How the Pre-Trib Rapture Became Popular in the Modern Church

[GaryA]

Israel included? Absolutely.

Israel only? Kinda doubt it...

 

[Nehemiah6]

You also added to Scripture which is forbidden including you stating there are two(2) Returns of the Lord.

You keep raising up this straw man of two returns of Christ when it has already been explained that there is only one Second Coming of Christ to earth. You can call it a "return" if you wish. But Christ does NOT return to earth at the Resurrection/Rapture. He does come for His saints, whether you wish to believe that or not.

 

[Aidan1]

Jhn 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: G2347 but be of good cheer; I have been victories over the world.

But the tribulation we have in this world since pentecost is not the same which we will find in the time of the great tribulation.
Even when Christians in all time have a heavy time of persecution.

 

[TheDivineWatermark]

II Thessalonians 1 shows that Jesus returns and gives the church rest while at the same time executing vengence on them that know not God.

Typically, pre-trib is assumed and other scriptures are explained around it.

Except, as I (a pre-tribber) discussed with you back in April, the text in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 says,

--"...rest/repose with us IN THE REVELATION OF the Lord Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels IN A FIRE OF FLAME INFLICTING VENGEANCE ON those not knowing God and..." - https://biblehub.com/text/2_thessalonians/1-8.htm ; NOT merely on "a singular 24-hr day"


--[from a post in June, where I similarly stated...] "I'm saying ALL SEVEN YEARS (SEALS, TRUMPETS, VIALS) are His "IN FLAMING FIRE [see again Lam2:3], INFLICTING VENGEANCE ON..." [2Th1:7-8] and "WRATH" (when Jesus will "STAND to JUDGE" Isa3:13, Rev5:6, [Lam2:3-4 parallel language to 2Th2:7b-8a],...);"


--...where the parallel language I just mentioned ^ says (in each):

• "[Lam2:3, and notice also the words "like a flaming fire"] he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy" (i.e. withdrawing His restraint, and letting the "enemy" have at it!)--this passage not referring to events merely of "a singular 24-hr day";
• "[2Th2:7b-8a] the one restraining at present, will restrain, UNTIL out of the midst he be come [/come to be], AND THEN [kai tote] shall that Wicked be revealed..." (he is revealed at the START of those "7 years," not at its MIDDLE, and certainly not at its END--COMPARE 2Th2's BEGINNING / MIDDLE / END events with Dan9:27a/b/c[26b]'s SAME BEGINNING[of 7 yrs] / MIDDLE / END, to see that Paul is NOT covering merely one small aspect of these [as most incorrectly see him referring only to the "3.5 yrs," here--namely, from the time of 2:4's event])

--it is an assumption that 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 is referring merely to the "singular 24-hr day" of Christ's "RETURN" to the earth at Rev19, rather than to INCLUDE (at the very least) the "7 Trumpets" and "7 Vials" (where "7 angels" PARTICIPATE in the initiating of those various JUDGMENTs--by their "sounding" the 7 Trumpets and "pouring" the 7 Bowls/Vials... which, altogether, take substantial TIME prior to His "return" to the earth);


--Rev1:1 [/1:19c / 4:1] language "things which must come to pass IN QUICKNESS [NOUN]" (speaking of the "future" aspects of the Book, i.e. from 4:1 to end of chpt 19--equaling SEVEN YEARS) is parallel to the wording in Luke 18:8 "AVENGE IN QUICKNESS [NOUN]" ("in quickness" found also in Rom16:20) ALSO referring to a TIME-PERIOD (rather than merely a "singular 24-hr day," the 24-hr day of His "RETURN" to the earth Rev19);


--those being the ones of whom the "INFLICTING VENGEANCE ON those who..." occurs (per 2Th1:7-8) are the SAME persons (AND time-period) that 2Th2:10-12 states "God SHALL SEND TO THEM great delusion SO THAT THEY should believe the LIE / the FALSE / the PSEUDEI..." where it is speaking of the SAME TIME PERIOD that was referred to in chpt 1 (i.e. the TRIB YEARS, FOLLOWING "our Rapture / THE Departure"--Paul, in these 2 chpts, is telling of the TWO CONTRASTING "beliefs" ppl WILL BE coming to FOLLOWING "our Rapture" (that is, DURING the SEVEN YEARS--a TIME-PERIOD--not "beliefs" they will [disparately] come to ON A SINGULAR 24-HR DAY [the day of His "RETURN" to the earth], see...)

