as the church age draws to a close, and more prophetic events are about to transpire, the Holy Spirit will grant more illumination relative to the refinements of prophecy. It seems as if God has allowed other doctrinal issues to be threshed out in church history before fully opening up the study of prophecy to the church at the end age. [Cf. Daniel 12:4: “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”] The phenomenal growth of interest in the study of prophecy within the last century or so is significant. This may partially explain why the doctrine of the pretribulational rapture—the logical capstone of the entire eschatological structure—is now being emphasized by a significant portion of the church. 

It is now appropriate to explain why pretribulationism as a distinct doctrine did not emerge until relatively recent history. As we have already noted, the early church was overwhelmingly premillennial. But premillennialism must be refined and further systematized before the doctrine of the pretribulational rapture could be recognized. The early church never got the chance. The refinement and systematizing of prophecy did not get started before the Alexandrians arose and toppled the church off premillennialism. [Dr. Tan writes on pages 72-73 of his book that “the Alexandrian church fathers left the sure footing of the literal interpretation of Scripture in favor of the allegorical method”.] From then on and through the Middle Ages, the church’s very relationship to the millennium came under attack and ridicule, and the development of pretribulationism was of course stunted. 

Then came the Reformation. While the Protestant reformers dealt a severe blow to the allegorization then on a rampage and brought about a revival of premillennialism in post-Reformation times, they had neither time nor inclination for prophetic studies—much less its refinements. Martin Luther avoided the teachings of prophecy for years. And John Calvin refused to write a commentary on the Book of Revelation, saying, ‘The study of prophecy either finds a man crazy, or it leaves him so.’ 

This disinclination of the reformers is understandable, for vital issues such as justification by faith and the refinements of ecclesiology were demanding the reformers’ full attention. Since eschatology was not a major issue and the subject was actually shunned by the reformers the Protestant churches continued to embrace the Roman Catholic amillennialism almost in toto. And as amillennialism remained in vogue, pretribulationism was never seriously discussed. It was not until after the ascendancy of premillennialism in post-Reformation times (by virtue of the literal method) that the Lord’s return was again viewed by a significant portion of the church as before the tribulation. 

Thus, the doctrine of progressive illumination accepts the fact that certain revelations of Scripture will be better understood during different periods of church history. It is not true that a doctrine is necessarily wrong just because it has been refined and systematized, or has re-emerged, in later history. 

Clarence Mason illustrates progressive illumination in the case for modern missions: ‘The emphasis on missions, so evident in the Early Church, was lost in the Dark Ages under Rome….The Reformers did little or nothing to revive missionary activity and some spoke against the idea. Today, everyone recognizes William Carey as the Father of the Modern Missionary Era (1790)….Is the missionary truth and emphasis, so recently developed, to be urged as dangerous and automatically untrue because of that fact?’”[7]

As Dr. Tan has so eloquently pointed out, there has been a resurgence of interest in Bible prophecy (and a greater understanding of it) in the last few centuries of the Christian church. Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost in his book Things To Come (pp. 166-168) calls this "the progress of dogma". Commenting on Revelation 3:1, Dr. J. Vernon McGee affirms: "All of the truth was not recovered by the Reformation. We need to recognize that. I think that today, eschatology, prophecy, is just being developed in our day." I recently heard Don Stewart, the internationally recognized Christian apologist and speaker, say something very interesting about Bible prophecy. After reading Daniel 12:4 in the Bible, Stewart asks: "What's he talking about? He says it's only in the last time, the last days, people will understand this. The knowledge that will increase is not knowledge per se, although it has increased, its knowledge of the book of Daniel, knowledge of Bible prophecy. Like I said, if we were doing this a hundred years ago, we'd all have blank stares trying to figure out what's going on here." In Daniel 12:4, God's angel told Daniel to “conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase” (Dan. 12:4). This is significant because the book of Daniel is like the prophetic key to the book of Revelation! In fact, Dr. Walvoord wrote an excellent commentary on the book of Daniel with that exact title: Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation. The Bible confirms that we are now living in the last days (Heb. 1:2; 1 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 4:7; 1 Jn. 2:18), and now according to God's Word, knowledge of Bible prophecy is increasing. As it is written by Daniel the prophet: “knowledge will increase” (Dan. 12:4). Some critics might say the rapture teaching is new and therefore untrue. They might quote the old adage that says: “If it’s new it’s not true, and if it’s true it’s not new.” But it has already been shown that the rapture teaching is not new. And even if, in these end times, the Church is gaining new understanding of old truths, is it not according to the words of the Lord Jesus when He says in Matthew 13:52: “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” As the eminent theologian Dr. John Gill has said: "truths that are old in themselves, but newly discovered".

AN AMAZING DISCOVERY

In 1994 Dr. Grant Jeffrey discovered a reference to an ancient manuscript which indicates that the Pre-Trib Rapture was still being taught in the early medieval church. Here is the statement that Dr. Jeffrey found:

“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.”[8]

This statement purports to be from a sermon by Ephraem the Syrian titled “On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World” (see Appendix 1). This sermon is sometimes referred to in abbreviated form simply as De Fine Mundi, which is Latin for “On the End of the World”. The extant manuscripts of this sermon are in Latin. The fact that these manuscripts are in Latin and not Syriac or Greek is important in regards to dating the manuscripts. Most scholars believe that this sermon is the work of someone else who wrote under Ephraem’s name. Hence they call the author “Pseudo-Ephraem” (pseudo meaning false). Yet scholars affirm, as Dr. Thomas Ice notes, that “Pseudo-Ephraem was ‘heavily influenced by the genuine works of Ephraem.’”[9] Just to be clear, the name Pseudo-Ephraem should not be taken to mean that the Pre-Trib Rapture teaching is false. Rather, the name Pseudo-Ephraem should be understood in the sense of the word pseudonym, i.e. someone writing under another person’s name. In this case, someone besides Ephraem the Syrian may have been writing using his name. However, the author of the work is not so important as the date of the work. In other words, regardless of the author, these statements by Pseudo-Ephraem are historically significant because of their early date, which ranges anywhere between 373 to 627 AD.[10] Obviously, even the most recent date precedes Darby — the man who supposedly invented the Pre-Trib Rapture teaching — by over 1,200 years![11]

