Mark Hitchcock: Ancient Evidence for a Pre-Trib Rapture

In this episode of Marking the End Times, Dr. Mark Hitchcock uncovers an exciting rediscovery of an ancient source that supports the pre-tribulation Rapture—long before John Nelson Darby in 1830.

For years, critics have claimed the pre-trib view is “new” and absent from church history. But recent research reveals clear pre-trib Rapture statements from early church leaders, including Irenaeus (2nd century A.D.), Ephraim the Syrian, and others—decades and even centuries before Darby.

Topics covered in this video:

• The common objection: “The Rapture wasn’t taught before 1830”
• Early evidence of the pre-tribulation Rapture throughout church history
• The discovery of Irenaeus’ statement in Against Heresies (Book 5, Chapter 29)
• How Irenaeus’ connection to Polycarp and the Apostle John strengthens the case
• Why Scripture is the ultimate authority for the timing of the Rapture

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Ancient Evidence for a Pre-Trib Rapture

Well, welcome to Marking the End Times. I’m Mark Hitchcock, and I’m coming to you today from my office here at Faith Bible Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. On today’s program, I want to talk about an exciting new discovery—or really, what we could better call a rediscovery—of an ancient source in support of the pre-tribulation Rapture.

Next week on The Tipping Point program with Jimmy Evans, we’re going to do an in-depth teaching on the pre-trib Rapture. We’ll answer some of the main objections to it, and we’ll give a lot of the positive support for it. So you’ll want to be sure and join us for that program next week. It’s an important program to understand the timing of the Rapture.

But today, I want to get a head start on that, and I want to do a deep dive into one of the most common objections to the pre-tribulation Rapture. That objection is that it was never taught before 1830 by an Irish Brethren preacher named John Nelson Darby.

Those of us who believe in the pre-trib Rapture hear that all the time. People will say, “Well, it’s new, it’s novel, it just came about in 1830 through the teaching of J.N. Darby. Obviously, something that new can’t be biblical.” But what I want to do is look at an amazing new discovery—actually a historical rediscovery—in support of the pre-tribulation Rapture.

Before we get to that, I want to mention that in a bit we’ll go to the subscriber-only section where I’ll answer some questions that have been sent in. These are great questions.

One question from Don: The Bible tells us we can only get to heaven through Christ, who died for our sins. Our sins are forgiven and they are no more. The Bible also tells us we can’t get to heaven through good works. And the Bible also tells us we’ll give an account of everything we’ve done in our life, good and bad. This is confusing to me and almost contradictory. Can you clarify?

Well, great question, Don. We’re saved by God’s grace through faith, apart from works. But someday, as believers, we will be judged for our works when we stand before the Lord. Our works don’t save us, but our works will be the basis of our rewards in heaven. There’s also language that we’ll be rewarded according to what we’ve done, whether good or bad. We want to talk about what that means—does that refer to our sins, or to something else?

Another question comes from Dennis, and one from Doug, about Isaiah 17. We’ve been getting a lot of questions about Isaiah 17 in light of what’s happening in Syria.

Dennis asked: What was Syria’s territory at the time of the Isaiah 17 prophecy? Could lands currently experiencing devastation be part of biblical Syrian territory?

Doug asked: In the Isaiah 17 prophecy about Damascus, it also says the fortified towns of Israel will also be destroyed. I’ve read and heard a lot of exposition on Damascus over my many years of study, but I’ve never seen anyone pause to consider the condition of Israel at the time of Damascus’ destruction. What are the fortified towns? Why are they destroyed too?

Those are great questions we’ll get to later, but today I want to focus on this amazing rediscovery of an ancient source that supports the pre-tribulation Rapture.

The Historical Background

I’ve been a member of the Pre-Trib Research Center for over 30 years. The center was founded by Tim LaHaye and Tommy Ice back in the early 1990s. We meet every year in Dallas in December, and I’ve had the privilege of being at all but two of those conferences.

When that group began, there was not one historical statement before J.N. Darby in support of the pre-trib Rapture. That meant people could accurately say at the time: “We haven’t found a single pre-tribulation statement before John Nelson Darby in all of church history.”