 

[TheDivineWatermark]

[translating the above post]

2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 is not referring merely to the events on "a singular 24-hr day," the day of His "return" to the earth at Rev19. No.

 

[Lucy-Pevensie]

Thanks, that's really good reply. If you don't mind me asking; what denomination are you, or were you raised with, because it sounds very similar to what i heard in Anglican church and school ? Although there are some differences (i think) eg. i seem to remember being taught about the Ascension of the Saints meaning us believers, and that different parts of the Bible (although all the teachings are valuable) is written for different people in different times, such as Revelation being written with a more OT mindset more for Jews and not something we need to worry about too much. That's why in an earlier post i said i think i may have been taught some kind of "pre-trib" although it wasn't called that. I don't want to get too bogged down in all this, just trying to figure out if what i was taught (or my understanding of what i was taught) is scriptural or not but, as you kind of implied, reading right through the NT again is probably the best way to go about it.

Hi again, Happy Sunday . It's good to meet British people here. I sometimes worry about us.
I think you'll be alright. I don't want to put you off completely from looking at church doctrines and/or history.
It isn't that study in those areas have nothing of value to offer.
I was from an Irish Catholic family but my mother was born again and I stopped attending mass after I started to read the Bible myself. I think Anglicans are alright, they have managed to remain free of a lot of the pagan clutter we had as Catholics. My church is non-denominational but I have attended an Evangelical church in the past.

I do think Revelation is more like an OT book. It references the OT a lot. Rather than it being a book just for Jews though, I personally believe Jesus & John wanted us to read the former prophets to make sense of what was being taught and become familiar with the rest of scripture. Some of the detail is astonishing.

It's true you don't have to worry about it though.
If the Holy Spirit doesn't draw you to intensive study of eschatology you don't need to feel any pressure to do so.
I have studied it a lot because I find it irresistablly interesting.

 

[Angela53510]

^ At the moment "our Rapture" takes place, ALL believers are "CAUGHT UP / SNATCHED"... and there remains ONLY the "unsaved" on the earth. ZERO "believers" will be left behind! NONE.


But FOLLOWING "our Rapture" many people will be coming to faith (NOT ALL will--Paul, in 2Th1&2 tells of the TWO contrasting "beliefs" people WILL BE coming to FOLLOWING "our Rapture / Departure," when they find themselves IN the Trib).

Some of those "of Israel" will be among the first to realize the Truth, will come to Christ in faith, and it is THEY who go on to DO the "INVITING TO" the promised and prophesied earthly Millennial Kingdom age (doing the "INVITING" in and during the Trib years, FOLLOWING "our Rapture"--Matt24:14/26:13, for example, as well as Matt22:9-14, for another example...).

"Our rapture" you repeat this short phrase over & over in your posts. (Which I have great difficulty reading, with all the added symbols, caps, no caps, etc!)

But never once do you offer a verse which has the word rapture in it! Let alone "our rapture!" I dare you to use a concordance or Greek lexicon and find this word "rapture" on any Bible except Jerome's 4th century Latin. This is a transliteration mistake.

"Our" is a plural, 1st person possessive pronoun. The genitive in Greek. Where do you find this in the Bible, coupled with rapture? No where, since rapture is not there.

When I see repeated posts by someone, raving about a phrase like "our rapture" with no references from the Bible, I have no choice but to realize this is a man made, non-Biblical term.

Nehemiah also said something about the rapture being our "blessed hope!" But, if there is no rapture, then this phrase has been misread. In fact, the Second Coming is our "blessed hope!