J. S. ASSEMANI’S MANUSCRIPTS

There are a number of ancient manuscripts that contain the Pre-Trib Rapture statement by Pseudo-Ephraem. Two that have been of special interest to scholars are the old Greek manuscripts that were cataloged by Joseph Simeon Assemani in the 1700s.[12] Assemani was an Italian Marconite scholar and Orientalist. In 1710 he was appointed as translator and scribe in the Vatican library. Assemani was fluent in Italian, Arabic, Syriac, Greek, and of course Latin.[13] Some sources say that he mastered over thirty languages![14] In 1739 Assemani was appointed curator and librarian of the Vatican library by Pope Clement XI. The Pope commissioned Assemani to visit Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon in search of valuable manuscripts to house in the Vatican library. Through his travels, Assemani discovered many ancient manuscripts, including a codex of the Gospels in the old Slavic dialect that is named after him (Codex Assemanius). Among his many works, he published a six volume set of folio books in which he collected and cataloged various ancient codices, including sermons by Saint Ephraem. Two of the old Greek manuscripts that are attributed to Ephraem are especially significant for students of Bible prophecy because these two manuscripts actually contain ancient statements on the Pre-Trib Rapture! These two manuscripts are written in Greek with the Latin text supplied by Assemani in a parallel column.[15]

DATE OF COMPOSITION

Scholars do not know the exact date or origin of the Greek manuscripts attributed to St. Ephraem that were cataloged by Assemani. The date of composition assigned to these manuscripts by scholars ranges anywhere from 373 to 627 AD. Some critics don’t think these manuscripts have any connection to Ephraem the Syrian. For example, Roger Pearce asserts: “Ephraim the Syrian lived from 306 to 373 AD. He wrote only in Syriac. He has nothing to do with this work [“On Antichrist and the End of the World”]. But his fame was such that works under his name appear in every single language of the ancient world. A very large collection of works in Greek can be found in the handwritten Greek books of the middle ages, where the title says that the author is Ephraim. Very few of these are in fact translations of his works….Most of these works are of unknown authorship.”[16] Yet other scholars argue for an earlier date of composition and contend that the author of these manuscripts is indeed Ephraem the Syrian! For example, the German scholar Wilhelm Bousset (1865-1920) writes: “For the present I assume the genuine character of the Greek homilies here in question; nor do I know any reasons against their ascription to S. Ephrem.”[17] Other scholars agree with Bousset’s assessment of the Greek sermons that are attributed to Saint Ephraem. For example, Robert P. Smith (1818-1895), formerly Dean of Canterbury, writes: “The first three volumes [of Ephrem’s works published by Assemani] consist of sermons and discourses in Greek with a Latin translation. Many of these are probably genuine, for [the historian] Sozomen says that already in his lifetime works of Ephrem were translated into Greek, and as both Chrysostom [347 - 407 AD] and Jerome [343 - 420 AD] were acquainted with them, and Gregory of Nyssa quotes his Testament, it is certain that several of his writings were very soon thus made available for general use.”[18] Elsewhere Sozomen affirms that Ephrem’s writings “were translated into Greek during his life, and preserve much of their original force and power, so that they are not less admired in Greek than in Syriac.”[19] Ephraem died in the year 373 AD, so it seems that the Greek homilies under consideration could be dated as early as the middle to late 4^th century! By comparison, this early date is approximately the same as some of the earliest Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, namely the Codex Vaticanus (325-350 AD), the Codex Sinaiticus (350 AD), and the Codex Alexandrinus (400 AD).[20] So in regards to the sermons of St. Ephraem in Greek, we have a very early and reliable text.

The extracts of these sermons that relate to the Pre-Trib Rapture are reproduced below in both the Greek and Latin, followed by the English translations. This will allow the reader to analyze the statements more closely.

BEATITUDINES ALIAE.[21]

The first of Ephrem’s sermons cataloged by Assemani that we will examine is titled “Beatitudines Aliae”. This can be translated “Other Beatitudes”. The Pre-Trib Rapture statement is found in chapter 20 of this sermon. It’s interesting that a statement relating to the rapture of the church is included in a sermon titled “Other Beatitudes”. Is there a connection? If so, what is the correlation between the pre-trib rapture and the beatitudes? Some scholars don’t see any connection at all. Instead, they cite this apparent disparity as evidence that this sermon was revised and edited by someone who lived many years after Ephraem’s time.  They say this is proof for a late date of composition. Roger Pearce entertains this view and speculates as follows:

“This work [Beatitudines Aliae] consists of 19 short blessings, and then, as chapter 20, a long section of text. It is hard not to look at the imbalance and feel that chapter 20 does not belong with the blessings; particularly when we look at the Sermo utilis de paenitentia and find the same ideas on the same page, although in two separate sentences. Chapter 20 is, perhaps, a summary of material culled from the sermo utilis [de paenitentia]?”[22]

The sermo utilis that Mr. Pearce mentions is another sermon by Ephraem which contains a nearly identical pre-trib rapture statement. We will look at that sermon next. But first I would like to say a few words in regards to Beatitudines Aliae. In contrast to Mr. Pearce, I would like to set forth another interpretation of the facts. I propose that Ephraem’s statement on the pre-trib rapture fits perfectly with the blessings mentioned in Beatitudines Aliae. I believe that the connection with beatitude is to be found in Titus 2:13, which says, “Looking for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The rapture is “the blessed hope”! The rapture is a blessing! The rapture is a beatitude! In support of this understanding, the Byzantine scholar Dr. Paul J. Alexander writes: “the Elect are ‘taken to the Lord,’ i.e., participate at least in some measure in beatitude”.[23] Clearly, Dr. Alexander understands Pseudo-Ephraem’s words as referring to the Elect being removed from the Antichrist’s persecution.[24] Dr. Alexander refers to this removal from persecution as “beatitude”!

Let’s move on to examine the Beatitudines Aliae sermon in more detail, first in Greek and then in Latin. The Beatitudines Aliae pre-trib rapture statements are reproduced below.

The Beatitudines Aliae Pre-Trib Rapture Statement in Greek: 

“Oi eklektoi sunagontai pro thlipseōs tou mē idein tēn sugchusin kai tēn thlipsin tēn megalēn erchomenēn eis ton kosmon ton adikon.”[25]

“The elect are gathered before tribulation they do not see the confusion/disturbance and the great coming tribulation upon the unrighteous world.” (personal translation)

The Beatitudines Aliae Pre-Trib Rapture Statement in Latin: 

“Electi ne videant magnam illam confusionem, atque pressuram, quae iniquum hunc mundum obruet, colliguntur.”[26]

“Lest the elect see that great confusion, and distress, which will overthrow this unjust world, they are gathered.” (personal translation)

The Greek and Latin statements essentially say the same thing. In both statements it’s clear that the elect are gathered before the tribulation so they do not see the confusion and distress that is coming upon the unrighteous world.

