- May 15, 2005
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It has been widely claimed that the doctrine of a rapture before the tribulation could not be correct because it had never been taught before the 1800s. And these people contend that anything the church never taught in its first eighteen centuries, could not be correct.
This is false on two fronts. First, We read “I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.” (Psalm 119:99) This, actually, should be true of every generation, for when we have learned everything our teachers can teach us, our studies are not completed. Rather, our real studies are just now ready to begin. For we start with the knowledge set before us, and build up from there, using meditation upon God’s testimonies. So whoever first taught a given doctrine, or how long it has been taught, are immaterial. The only thing that counts is whether or not the scriptures teach it.
But this claim has another error. And that is that it simply is not correct. On page 178 of his book, “Dispensationalism before Darby.” William C. Watson listed about two dozen writers who, in the 1600s and 1700s, taught a rapture significantly before the Lord returns to judge the world for its wickedness. But all of these were late comers. For the doctrine of a rapture before the great tribulation was taught, and sometimes very clearly taught, in ancient times, as we shall see in this thread.
We need to be aware of one detail to actually understand the following quotations from these ancient writers, and why they were actually teaching a rapture before the great tribulation, even though their writings included comments about “the church” suffering persecution under the Antichrist.
If we carefully examine all their writings, they always give the time of the Antichrist as three and a half years, which they call the “great tribulation,” as you will see below. This writer has not found even one exception to this rule. These same ancients clearly taught that Daniel’s seventieth week remains to be fulfilled in the future. But they only foresaw the great tribulation as the last half of this week. So, as will become evident below, they only taught that the tribulation would last three and a half years, or a half week, instead of seven years, as is commonly taught today. Thus, from their viewpoint, their position was truly pre-tribulational, because they taught a rapture before the “great tribulation.” But what they taught was actually what today would be called a mid-tribulation rapture.
This is false on two fronts. First, We read “I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.” (Psalm 119:99) This, actually, should be true of every generation, for when we have learned everything our teachers can teach us, our studies are not completed. Rather, our real studies are just now ready to begin. For we start with the knowledge set before us, and build up from there, using meditation upon God’s testimonies. So whoever first taught a given doctrine, or how long it has been taught, are immaterial. The only thing that counts is whether or not the scriptures teach it.
But this claim has another error. And that is that it simply is not correct. On page 178 of his book, “Dispensationalism before Darby.” William C. Watson listed about two dozen writers who, in the 1600s and 1700s, taught a rapture significantly before the Lord returns to judge the world for its wickedness. But all of these were late comers. For the doctrine of a rapture before the great tribulation was taught, and sometimes very clearly taught, in ancient times, as we shall see in this thread.
We need to be aware of one detail to actually understand the following quotations from these ancient writers, and why they were actually teaching a rapture before the great tribulation, even though their writings included comments about “the church” suffering persecution under the Antichrist.
If we carefully examine all their writings, they always give the time of the Antichrist as three and a half years, which they call the “great tribulation,” as you will see below. This writer has not found even one exception to this rule. These same ancients clearly taught that Daniel’s seventieth week remains to be fulfilled in the future. But they only foresaw the great tribulation as the last half of this week. So, as will become evident below, they only taught that the tribulation would last three and a half years, or a half week, instead of seven years, as is commonly taught today. Thus, from their viewpoint, their position was truly pre-tribulational, because they taught a rapture before the “great tribulation.” But what they taught was actually what today would be called a mid-tribulation rapture.