"while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ," Titus 2:13

What is the hope? An event or a person? The false rapture doctrine has ensnared people to look for an event, rather than Jesus Christ. And NO doctrine that takes our eyes off Jesus & onto an event can ever be true!

"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure." 1 John 3:2-3

Verse 3 makes it clear that:

"All who have this hope in him" NIV

"And everyone who has this hope focused[n] on him purifies[o] himself, just as Jesus[p] is pure)." NET

"And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure." ESV

This constant emphasis upon the rapture heretical! We do not await an event! We await Christ himself, or his promised Second Coming, which is all about Christ, not a secret special rapture, to escape tribulation, which is all about us. The rapture is a narcissistic, self centred, man-made doctrine!

 

[Noteworthy]

God's wrath comes when the trib is over not during it. It's Satan's wrath during that time when he is overcoming the saints and killing them. Also, God can pour his wrath out and not accidentally hit the good guys. Howver, when it's time for God's wrath, his people will be raptured and immortal and in the clouds.

"Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” - Revelation 6:15-17

Clearly, the wrath of God is early on, right there in Revelation 6. This is not "Satan's wrath."

The Seal Judgements are followed by the Trumpet Judgements which are followed by the Bowl Judgements. This during the 7 years of tribulation. God's word is truth.

 

[Angela53510]

^ Again, many people will be coming to faith FOLLOWING "our Rapture" (Jesus never promised to "harpazo" THEM out of [ek] the world--The "RAPTURE / SNATCH / CAUGHT UP / harpazo [G726]" pertains SOLELY TO "the Church WHICH IS HIS BODY" [Eph1:20-23 WHEN (as to its existence)] who ALONE was promised this!!--See again the IDENTITY of the "A CHASTE VIRGIN [SINGULAR]" whom Paul said he is tasked to "PRESENT" [after having been "betrothed"] to ONE HUSBAND, as stated in 2Cor11:2<--how so??)





[whereas "the 12" were told they will "sit on twelve thrones, judgING the twelve tribes of Israel" --Matt19:28 (see M25:31-34 for its TIMING) / Lk22:30 (etc)]

Are you obsessed with making your posts unreadable?

I was a teacher, long ago. I learned that the best way to present something was to keep it simple and clean. Look at logos, which ones stand out? Apple, Google, and all those that have a clean, white background, with simple, readable letters, or a symbol. Any movie that uses Apple computers, for example, all they need to do is pan in on the person using the computer. The Apple Logo in the back of the lap top, is obvious. Advertising without a word!

But, the way you make everything a mess? Impossible to struggle through! Here might be your version of the Google logo!!

[and] G/o [O - the 2nd O,] G L e(final letter! Shows the WORD has an ending!].

How different than:
Google

Sorry I can't do a better job, my phone won't access different sizes, features like bold or font

The first is not readable, the second is. Strive for simplicity. You are putting a lot of effort into writing things almost no one in the forum can decipher!

.

 

[DavidTree]

Here is a simple graphical example of the beliefs.

It is not Christ honoring if we attack and belittle each other when we study The Word together. That is not how The Spirit works.

It is not Christ honoring if we preach error with sweetness and kindness - the serpent did that in the Garden.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said the condemned world loves one another and shows kindness to their children

What God wants is for us to love one another in Truth and in His Word.

No one can meet that challenge in the lie of pre-trib. Do you really think the Lord will accept a lie.

 

[DavidTree]

"Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” - Revelation 6:15-17

Clearly, the wrath of God is early on, right there in Revelation 6. This is not "Satan's wrath."

The Seal Judgements are followed by the Trumpet Judgements which are followed by the Bowl Judgements. This during the 7 years of tribulation. God's word is truth.

Perfect chart of breaking the commandment in Revelation 22 :18 -19 when you add to our Lord's Prophecy.