DE PAENITENTIA.[27]

Another sermon attributed to St. Ephraem that is cataloged by Assemani is titled “De Paenitentia, et Judicio, et Separatione Animae, et Corporis” which is translated: “On Repentance, and Judgment, and the Separation of the Soul, and Body”. Like Beatitudines Aliae, the De paenitentia sermon is also written in both Greek and Latin. The pre-trib rapture statement from De Paenitentia is reproduced below.

The De Paenitentia Pre-Trib Rapture Statement in Greek: 

“Oi eklektoi sunagontai pro tēs thlipseōs, tou mē idein tēn sugchusin, kai tēn thlipsin tēn megalēn tēn erchomenēn eis ton adikon kosmon.”[28]

“The elect are gathered before the tribulation, they do not see the confusion/disturbance, and the great coming tribulation upon the unrighteous world.” (personal translation)

The De Paenitentia Pre-Trib Rapture Statement in Latin: 

“Congregantur Electi ante tribulationem, ne confusionem videant, atque ingentem angustiam impendentem mundo iniquo.”[29]

“The Elect are gathered before the tribulation, lest they see the confusion, and the great anguish threatening a hostile world.” (personal translation)

Again, the statement in Greek is essentially the same as the statement in Latin. Both statements say the elect are gathered before the tribulation so they don’t see the chaos and confusion that is coming upon the unrighteous world.

C. P. CASPARI’S CRITICAL EDITION OF THE TEXT

In the 1890s a German scholar named C. P. Caspari composed a critical edition of Ephraem’s sermon “On the Antichrist and the End of the World”. Caspari referenced both the Greek and Latin text. Caspari’s critical edition of the Greek text is based on the Greek text of Ephrem’s sermons that Assemani had published. For the Latin, Caspari used two 8^th - 9^th century Latin manuscripts, the Codex Barberini manuscript from the Vatican and the Codex Sangellensis manuscript (93) of the St. Gall Abbey in Switzerland.

The Pre-Trib Rapture Statement in Caspari’s Critical Edition of the Greek Text:

“Οἱ ἐκλεκτοὶ συνάγονται πρὸ τῆς θλίψεως (πρὸ θλίψεως) τοῦ μὴ ἰδεῖν τὴν σύγχυσιν καὶ τὴν θλῖψιν τὴν μεγάλην τὴν ἐρχομένην (μεγάλην ἐρχομένην) εἰς τὸν ἄδικον κόσμον (τὸν κόσμον τὸν ἄδικον), Λόγος περὶ μετ. κ.τ.λ. III, 378 and Μακ. δευτ. I, XX, 297.”[30]

“The elect are gathered before the tribulation (before tribulation) they do not see the confusion and the great tribulation the one coming (great one coming) upon the unrighteous world (the world the unrighteous one), Sermon on Repentance etc. Assemani, Vol. 3, p. 378, and Other Blessings, Chapter 20, Assemani, Vol. 1, p. 297.” (personal translation)

The Pre-Trib Rapture Statement in the Codex Barberini Latin Manuscript:[31] 

“Omnes enim sancti et electi dei ante tribulatione quae uentura est colleguntur et ad dominum adsummentur ne quando uideant confusione illa que universum propter peccata nostra obruet mundum.”

“All the saints and elect of God prior to the tribulation that is to come are gathered and received to the Lord lest they see the confusion that will overwhelm the whole world because of our sins.” (personal translation)

The Pre-Trib Rapture Statement in the Codex Sangellensis Latin Manuscript:[32] 

“Omni enim sancti et electri dei ante tribulationem quae uentura est colliguntur a Domino adsumuntur ne quando uideant confusiamem illam quae universo propter peccata nostra obruit mundo.”

“All the saints and elect of God prior to the tribulation that is to come are gathered and taken by the Lord lest they see the confusion that overwhelms the entire world because of our sins.” (personal translation)

The Pre-Trib Rapture Statement in Caspari’s Critical Edition of the Latin Text: 

“Omnes enim sancti et electi Dei ante tribulationem, quae uentura est, colliguntur et ad Dominum adsumuntur, ne quando uideant confusionem, quae universum propter peccata nostra obruet mundum.”[33]

“All the saints and elect of God prior to the tribulation, that is to come, are gathered and received to the Lord, lest they see the confusion, that will overwhelm the whole world because of our sins.” (personal translation)

WHAT DO THE CRITICS SAY?

Of course, critics raise all kinds of objections to these Pseudo-Ephraem statements in light of their clear implications for the Pre-Trib rapture. I would like to respond to a few of the objections that I’ve come across in my recent studies on the subject.

Pseudo-Ephraem speaks only of the gathering together of the elect?

One critic says that the Pseudo-Ephraem statement in Greek “speaks only of the ‘gathering together’ of the elect.”[34] But this objection is obviously false and hardly warrants a response — the critic conveniently fails to mention that the Pseudo-Ephraem statement in Greek also says that the “gathering together” will be “before the tribulation”! Both Greek variants say this, so this is not even in question.

What about the God-worshippers on earth after the “taking up” of Christians to God?

The same critic asks: “Is it not inconsistent to speak of the presence of the just and of God-worshipers after the ‘taking up’ or ‘reception’ of Christians to God?”[35] Interestingly, the critic goes on to conclude: “Perhaps the writer simply wasn’t very consistent in his view of the last things?”[36] Yes, this is indeed entirely possible! Furthermore, the question about whether or not it is inconsistent to speak of “the just” being on the earth after the “taking up” of Christians to God has already been answered elsewhere by another critic who correctly points out: “Some Left Behinders might regard these Christians in the tribulation as referring to those converted after the rapture.”[37] So any God-worshippers whom Pseudo-Ephraem says will be on the earth during the coming tribulation could obviously be referring to “those converted after the rapture”! These people will no doubt be converted as a result of the preaching of the 144,000 Jewish missionaries (Revelation 7:1-8 and 14:1-5), and God’s two witnesses — whom Pseudo-Ephraem names as “Enoch and Elijah” (Rev. 11:3-12), and the angel flying in mid-heaven who preaches the everlasting gospel (Rev. 14:6-17). Dr. Tim LaHaye affirms “that at the beginning of the Tribulation there will be a great soul harvest throughout the world….These are Tribulation saints, individuals who had not received Christ at the time of the Rapture, before the Tribulation began, but did receive Him as a result of the faithful witnesses depicted in [Revelation] chapter 7. They will be martyred ‘because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.’….This will probably be the greatest period of cruelty to Christians the world has ever known. Many of the believers referred to in Revelation 7:9 as ‘a great multitude that no one could count,’ will probably be slain.”[38]

Syriac Pseudo-Ephraem says Christians escape tribulation by death not rapture?

