From: Marilyn AgeeHi:Thanks for looking this up. "And therefore, when the end is suddenly here, the Church will be taken away" sounds like the departure, or Rapture, to me. How else would the church be taken away? I wonder if “the end” that comes “suddenly” means when the Great Tribulation arrives.Agape,Marilyn Ageeprophecycorner.theforeverfamily.com--------------------------------------------------Jovial (22 June)
"Did Irenaeus Say there would be a rapture "
I was very intrigued at Pastor Bob's post at http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/june2014/pastorbob615-8.htm in which he claimed that Ireanaeus said the Church would be "caught up". If that were an accurate translation, it sure would be something in that it would be a near first generation quote. So I decided to look it up.
I did find one English translation that matched his quote, but when I went back to the original Latin, I was disappointed. What Irenaeus said in Book 5, Chapter 29 , in the original Latin, was this...
"Et propterea cum in fine repente hinc Ecclesia assumetur"
Which translates to "And therefore, when the end is suddenly here, the Church will be taken away." The operative word here is "assumetur" (taken away), not "rapiemur" (rapture), so I suspect the translation that was quoted may have been theologically driven; that is, because the translator believed in a rapture, he translated it that way. Now whether Irenaeus meant a "rapture" by what he said is open to interpretation. His words do not discount a rapture. But the wording sure did not have the kind of "nail in the coffin" I was hoping it would have when I looked this up since it would have been far more significant if he had used the word for rapture.
I had read this passage more than once before, and never saw "rapture" in what Irenaeus said. But Bob was indeed right that there are pre-1800 references to the rapture. I think Ephraim is the earliest person to refer to the rapture in wording exact enough one could not interpret what he said as referring to something else.
Shalom, Joe