The only answer we could give was that doctrines sometimes fell out of favor for a time and were later rediscovered. For instance, in the 1500s and 1600s, the doctrine of justification by faith reemerged in the church. It had always been there, but it was rediscovered during that time. That was about the best explanation we could give.

This argument has been used for years against the pre-trib Rapture. For example, John Rich, a country singer, once used it in an interview with Tucker Carlson. Jimmy Evans and I even did a rebuttal to that argument on The Tipping Point program.

Michael Brown and Craig Keener also used this argument in their book Not Afraid of the Antichrist. They mention it at least six times. For example:

• “The teaching that the church would be raptured before the tribulation didn’t start until 1830. No men or women of God before that time believed it—the early church fathers, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, or others.”

• “This is a minority view in church history. No one articulated this view clearly until 1830, and it didn’t become widespread until the 20th century.”

• “Darby was the first teacher to circulate pre-tribulationism, with possibly one or two exceptions not much earlier than Darby.”

• “There is no record of anyone promoting a pre-tribulational Rapture before about 1830. Until that time, virtually everyone expected that Christ would resurrect the righteous and destroy the wicked at the same time.”

Early Pre-Trib Evidence

In the 1990s, the first pre-trib source before Darby was uncovered: a sermon by Ephraim the Syrian in the 4th or 5th century A.D. with a clear pre-trib Rapture statement.

Around the 1400s, another discovery came from a group in Northern Italy called the Dolcinites, followers of Brother Dolcino. They also made pre-trib Rapture statements.

William Watson, a historian, has since found at least a dozen pre-trib statements in the 1600s and 1700s, using terms like “rapture” and describing people being “left behind.”

Morgan Edwards, in the 1740s—about 100 years before Darby—wrote a clear pre-trib Rapture statement. He was a founder of Brown University.

So while in the early 1990s we knew of none, now we know of at least 30 pre-trib references before Darby, and possibly as many as 50.

The Most Important Discovery: Irenaeus

The most important discovery comes from Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons in modern France in the 2nd century A.D. His name means “peace.” He was born around 130 A.D.—only about 30 years after the Apostle John died. He was raised in Smyrna, where Polycarp (a disciple of John) lived. Polycarp was martyred around 155 A.D.

Irenaeus was therefore in a unique position to converse with disciples of the apostles. He believed in:

• A literal 1,000-year reign of Jesus on the earth.

• A literal future Antichrist ruling for 3½ years.

• A rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.

• A future 7-year tribulation.

• The restoration of Israel during the Millennial Kingdom.

And most importantly, he also believed in a pre-tribulation Rapture.

The Key Quote

From Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 29, Section 1:

“And therefore, in the end, when the church is suddenly caught up from this, it is said, ‘There will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be.’ For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which, when they overcome, they are crowned with incorruption.”

Notice: “In the end, the church is suddenly caught up… then there will be great tribulation.” This is a clear pre-tribulation Rapture statement.

The Apparent Contradiction

However, elsewhere (Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 26, Section 1), Irenaeus seems to say the church will be persecuted by the Antichrist during the tribulation. That has led some to suggest he may have held a partial pre-tribulation Rapture view—where some believers are taken before the tribulation, and others remain.

More likely, Irenaeus used the term “church” more broadly than we do today. We use it technically to mean all believers between Pentecost and the Rapture. He used it more generally to refer to all God’s people—including tribulation saints.

Final Thoughts

At the very least, Irenaeus held to a partial pre-trib view. At best—and what I believe—he held to a full pre-trib view but used the word “church” in a more general sense.

In any case, this is strong evidence from the 2nd century—just decades after the apostles—that the pre-tribulation Rapture was taught.

Of course, the ultimate authority is Scripture itself. The Bible teaches the church will be rescued from wrath, that the Rapture can happen at any moment, and that the church is absent from Revelation 4–18.

So, the Bible and history both point toward the pre-tribulation Rapture.

And if Jesus can come at any moment, then we must always be ready, living in light of His return.