Another false claim about the Pseudo-Ephraem pre-trib rapture statement that is being promoted online is from an article titled “Pseudo-Ephraem Does Not Teach the Rapture!” In the article, the critic says: “Pseudo-Ephraem teaches that Christians escape tribulation by death not rapture!”[39] The critic then proceeds to quote the following statement from Syriac Pseudo-Ephraem: "Pronouncing the good fortune of the deceased who had avoided the calamity: 'Blessed are you for you were borne away (to the grave) and hence you escaped from the afflictions!”[40] But the critic conveniently obscures the fact that this statement from Syriac Pseudo-Ephraem is not even in the same sermon as the Greek and Latin Pseudo-Ephraem statements that we have been discussing! Roger Pierce is correct to point out: “It’s as well to be clear that there is a Syriac ‘Apocalypse of pseudo-Ephrem’ which is NOT the same work; and there are a lot of Greek sermons attributed to Ephraim, all about the end of the world!”[41]

We can also deduce something else based on the fact that the critic had to appeal to the Syriac Pseudo-Ephraem to support his contention that “Christians escape tribulation by death not rapture”. Namely, if the critic could have proved this using the Greek or Latin Pseudo-Ephraem statements instead of the Syriac, no doubt he would have! In other words, death is not the means of escaping the coming tribulation, according to the Greek and Latin Pseudo-Ephraem! This is significant because what other option is there to escape the coming tribulation if it is not by means of death? It would seem that the only other option according to the Bible is the Pre-Trib Rapture!

Pseudo-Ephraem was talking about penance, not rapture?

Some critics claim that instead of referring to the Rapture, Pseudo-Ephraem is referring to the Elect “doing ‘penance,’ because of ‘our sins,’ so that church members will be ‘sustained’ during the tribulation!”[42] In this scenario, God apparently gathers the elect to some undisclosed location on earth in order for them to do penance for their sins so that they will be sustained through the tribulation. But this interpretation has several glaring problems: (1) The only manuscripts that include the phrase “our sins” in the pre-trib rapture statement are the 8^th and 9^th century Latin manuscripts (the Codex Barberini and the Codex Sangellensis). The earlier Greek manuscripts cataloged by Assemani do not include it. Even C. P. Caspari’s critical edition of the Greek text does not include this phrase. This is significant: The oldest manuscripts don’t contain the phrase “for our sins” — so “our sins” is not the impetus for the gathering. The elect are gathered for a different reason (i.e. not to do penance). Indeed, Hebrews 9:28 says, “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (2) The pre-trib rapture statement clearly says that the elect “will not see the confusion and the great coming tribulation”. If the elect won’t even see the tribulation, why will they need to do penance to supposedly be “sustained” during the tribulation that they won’t even see? (3) The Pre-Trib Rapture statement in the oldest manuscripts clearly says that the tribulation comes upon “the unrighteous world” — obviously in contrast to the elect. Why would the elect have to do penance to be sustained during the tribulation if the tribulation is not even coming upon them?  

 

It’s clear that the Pre-Trib Rapture statement in Pseudo-Ephaem is not talking about doing penance for our sins in order to be sustained during the tribulation as Dave Macpherson and others have claimed. In fact, quite the opposite is said! Pseudo-Ephraem makes it clear that the Elect will be gathered to the Lord “before the tribulation” so they do not see the great confusion and distress that is coming upon the unrighteous world.

 

The claim that the Pre-Trib Rapture view was published by a medieval writer called Pseudo-Ephraem in the eighth century rests on a 1985 book by Paul Alexander?[43]

 

Not at all. We have the Greek and Latin manuscripts of Pseudo-Ephraem and we can very easily examine them for ourselves. What’s more, we now know that the Pre-Trib Rapture statement in Pseudo-Ephraem can be dated much earlier than the 8^th century. The Latin manuscripts are 8^th - 9^th century, but the Greek manuscripts are much older and could very well have been written in Ephraem’s own lifetime!

 

The Pre-Trib Rapture belief is based on the meaning of a single sentence in Pseudo-Ephraem? 

 

Lastly, I want to respond to several statements made by Roger Pearce from his blog post “Did pseudo-Ephraem believe in the Rapture?”  While I appreciate all the research that Mr. Pearce has done, I cannot say that I agree with all his conclusions. Particularly when he says:

“Did [Pseudo-Ephraem] believe in the Rapture, much as modern Pre-Millennial Dispensationalists do? The cautious reader will hesitate. For we are sifting the meaning of a single sentence; and it is generally unwise to place too much reliance on a couple of words in a single sentence….the statement is too brief for us to be certain.  Two key words cannot compel belief.  If we know of no other evidence that a modern teaching was present to the minds of 5th century believers, then we would probably be very wary of asserting it based on a single ambiguous sentence in an obscure work.”[44]

I find it interesting that Mr. Pearce would label Pseudo-Ephraem’s sermon “an obscure work.” It may be somewhat obscure now, but originally it was not obscure at all! This sermon was copied and was obviously held in high esteem by the church fathers, of whom Isidore of Seville (c. 560-636) is but one example. Archbishop Isidore of Seville is said to have been, in the words of the 19th century historian Montalembert, “the last scholar of the ancient world.”[45]

Furthermore, Mr. Pearce wants to focus on “the meaning of a single sentence”. It sounds like he is unaware that Pseudo-Ephraem’s entire sermon has been translated into English! Thus we are not merely relying “on a couple of words in a single sentence” as Mr. Pearce makes it appear like we are doing. On the contrary! Dr. Ice in his article “The Rapture in Pseudo-Ephraem” has a lengthy and detailed list of three reasons “Why Pseudo-Ephraem’s Statement is Pre-Tribulational”.[46] Dr. Ice does not merely base his reasons on a single sentence in Pseudo-Ephraem’s sermon, but instead he (Dr. Ice) takes into account the entire sermon. Also, Dr. Grant Jeffrey has listed “A Summary of the Key Points in Ephraem’s Text on the Antichrist” showing chronologically how Ephraem’s sermon on the last times is consistent with the Pre-Trib view of the Rapture.[47] Again, Dr. Jeffrey interacts with and takes into account Pseudo-Ephraem’s entire sermon, not merely “a couple of words in single sentence.” Mr. Pearce would do well to interact with these key summary statements by Dr. Jeffrey, especially in light of the fact that he (Pearce) has even provided a link on his website to Dr. Jeffrey’s work.