 

[Angela53510]

LOL, satan persecutes his church? or are you thinking there is no person(s) saved after those in the rapture are gone? FYI we are hated already today. Just as Noah was and the Jews Yet God saved them did HE not?

Who was taken away by the flood? Unbelievers & mockers.

Who was saved through the flood? Noah & his family (8 people) and all the animals.

In this example, God sweeps away the evil, while the righteous man and his family/animals are saved to the earth. A good example of no magical taking away of believers. No rapture!

 

[DavidTree]

You keep raising up this straw man of two returns of Christ when it has already been explained that there is only one Second Coming of Christ to earth. You can call it a "return" if you wish. But Christ does NOT return to earth at the Resurrection/Rapture. He does come for His saints, whether you wish to believe that or not.

Our Lord is at the Right Hand of the Father - any COMING BACK to this realm whether on Land or the Air constitutes His Second Coming.
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen. Revelation 1:8

At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Matt 24:31

There are multiple accomplishments that the Lord will do at His Second Coming.
The FIRST is the RESURRECTION of the dead in Him - AFTER that the Rapture of alive remaining Saints.
This He does in the air - above the earth dwellers who will be judged AFTER He keeps His Promise of RESURRECTION.
This also is clear in scripture. 1 Thessalonians 4 , Matt 24:31 and Revelation 1:8

Do you want to be accountable for lying about two returns of Christ?
The error of pre-trib must be addressed, if you love the Lord, his command is we are to love each other in truth - not religion.

Why do you hate me? Because i tell you the Truth from God, found clearly in His Word - i am not against you my brother.

 

[TheLearner]

Though not expressed in the same exact way that we cover the subject today, there are at least a couple of sources I've posted about in past posts, who at least DISTINGUISHED the time of our Rapture to that of Christ's Second Coming to the earth:


John Gill (1748 Commentary) said:

"....here Christ will stop and will be visible to all, and as easily discerned by all, good and bad, as the body of the sun at noon-day; as yet He will not descend on earth, because it is not fit to receive Him; but when that and its works are burnt up, and it is purged and purified by fire, and become a new earth, He'll descend upon it, and dwell with his saints in it: and this suggests another reason why He'll stay in the air, and His saints shall meet Him there, and whom He'll take up with Him into the third heaven, till the general conflagration and burning of the world is over, and to preserve them from it...."



Morgan Edwards (in 1744... and then published it again in 1788):

"II. The distance between the first and second resurrection will be somewhat more than a thousand years.

"I say, somewhat more-, because the dead saints will be raised, and the living changed at Christ's "appearing in the air" (Thess. 4:17); and this will be about three years and a half before the millennium, as we shall see hereafter: but will he and they abide in the air all that time? No: they will ascend to paradise, or to some one of those many "mansions in the father's house" (John 14:2), and disappear during the fore said period of time. The design of this retreat and disappearing will be to judge the risen and changed saints; for "now the time is come that judgment must begin," and that will be "at the house of God" (IPet. iv. 17) . . . (p. 7; The spelling of all Edwards quotes have been modernized.)"





Thomas Ice further explains:

"Edwards clearly separates the rapture from the second coming by three and a half years. He uses modern pretrib rapture verses (1 Thess. 4:17 and John 14:2) to describe the rapture."




Darby being the first?? I don't believe the people purporting such a thing.

Search the Early Church Fathers for the Rapture.

As I remember the word Rapture comes from a Latin translation by Jerome.

"
The Latin rapiemur is Saint Jerome's translation of the Greek word ἁρπαγησόμεθα. This is a faithful translation, using a form of the Latin verb rapiō, "to catch up" or "take away". […]

"Rapture" is an English noun derived from the Latin verb rapiō, with a literal meaning of "I catch up" "or "I snatch" (from the infinitive form of the verb rapere, "to catch up"; "rapture" is also cognate to the English words "rapids", "ravish", and "rape").

