How many discard the Rapture of the Church doctrine because of the claim it was never considered before the 1800s?
Is Tradition causing Christians to miss out on being comforted by the Blessed Hope?
I have heard many Christians justify their non-Rapture eschatology on a "historical" [tradition] claim. That [tradition] claim is that the Rapture is a new doctrine only mentioned by John Darby in 1830 and therefore not Biblical or True. Frank Turek often asks individuals if he could prove Jesus is who He says he is would you become a Christian? Similarly, would a skeptic of the Rapture change their mind if they were shown proof that the Rapture was accepted as truth centuries ago or would they hold tighter to tradition?
If there is one main takeaway from Christian college or even seminary it must be the discussion regarding Calvin and Arminius. [I thought seminary was about Jesus not some man!] If there is a class on hermeneutics then there must be a bias on the professor as most protestants and catholics focus on the allegorical and spiritual interpretation of Scripture. In any case, my respect in general, for seminaries and their graduates has been waning for a decade now. My observation and experience demonstrates that Calvin usually wins, Genesis and Revelation are allegorized and Israel/Jews are replaced, superseded or irrelevant.
In my opinion it is a miracle that anyone attending church accepts God's Gift of Salvation! Why would I Believe that the Bible is inerrant and infallible if so much of it is preached as non-literal or allegorical? Jesus rising from the dead is typically a hard concept to accept. How do [many] pastors reconcile the resurrection as literal but not Genesis or Revelation? Quite puzzling!
The other day I was listening to Amir Tsarfati speaking at Calvary Chapel Albuquerque, 29 July 2021. He provided a reference to a contentious Christian doctrine regarding Eschatology. The least accepted doctrine of Eschatology is that of the Rapture of the Church. For example, it is not uncommon to hear that the earliest non-Biblical mention of Rapture was by John Darby in 1830! Keep in mind that the Book of Revelation is the only book with a promise for reading. Apostle Paul made the point of encouraging each other in waiting for the Blessed Hope. Instead many Christians think that in order for Christ to come the second time that they must prepare the earth by making it Christian! That doctrine has been tradition for centuries and especially now in the 21st century even though Israel's prophetic rebirth occurred in 1948!
I have never personally attended seminary, only a mining and scientific college. Therefore, I do not know precisely what is taught only the results of those attending. I suspect that the "church fathers" are discussed; how else would a pastor in training know about Origen's allegorical concept of interpretation? Why is the writing of Irenaeus 131-201 AD skipped or deemphasized? Amazingly, Irenaeus in Book V of "Against Heresies" clearly discusses the Rapture of the Church. Amir Tsarfati mentioned the specific book but didn't provide a link to it during his presentation. However, a reference to the book was found.
https://www.ccel.org/ccel/irenaeus/against_heresies_v.html
https://www.ccel.org/ccel/s/schaff/anf01.xml
Open Word past the XML into Microsoft Word. Then click find, search for ""XXIX . "Chapter XXIX.—" should show up; This section of the book is very clear about ("caught-up", Rapture).
"so far useful and serviceable to the just, as stubble conduces towards the growth of the wheat, and its straw, by means of combustion, serves for working gold. And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, “There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be.”
Just to make sure the source is legitimate another URL was found:
https://archive.org/details/SaintIrenaeusAgainstHeresiesComplete
This link provides a PDF, Kindle version as well as other options. The text is confirmed to be the same, therefore a high confidence level in accuracy.
Sure enough the reference to the Rapture (caught-up, snatched) of the Church over 1,600 years before Darby! There is also a reference in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (Gutenberg original version). Will this truth change the general Christian community or will Man's tradition win over God's Word? Man continually tries to discredit God's Word; what method will be used to [try] discredit Irenaeus' work, John Bunyan's or John Darby's?
In Conclusion
I challenge anyone to check Irenaeus' writing but only for the proof that the Rapture of the Church is mentioned outside the Bible 1,600 years before Darby. [Check everything against Scripture.] The Apostle Paul should be proof enough that the Holy Spirit meant Paul to write it to mean Rapture of the Church before the Tribulation! Are Christians required to automatically trust what a pastor or popular speaker says or instead follow Apostle Paul's reference to the "fact-checking" Bereans? I have made my choice and it is NOT Man's wisdom or Tradition.
1 Thessalonians 4:14–18 (ESV): For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. (Caught up, snatched away or Rapture /harpazo)
773 ἁρπάζω (harpazō): vb.; ≡ Str 726; TDNT 1.472—1. LN 18.4 snatch, seize (Mt 13:19; Jn 6:15; Ac 23:10; Jude 23); a rapture to God and glory (Ac 8:39; 2Co 12:2, 4; 1Th 4:17; Rev 12:5+); 2. LN 39.49 attack, implying the seizing of something (Mt 11:12; Jn 10:12+); 3. LN 57.235 plunder, seize possessions by force (Mt 12:29+); 4. LN 37.28 gain control over, formally, snatch from the hand (Jn 10:28, 29+)