If we only had a single fragment of Pseudo-Ephraem’s sermon, then Mr. Pearce’s objections might be valid. But in light of the fact that we have the entire sermon of Pseudo-Ephraem “On the End Times” — it’s quite clear what his views were, and they can be understood and analyzed in context. For those who do this, as Dr. Jeffrey and Dr. Ice have done, the following conclusion is inescapable. In the words of Dr. Ice: “Regardless of what else the writer of this sermon believed, he did believe that all believers would be removed before the tribulation—a Pre-Trib Rapture view.”[48] Similarly, Dr. Tim LaHaye writes: “There can be no doubt this fourth- (or at the latest seventh-) century Bible scholar saw the saints gathered together before the Tribulation by the coming of the Lord. His statement has all the marks of a pre-Tribulation rapture of the saints as distinct from the Glorious Appearing, which our Lord promised would occur ‘immediately after the distress of those days . . .’ (Matt. 24:29).”[49] Dr. LaHaye goes on to conclude: “[Ephrem] saw a pre-Tribulation rapture of the Church long before it became popular during the nineteenth century.”[50]

 

APPENDIX 1:

“On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World” [51]

by Ephraem the Syrian

Dearly beloved brothers, believe the Holy Spirit who speaks in us. We have already told you that the end of the world is near, the consummation remains. Has not faith withered away among mankind? How many foolish things are seen among youths, how many crimes among prelates, how many lies among priests, how many perjuries among deacons! There are evil deeds among the ministers, adulteries in the aged, wantonness in the youths—in mature women false faces, in virgins dangerous traces! In the midst of all this there are the wars with the Persians, and we see struggles with diverse nations threatening and “kingdom rising against kingdom’’ (Matt. 24:7). When the Roman Empire begins to be consumed by the sword, the coming of the Evil One is at hand. It is necessary that the world come to an end at the completion of the Roman empire.

In those days two brothers will come to the Roman empire who will rule with one mind; but because one will surpass the other, there will be a schism between them. And so the Adversary will be loosed and will stir up hatred between the Persian and Roman empires. In those days many will rise up against Rome; the Jewish people will be her adversaries. There will be stirrings of nations and evil reports, pestilences, famines, and earthquakes in various places. All nations will receive captives; there will be wars and rumors of wars. From the rising to the setting of the sun the sword will devour much. The times will be so dangerous that in fear and trembling they will not permit thought of better things, because many will be the oppressions and desolations of regions that are to come.

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 (consummated), and there is not other which remains, 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 on the anxieties of the ages? Why therefore do we not reject every care of worldly business, and why is our mind held fixed on the lusts of the world or on 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 all the world? Believe you me, dearest brother, because the coming (advent) of the Lord is nigh, believe you me, because the end of the world is at hand, believe me, because it is the very last time. Or do you not believe unless you see with your eyes? See to it that this sentence be not fulfilled among you of the prophet who declares: “Woe to those who desire to see the day of the Lord!” 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. And so, brothers most dear to me, it is the eleventh hour, and the end of the world comes to the harvest, and angels, armed and prepared, hold sickles in their hands, awaiting the empire of the Lord. And we think that the earth exists with blind infidelity, arriving at its downfall early. Commotions are brought forth, wars of diverse peoples and battles and incursions of the barbarians threaten, and our regions shall be desolated, and we neither become very much afraid of the report nor of the appearance, in order that we may at least do penance; because they hurl fear at us, and we do not wish to be changed, although we at least stand in need of penance for our actions!

When therefore the end of the world comes, there arise diverse wars, commotions on all sides, horrible earthquakes, perturbations of nations, tempests throughout the lands, plagues, famine, drought throughout the thoroughfares, great danger throughout the sea and dry land, constant persecutions, slaughters and massacres everywhere, fear in the homes, panic in the cities, quaking in the thoroughfares, suspicions in the male, anxiety in the streets. In the desert people become senseless, spirits melt in the cities. A friend will not be grieved over a friend, neither a brother for a brother, nor parents for their children, nor a faithful servant for his master, but one inevitability shall overwhelm them all; neither is anyone able to be recovered in that time, who has not been made completely aware of the coming danger, but all people, who have been constricted by fear, are consumed because of the overhanging evils.

Whenever therefore the earth is agitated by the nations, people will hide themselves from the wars in the mountains and rocks, by caves and caverns of the earth, by graves and memorials of the dead, and there, as they waste away gradually by fear, they draw breath, because there is not any place at all to flee, but there will be concession and intolerable pressure. And those who are in the east will flee to the west, and moreover, those who are in the west shall flee to the east, and there is not a safer place anywhere, because the world shall be overwhelmed by worthless nations, whose aspect appears to be of wild animals more than that of men. Because those very much horrible nations, most profane and most defiled, who do not spare lives, and shall destroy the living from the dead, shall consume the dead, they eat dead flesh, they drink the blood of beasts, they pollute the world, contaminate all things, and the one who is able to resist them is not there. In those days people shall not be buried, neither Christian, nor heretic, neither Jew, nor pagan, because of fear and dread there is not one who buries them; because all people, while they are fleeing, ignore them.

Whenever the days of the times of those nations have been fulfilled, after they have destroyed the earth, it shall rest; and now the kingdom of the Romans is removed from everyday life, and the empire of the Christians is handed down by God and Peter; and then the consummation comes, when the kingdom of the Romans begins to be fulfilled, and all dominions and powers have been fulfilled. Then that worthless and abominable dragon shall appear, he, whom Moses named in Deuteronomy, saying: Dan is a young lion, reclining and leaping from Basan. Because he reclines in order that he may seize and destroy and slay. Indeed (he is) a young whelp of a lion not as the lion of the tribe of Judah, but roaring because of his wrath, that he may devour. “And he leaps out from Basan.” “Basan” certainly is interpreted “confusion.” He shall rise up from the confusion of his iniquity. The one who gathers together to himself a partridge the children of confusion, also shall call them, whom he has not brought forth, just as Jeremiah the prophet says. Also in the last day they shall relinquish him just as confused.