Bible versions – English Bible versions have translated Jerome's rapiemur ("we shall be caught up") in various ways:

* The Wycliffe Bible (1395), translated from the Latin Vulgate (405), uses "rushed".[9]
* The Tyndale New Testament (1525), and then the Bishop's Bible (1568), Geneva Bible (1587) and King James Version (1611) have "caught up"
* The New English Bible, translated from the Greek uses "suddenly caught up" with this footnote: "Or “snatched up.” The Greek verb ἁρπάζω implies that the action is quick or forceful, so the translation supplied the adverb “suddenly” to make this implicit notion clear.""
https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3151

 

[TheDivineWatermark]

Consider the scope of this verse:
Revelation 1:
7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Just/Only Israel?
Kinda doubt it...

I'm responding both to the above, as well as to your earlier post-response (where you responded [I think] to my post about Matt24:25,26 ['you'] and v.30 ['they'], relatedly ^ )... just so I'm clear = ) :

--I am not suggesting that ONLY "unbelievers" will exist on the earth at the time of His Second Coming to the earth (NOR that ONLY ISRAEL is who will be affected / impacted by the Trib years);

--where I've said in past posts, that at the time of His Second Coming to the earth (Matt24:29-31 "Son of man coming"; and in parallel with Isa27:9,12-13's "GREAT trumpet"), there will exist on the earth BOTH "believers" AND "unbelievers"; the "believers" existing on the earth during the Trib years are those who will have come to faith FOLLOWING "our Rapture" (and ALL of Matt24:3-end of chpt 25 is speaking of what takes place FOLLOWING "our Rapture");

--when I speak of the word "tribe / tribes / kindred" as referring specifically to those of the 12 tribes of Israel, I am in no way saying that [unbelieving] Jews [/Israel] are the ONLY PPL existing on the earth or being impacted... I'm simply saying that the sentences (or parts of sentences) referring to "tribe / tribes [/kindreds] of the earth" are speaking specifically of those of the "12 tribes"; for example, the "Sheep and goats" OF THE NATIONS (speaking of the SAME TIME-SLOT) are not speaking of "Israel," but of the "nations [plural]" Matt25:31-34 and its context;

--so where Rev1:7 says:

• AND every eye shall see Him,
• AND they which pierced Him [shall see Him], [the "and" here can mean "even," grammatically, like saying "'additionally' [them]"]
• AND all the kindreds [/tribes] of the earth SHALL WAIL/MOURN because of Him

...this is giving description of more than merely "the Jews / Israel" ONLY (as though that is ALL the verse speaks of ALONE. NO.)







[again note, as I've pointed out in past posts, the verses where more than just "tribes / kindreds" is LISTED along with that word, like say in Rev5:9]




____________

BTW, no pre-tribber is saying "Revelation" (Book of) is ONLY for the JEWS / ISRAEL.

As the bulk of it IS describing the "future, specific, LIMITED time-period" [i.e. the "7 yrs"] leading UP TO His Second Coming to the earth [and FOLLOWS "our Rapture" (Rapture of the Church WHICH IS HIS BODY)], many people will be coming to faith IN / DURING / WITHIN that time period (none of "the Church WHICH IS HIS BODY" will be existing on the earth during those 7 years)...

...but as I said, "our Rapture" will be a PRIMARY IMPETUS that God uses to turn Israel to faith in their Messiah (Jesus Christ), and it is THEY who will be DOING the "INVITING TO" the promised and prophesied EARTHLY Millennial Kingdom age (aka "the wedding FEAST / SUPPER") and IS WHO Daniel 12:1-4,10 is calling "THE WISE" (i.e. "THE WISE [of Israel, per CONTEXT]")...