When therefore the end of the world comes, that abominable, lying and murderous one is born from the tribe of Dan. He is conceived from the seed of a man and from an unclean or most vile virgin, mixed with an evil or worthless spirit. But that abominable corrupter, more of spirits than of bodies, while a youth, the crafty dragon appears under the appearance of righteousness, before he takes the kingdom. Because he will be craftily gentle to all people, not receiving gifts, not placed before another person, loving to all people, quiet to everyone, not desiring gifts, appearing friendly among close friends, so that men may bless him, saying, he is a just man, not knowing that a wolf lies concealed under the appearance of a lamb, and that a greedy man is inside under the skin of a sheep.

But when the time of the abomination of his desolation begins to approach, having been made legal, he takes the empire, and, just as it is said in the Psalm:—They have been made for the undertaking for the sons of Loth, the Moabites and the Ammanites shall meet him first as their king. Therefore, when he receives the kingdom, he orders the temple of God to be rebuilt for himself, which is in Jerusalem; who, after coming into it, he shall sit as God and order that he be adored by all nations, since he is carnal and filthy and mixed with worthless spirit and flesh. Then that eloquence shall be fulfilled of Daniel the prophet:–And he shall not know the God of their fathers, and he shall not know the desires of women. Because the very wicked serpent shall direct every worship to himself. Because he shall put forth an edict so that people may be circumcised according to the rite of the old law. Then the Jews shall congratulate him, because he gave them again the practice of the first covenant; then all people from everywhere shall flock together to him at the city of Jerusalem, and the holy city shall be trampled on by the nations for forty-two months, just as the holy apostle says in the Apocalypse, which become three and a half years, 1,260 days.

In these three years and a half the heaven shall suspend its dew; because there will be no rain upon the earth, and the clouds shall cease to pass through the air, and the stars shall be seen with difficulty in the sky because of the excessive dryness, which happens in the time of the very fierce dragon. Because all great rivers and very powerful fountains that overflow with themselves shall be dried up, torrents shall dry up their water-courses because of the intolerable age, and there will be a great tribulation, as there has not been since people began to be upon the earth, and there will be famine and an insufferable thirst. And children shall waste away in the bosom of their mothers, and wives upon the knees of their husbands, by not having victuals to eat. Because there will be in those days lack of bread and water, and no one is able to sell or to buy of the grain of the fall harvest, unless he is one who has the serpentine sign on the forehead or on the hand. Then gold and silver and precious clothing or precious stones shall lie along the streets, and also even every type of pearls along the thoroughfares and streets of the cities, but there is not one who may extend the hand and take or desire them, but they consider all things as good as nothing because of the extreme lack and famine of bread, because the earth is not protected by the rains of heaven, and there will be neither dew nor moisture of the air upon the earth. But those who wander through the deserts, fleeing from the face of the serpent, bend their knees to God, just as lambs to the adders of their mothers, being sustained by the salvation of the Lord, and while wandering in states of desertion, they eat herbs.

Then, when this inevitability has overwhelmed all people, just and unjust, the just, so that they may be found good by their Lord; and indeed the unjust, so that they may be damned forever with their author the Devil, and, as God beholds the human race in danger and being tossed about by the breath of the horrible dragon, he sends to them consolatory proclamation by his attendants, the prophets Enoch and Elijah, who, while not yet tasting death, are the servants for the heralding of the second coming of Christ, and in order to accuse the enemy. And when those just ones have appeared, they confuse indeed the antagonistic serpent with his cleverness and they call back the faithful witnesses to God, in order to (free them) from his seduction...

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 of the 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 much majesty, with the sign of the wood 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. And he shall be bound and shall be plunged into the abyss of everlasting fire alive with his father Satan; and all people who do his wishes shall perish with him forever; but the righteous ones shall inherit everlasting life with the Lord forever and ever.

 

---

References:

[1] Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology, p. 462.

[2] Jordan Ballard writes: “The fact that the term rapture does not appear in the English Bible or in the Greek text does not negate the fact that the concept is taught in Scripture. There are other terms and concepts such as ‘Trinity’, ‘Sunday’, and ‘the Lord’s prayer’ which are taught in Scripture, even though the exact words do not appear.” (Ballard, A Case for the Pretribulational Rapture of the Church, unpublished manuscript, p. 3.)

[3] Wm. Paul Young, “A Word That Is Not in the Bible.” Wm Paul Young website. http://wmpaulyoung.com/a-word-that-is-not-in-the-bible/ (accessed 8/6/20).

[4] Cf. Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable, “Commentary on Revelation 3:10”. Also see the  commentary on Revelation 3:10 in the Unger’s Bible Handbook (Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Bible Handbook [Chicago: Moody Press, 1966, 1977], p. 849).

[5] Cf. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, 8 Volumes, Vols. 3-4, p. 395.

[6] Paul Lee Tan, The Interpretation of Prophecy (Winona Lake, IN: Assurance Publishers, 1974, 1976, 1978), pp. 69-72, emphasis his. Cf. J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958, 1964), pp. 168-169. Here Dr. Pentecost discusses imminency.

[7] Paul Lee Tan, The Interpretation of Prophecy (Winona Lake, IN: Assurance Publishers, 1974, 1976, 1978), pp. 116-118, emphasis and ellipsis his. Cf. J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come, pp. 166-168. Here Dr. Pentecost discusses "the progress of dogma".

[8] See Grant R. Jeffrey, Triumphant Return: The Coming Kingdom of God (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2001), pp. 173-174; cf. Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy, General Editors, When the Trumpet Sounds [Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1995], p. 108.

[9] Thomas Ice, “The Rapture in Pseudo-Ephraem” (May 2009), Liberty University. Article Archives. Paper 32.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Critics like to say that the pre-trib rapture was invented by a man named J. N. Darby in 1830. But since the mid-1990s this notion has been completely debunked, thanks in large part to the good work of Dr. Grant Jeffrey and also Dr. Thomas Ice of the Pre-Trib Research Center.