...it is THEY who "SHALL UNDERSTAND" v.10...and it is THEY who will be LEADING THE WAY in aiding OTHERS (the Gentiles who weren't saved BEFORE "our Rapture" either) in "UNDERSTANDING" just what is unfolding [at that time], and all of the "connecting" passages (btwn OT and Rev) that PUTS IT ALL TOGETHER for them (IF they will but "believe it" and "HEED"--however, we know many will NOT) during a time period [the "7 yrs"] OF GREAT DECEPTION

[...including "THE WISE" UNDERSTANDING the very precise time-stamps woven throughout Revelation JUST LIKE AN EXACT CALENDAR! THEY WILL "UNDERSTAND" coz they--now having come to faith [I'm not saying 100% of them will, mind you! But those who DO come to faith]--will have the unique ABILITY to grasp the details in ways that the Gentiles (also only now coming to faith DURING the Trib years) won't be so inclined [/equipped] to be able TO DECIPHER (in a short time), if you get what I'm trying to say... ]

 

[TheDivineWatermark]

As the bulk of it IS describing the "future, specific, LIMITED time-period" [i.e. the "7 yrs"] leading UP TO His Second Coming to the earth [and FOLLOWS "our Rapture" (Rapture of the Church WHICH IS HIS BODY)], many people will be coming to faith IN / DURING / WITHIN that time period (none of "the Church WHICH IS HIS BODY" will be existing on the earth during those 7 years)

EDIT: should read "THUS WHAT FOLLOWS "our Rapture"..."

 

[TheLearner]

How accurate is this? https://biblereasons.com/dispensationalism-and-the-early-church-fathers/

 

[DavidTree]

Though not expressed in the same exact way that we cover the subject today, there are at least a couple of sources I've posted about in past posts, who at least DISTINGUISHED the time of our Rapture to that of Christ's Second Coming to the earth:


John Gill (1748 Commentary) said:

"....here Christ will stop and will be visible to all, and as easily discerned by all, good and bad, as the body of the sun at noon-day; as yet He will not descend on earth, because it is not fit to receive Him; but when that and its works are burnt up, and it is purged and purified by fire, and become a new earth, He'll descend upon it, and dwell with his saints in it: and this suggests another reason why He'll stay in the air, and His saints shall meet Him there, and whom He'll take up with Him into the third heaven, till the general conflagration and burning of the world is over, and to preserve them from it...."



Morgan Edwards (in 1744... and then published it again in 1788):

"II. The distance between the first and second resurrection will be somewhat more than a thousand years.

"I say, somewhat more-, because the dead saints will be raised, and the living changed at Christ's "appearing in the air" (Thess. 4:17); and this will be about three years and a half before the millennium, as we shall see hereafter: but will he and they abide in the air all that time? No: they will ascend to paradise, or to some one of those many "mansions in the father's house" (John 14:2), and disappear during the fore said period of time. The design of this retreat and disappearing will be to judge the risen and changed saints; for "now the time is come that judgment must begin," and that will be "at the house of God" (IPet. iv. 17) . . . (p. 7; The spelling of all Edwards quotes have been modernized.)"





Thomas Ice further explains:

"Edwards clearly separates the rapture from the second coming by three and a half years. He uses modern pretrib rapture verses (1 Thess. 4:17 and John 14:2) to describe the rapture."




Darby being the first?? I don't believe the people purporting such a thing.

There is only one Second Coming - Scripture cannot lie

Today, right now where is our Lord Jesus?
Answer from Scripture:

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. John 16:7

and regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me;

When our Lord Jesus Christ Returns at His Second Coming - "every eye shall see Him" - in the Clouds......

Everyone must repent from adding to and taking away from God's Word.
Less you be judged as a liar.......

 

[TheLearner]

A pre millennial rapture was the clear teaching of the first century and the first few hundred years and it revived again after dark ages.

The timing of the rapture itself related to the tribulation might not have been written about but it is not so surprising that it would be explored more thoroughly after the reformation and insights gleaned since that entire subject material is clouded in mystery and no one knows for sure about all those finer details.

To suggest that the pre millennial view of the rapture is new is to not have read Church history documents. Once we concede that pre millennial rapture was understood by many early church writers then we are not so shocked that they did not have the timing of the tribulation well documented, nor did they teach much about it once other issues took center stage such as the deity of Christ.

They may have seen a pre trib rapture in the scriptures but just did not write about it or such writings did not survive. They did write about a pre millennial rapture and literal 1000 year reign before a final new earth and this should not be left out of the discussion as to what they understood the first 300 -500 years of the church.

We do not know what all the early bible teachers of the first several hundred years taught about everything. We only know what some, who's writings have survived taught. This is not exhaustive and people should remember this. I am sure that much more writings did not survive than did. MUCH MUCH MORE. Who knows what teachings about the book of Revelation were popular but were lost. Centuries of popular teachings could have risen and been lost and risen again and lost again. Generations died and their writings were lost and then the dark ages buried them in obscurity. The bible gets back in circulation and old truths get rediscovered.

It is no more incredible for Darby and others with him, (there were quite a few who contributed to the research) to have rediscovered a possible interpreation in scriptures that was once known by select groups of ancient Christians as it was for Luther, and other like him to rediscover other theology that was once known by ancient bible readers but had been buried in obscurity by the long reign of catholic ecclesiastics and their control over who was a scholar and who was not.

Saying that the pre tribulation interpretation was birthed out of a motivation to make money does not make any sense and is just another conspiracy theory that has no basis if fact. There is a market for prophetic books but the validity of an interpretation relies on hermeneutics not on book sales. The popularity of the pre tribulation interpretation can be traced to the superior hermeneutics of those who do a good job of presenting their case. As long as they continue to do so the interpretation will continue to have a high degree of acceptance among intellectually honest bible students.

Those who wish to present a different interpretation will need to present a superior hermeneutic and if they do that view will also have a high degree of acceptance. Thus the post trib pre millennial view is also a popular view. These two pre millennial views are the most accepted because they are the most sound hermeneutic. They are probably both imperfect and therefore will not be clarified until the Lord comes again and we no longer see in part.

To reveal any errors in the pretrib view one must exegete the verses involved not point out what year they became popular. Any post trib view that starts their hermeneutic presentation by discussing what century pre trib became popular is wasting his platform because that is not one of the rules of hermeneutics. You cannot interpret scripture text by applying a rule of when it became popular in the church. Luther rediscovered things in the scriptures that they wanted to kill him over. We don't discount possible interpretation of mysterious end time prophecy scriptures because they were not discussed much before in the past.

It is not surprising that the pentecostal movement swept the world in the early 20th century having not been discussed much by the reformers after the dark ages either. We humans take centuries to come out of our traditions of ignorance and we often read the scriptures with blinders of these traditions of bad interpretations.

We have a habit of burning at the stack those that discover truths in the scripture. What's next?

I did not see any proof of your claims friend. This is a quote of the Didache that shows what they did teach.

"
CHAPTER 16
16:1 Watch concerning your life; let not your lamps be quenched or your loins be loosed, but be ye ready, for ye know not the hour at which our Lord cometh.

16:2 But be ye gathered together frequently, seeking what is suitable for your souls; for the whole time of your faith shall profit you not, unless ye be found perfect in the last time.

16:3 For in the last days false prophets and seducers shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate;

16:4 and because iniquity aboundeth they shall hate each other, and persecute each other, and deliver each other up; and then shall the Deceiver of the world appear as the Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands; and he shall do unlawful things, such as have never happened since the beginning of the world.

16:5 Then shall the creation of man come to the fiery trial of proof, and many shall be offended and shall perish; but they who remain in their faith shall be saved by the rock of offence itself.

16:6 And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first the sign of the appearance in heaven, then the sign of the sound of the trumpet, and thirdly the resurrection of the dead

16:7 -- not of all, but as it has been said, The Lord shall come and all his saints with him;

16:8 then shall the world behold the Lord coming on the clouds of heaven.

{The End of the Didache}"

 

[TheLearner]

Where is the scripture that expressly states the church will go through the Great Tribulation?

The early church went through persecution, why should anyone believe God will not allow us not to go through that too.

Rev 7
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.


Revelation 6:9
New International Version
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.