[12] See J. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri Opera omnia quae extant graece, syriace, latine (Rome: 1732-1746), 6 Volumes. Adam Clarke (1762-1832), the British theologian and biblical scholar, notes that this 6 volume set by Assemani is: “—A very good Edition.” (See Adam Clarke, A Bibliographical Dictionary [Liverpool: 1803], 6 Vols., Vol. 3, p. 171.) Clarke goes on to write: “The Edition of his [Ephraem’s] works by the learned Mr. Asseman, sub-librarian of the Vatican, is very complete. The three first volumes contain his Greek works; the three last those written in Syriac” (Ibid., p. 172).

[13] Cf.”Giuseppe Simone Assemani Translations”.  Institute of Lebanese Thought at Notre Dame University. Also see The Catholic Encylopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909), 15 Vols., Vol. 5, p. 499.

[14] “Guiseppe Simone Assemani Biography and Achievements”. Institute of Lebanese Thought at Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon. www.ndu.edu.lb/Library/Assets/Micro/Files/ILTMicrosite-English/GiuseppeSimoneAssemani/Biography.pdf (accessed 8/2/20).

[15] Although concerning Assemani’s edition of Ephraem’s work, The Catholic Enyclopedia says that “the Latin translation is rather a paraphrase.” (The Catholic Encyclopedia [New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909, 1913], 15 Vols., Vol. 5, p. 500.)

[16] Roger Pearse, “Did pseudo-Ephraim believe in the Rapture?” Roger Pearse blog. Oct. 27, 2018. www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2018/10/27/did-pseudo-ephraim-believe-in-the-rapture-some-notes-on-the-manuscripts-the-passage-and-its-greek-origins/ (accessed 7/22/20). Mr. Pearce speculates a date of composition “around 450 AD”. (Ibid.)

[17] Wilhelm Bousset, The Antichrist Legend (London: 1896), p. 35.

[18] Robert  P. Smith (“R.P.S.”), Dean of Canterbury, entry under “Ephraim the Syrian”, A Dictionary of Christian Biography (London: 1880), Edited by William Smith and Henry Wace, 4 Vols., Vol. 2, p. 140.

[19] John McClintock and James Strong, Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishing, 1891), 10 Volumes, Vol. 3, p. 256, under the heading “Ephrem or Ephraem Syrus”.

[20] These manuscripts actually contain most of the Christian Bible in Greek, with various portions either missing or extant.

[21] The name for this work in the scholarly literature is Ephraem Graecus (CPG 3935.2). CPG stands for Clavis Patrum Graecorum or “Key Greek Fathers”. Wikipedia gives this description: “The Clavis Patrum Graecorum is a series of volumes published by Brepols of Turnhout in Belgium. The series aims to contain a list of all the Fathers of the Church who wrote in Greek from the 1st to the 8th centuries. For each it lists all their works, whether genuine or not, extant or not. Each work is assigned a number, which is widely used as a reference in scholarly literature.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clavis_Patrum_Graecorum (accessed 7/22/20). This sermon (Beatitudines aliae, capita XX) is cataloged by J. S. Assemani, Volume 1, pp. 292-299.

[22] Pearce, “Did pseudo-Ephraem believe in the Rapture?” Roger Pearce blog. Oct. 27, 2018. www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2018/10/27/did-pseudo-ephraim-believe-in-the-rapture-some-notes-on-the-manuscripts-the-passage-and-its-greek-origins/ (accessed 7/22/20). Roger Pearce is editor of The Tertullian Project (www.tertullian.org).

[23] Paul J. Alexander, Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), pp. 209-211. Although Dr. Alexander is discussing another sermon by Ephraem titled On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World, both that sermon and the Beatitudines Aliae sermon contain Ephraem’s pre-trib rapture statement. Dr. Alexander’s comment about beatitude is obviously applicable to both pre-trib rapture statements since in each case the elect are gathered to the Lord before the tribulation, “i.e. participate at least in some measure in beatitude”! Dr. Thomas Ice writes: “Finally, the Byzantine scholar Paul Alexander clearly believed that Pseudo-Ephraem was teaching what we call today a pre-trib rapture. According to Alexander, most Byzantine apocalypses were concerned with how Christians would survive the time of severe persecution by Antichrist. The normal approach given by other apocalyptic texts was a shortening of the time to three and a half years, enabling the survival of some Christians. [Alexander, Byzantine Apocalyptic Traditions, p. 209.] Unlike those texts, this sermon [by Ephraem titled On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World] has Christians being removed from the time of tribulation. Alexander observed: “It is probably no accident that Pseudo-Ephraem does not mention the shortening of the time intervals for the Antichrist's persecution, for if prior to it the Elect are 'taken to the Lord,' i.e., participate at least in some measure in beatitude, there is no need for further mitigating action on their behalf. The Gathering of the Elect according to Pseudo-Ephraem is an alternative to the shortening of the time intervals. [Alexander, Byzantine Apocalyptic Traditions, pp. 210-211.]” (See Thomas Ice, “The Rapture in Pseudo-Ephraem” [May 2009]. Liberty University. Article Archives. Paper 32., p. 5) Dr. Ice concludes by saying: “While it is uncertain which biblical text or texts Pseudo-Ephraem had in mind as the foundation for this sermon [On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World], it is interesting to note that some terms used in the Greek variants of the proto-rapture passage in the sermon are similar to the biblical text”. This is exactly my point in regards to how “the blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) for the Christian is truly a beatitude! (See Timothy Demy and Thomas Ice, “The Rapture and an Early Medieval Citation,” Thomas Ice and Demy, General Editors, The Return: Understanding Christ’s Second Coming and the End Times [Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1999], p. 65.)

[24] See Ibid., pp. 209-211.

[25] See J. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri Opera omnia quae extant graece, syriace, latine (Rome: 1732), 6 Vols., Volume 1 (Greek and Latin), pg. 297. http://dl.ub.uni-freiburg.de/diglit/ephraem1732-1/0545/image?sid=1bcb106928e2db4b6637aa9af846bc38#current_page (accessed 7/28/20). Interestingly, the same Greek phrase “tou mē idein” (“he would not see”) is found in Hebrews 11:5, referring to Enoch and his being taken up (raptured) to heaven: “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up” (Heb. 11:5, NASB).

[26] See J. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri Opera omnia quae extant graece, syriace, latine (Rome: 1732), 6 Vols., Volume 1 (Greek and Latin), pg. 297. http://dl.ub.uni-freiburg.de/diglit/ephraem1732-1/0545/image?sid=1bcb106928e2db4b6637aa9af846bc38#current_page (accessed 7/28/20).

[27] The name for this work in the scholarly literature is Ephraem Graecus (CPG 4044). This sermon (“Sermo utilis de paenitentia et iudicio et separatione animae et corporis”) is cataloged by J. S. Assemani in Vol. 3, pp. 376-380.

[28] J. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri Opera omnia quae extant graece, syriace, latine (Rome: 1746), 6 Vols., Vol. 3, p. 378. http://dl.ub.uni-freiburg.de/diglit/ephraem1746-3/0454/image?sid=3ac3402b91f20311f627525e0806df75#current_page (accessed 7/29/20).

[29] J. S. Assemani, Sancti Patris nostri Ephraem Syri Opera omnia quae extant graece, syriace, latine (Rome: 1746), 6 Vols., Vol. 3, p. 378. http://dl.ub.uni-freiburg.de/diglit/ephraem1746-3/0454/image?sid=3ac3402b91f20311f627525e0806df75#current_page (accessed 7/22/20).

[30] C. P. Caspari, Letters, Treaties and Sermons from the Last Two Centuries of Ecclesiastical Antiquity and the Beginning of the Middle Ages, Chapter XIV, “A Sermon by Ephraem the Syrian and Isidore of Seville about the Last Days, the Antichrist and the End of the World”. From two manuscripts, the Barbarini and the St. Gallen. (Christiania: Mallingschen Book Printer, 1890), p. 447. https://archive.org/details/briefeabhandlung00caspuoft/page/446/mode/2up (accessed 7/22/20).

[31] St. Ephrem, “De Fine Mundi”. Codex Barberini, Lat. 671. Dated c. 750-800 AD. https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Barb.lat.671, pp. 167-171 (accessed 7/22/20). Cf. “Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, barb. lat. 671”. Monastic Manuscript Project. www.earlymedievalmonasticism.org/manuscripts/Vat-barb-lat-671.html (accessed 8/3/20).

[32] Codex Sangellensis 93. Dated in the 9^th century. www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/csg/0093 (accessed 8/3/20). Roger Pearce notes that “Caspari transcribes the St Gall manuscripts 92 and 93, which differ on one letter…obruit [obruet]….” (Pearce, “Did pseudo-Ephraem believe in the Rapture?” Roger Pearce blog. Oct. 27, 2018, brackets his.) The Latin word obruit is in the present tense and is translated “overwhelms”. Whereas the Latin word obruet is in the future tense and is translated “will overwhelm”. The 9^th century Sangellensis 93 codex has obruit. In Caspari’s critical edition of the Latin text (Caspari, pp. 211, 447), he used the word obruet (“will overwhelm”) probably because that is the reading of the older of the two Latin manuscripts (the 8^th century Codex Barberini uses the word obruet).

[33] C. P. Caspari, Letters, Treaties and Sermons from the Last Two Centuries of Ecclesiastical Antiquity and the Beginning of the Middle Ages, Chapter XIV, “A Sermon by Ephraem the Syrian and Isidore of Seville about the Last Days, the Antichrist and the End of the World”. From two manuscripts, the Barbarini and the St. Gallen. (Christiania: 1890), p. 211. www.archive.org/details/briefeabhandlung00caspuoft (accessed 7/22/20).

[34] “From my diary” blog post, Roger Pearce blog (Oct. 22, 2018), comment by “MG” dated Oct. 22, 2018. www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2018/10/22/from-my-diary-423/#comment-1838192 (comment from October 22, 2018).

[35] Ibid.

[36] Ibid.

[37] David Malcolm Bennett, “Raptured or not Raptured? That is the question.” EQ 80.2 [2008], p. 154, emphasis added.

[38] Tim LaHaye, Revelation Unveiled (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), p. 146, ellipsis added.

[39] “Pseudo-Ephraem does not teach the Rapture!” The Interactive Bible website. www.bible.ca/rapture-pseudo-ephraem-latin-syraic-texts.htm

[40] Ibid.; cf. “Pseudo-Ephrem (Syriac)”. John C. Reeves blog. https://pages.uncc.edu/john-reeves/research-projects/trajectories-in-near-eastern-apocalyptic/pseudo-ephrem-syriac/ (accessed 7/22/20).

[41] Roger Pearce, “Did Pseudo-Ephraem believe in the Rapture?” Roger Pearce blog. Oct. 27, 2018, emphasis his. www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2018/10/27/did-pseudo-ephraim-believe-in-the-rapture-some-notes-on-the-manuscripts-the-passage-and-its-greek-origins/ (accessed 7/22/20).

[42] Dave Macpherson, “Deceiving, and Being Deceived,” https://historicist.info/articles/deceiving.htm (accessed 7/30/20).

[43] Ibid.

[44] Roger Pearce, “Did Pseudo-Ephraem believe in the Rapture?” Roger Pearce blog. Oct. 27, 2018, emphasis his. https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2018/10/27/did-pseudo-ephraim-believe-in-the-rapture-some-notes-on-the-manuscripts-the-passage-and-its-greek-origins/ (accessed 7/22/20).

[45] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isidore_of_Seville

[46] Thomas Ice, “The Rapture in Pseudo-Ephraem” (May 2009), Liberty University. Article Archives. Paper 32. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=pretrib_arch (accessed 7/22/20). Similarly, Dr. Jeffrey writes: “Pseudo-Ephraem clearly presents at least three important features found in modern pretribulationalism: (1) there are two distinct comings: the return of Christ to rapture the saints, followed later by Christ’s Second Advent to the earth; (2) a defined interval between the two comings, in this case three and one-half years; and (3) a clear statement that Christ will remove the church from the world before the tribulation.” See the book edited by Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy titled The Return: Understanding Christ’s Second Coming and the End Times (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1999), pp. 65-66.

[47] Jeffrey, “A Pretrib Rapture Statement in the Early Medieval Church,” Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy, General Editors, When the Trumpet Sounds, pp. 116-117. www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ephraim-Latinus-De-fine-mundi-Jeffrey-A-Pretrib-Rapture-Statement-in-the-Early-Medieval-Church-1995.pdf (accessed 7/22/20).

[48] Thomas Ice, “The Rapture in Pseudo-Ephraem” (May 2009), Liberty University. Article Archives. Paper 32. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=pretrib_arch (accessed 7/22/20).

[49] Tim LaHaye, Revelation Unveiled (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), pp. 110-111.

[50] Ibid., p. 111.

[51] Source: Orthodox Christianity website, https://orthochristian.com/101157.html (accessed July 23, 2020).