Ice, Thomas D.

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Liberty UniversityDigitalCommons@LibertyUniversityArticle Archives Pre-Trib Research CenterMay 2009The Rapture in Pseudo-EphraemThomas D. IceLiberty University, tdice@liberty.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/pretrib_archThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Pre-Trib Research Center at DigitalCommons@Liberty University. It has been acceptedfor inclusion in Article Archives by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Liberty University. For more information, please contactscholarlycommunication@liberty.edu.Recommended CitationIce, Thomas D., "The Rapture in Pseudo-Ephraem" (2009). Article Archives. Paper 32.http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/pretrib_arch/32The Rapture in Pseudo-Ephraemby Thomas IceAll the saints and elect of God are gathered together before the tribulation,which is to come, and are taken to the Lord, in order that they may not see atany time the confusion which overwhelms the world because of our sins.     –Pseudo-Ephraem (c. 374-627)Critics of pretribulationism sometimes state that belief in the rapture is adoctrinal development of recent origin.  They argue that the doctrine of therapture or any semblance of it was completely unknown before the early1800s and the writings of John Nelson Darby.1  One of the most vocaland sensational critics of the rapture is Dave MacPherson, who arguesthat, “during the first 18 centuries of the Christian era, believers were never‘Rapture separaters’ [sic]; they never separated the minor Rapture aspectof the Second Coming of Christ from the Second Coming itself.”2A second critic, John Bray, also vehemently opposes a pretribulationalrapture, writing, “this teaching is not a RECOVERY of truth once taughtand then neglected.  No, it never was taught–for 1800 years nearly noone knew anything about such a scheme.”3  More recently, pre-tribopponent Robert Van Kampen proclaimed, “The pretribulational raptureposition with its dual parousias was unheard of in church history prior to1830.”4  In our previous issue of Pre-Trib Perspectives, I noted that pre-wrath advocate Marvin Rosenthal has also joined the chorus.5Christian reconstructionists have also consistently and almostuniversally condemned premillennialism and pretribulationism, favoringinstead, postmillennialism.  One sample of their prolific and often vitriolicopposition can be seen in Gary North’s derisive description of the raptureas “the Church’s hoped-for Escape Hatch on the world’s sinking ship,”which he, like MacPherson, believes was invented in 1830.6How to Find the Rapture in HistoryIs pretribulationism as theologically bankrupt as its critics profess, or arethere answers to these charges?  If there are reasonable answers, thenthe burden of proof and historical argumentation shifts back to the critics.Rapture critics must acknowledge and interact with the historical andtheological evidence.                                    1Portions of this article will appear in an expanded form in the July 1995 edition of Bibliotheca Sacra in an articleentitled "the Rapture and an Early Medieval Citation."2Dave MacPherson, The Great Rapture Hoax (Fletcher, NC:  New Puritan Library, 1983), 15.  For a refutation ofMacPherson's charges see Thomas D. Ice, "Why the Doctrine of the Pretribulational Rapture Did Not Begin with MargaretMacdonald," Bibliotheca Sacra 147 (1990): 155-68.3John L. Bray, The Origin of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Teaching (Lakeland, FL.:  John L. Bray Ministry, 1982), 31-32.4Robert Van Kampen, The Sign (Wheaton, IL.:  Crossway Books, 1992), 445.5Thomas Ice, "Is The Pre-Trib Rapture A Satanic Deception?" Pre-Trib Perspectives (II:1; March 1995):1-3.6Gary North, Rapture Fever:  Why Dispensationalism is Paralyzed (Tyler, TX.:  Institute for Christian Economics, 1993),105.www.pre-trib.org 2Rapture critic William Bell has formulated three criteria for establishingthe validity of a historical citation regarding the rapture.  If any of his threecriteria are met, then he acknowledges it is “of crucial importance, if found,whether by direct statement or clear inference.”  As will be seen, thePseudo-Ephraem sermon meets not one, but two of his canons, namely,“Any mention that Christ’s second coming was to consist of more than onephase, separated by an interval of years,” and “any mention that Christwas to remove the church from the earth before the tribulation period.”7Pseudo-Ephraem's Rapture StatementI vividly remember the phone call at my office late one afternoon fromCanadian prophecy teacher and writer Grant Jeffrey.8  He told me that hehad found an ancient pre-trib rapture statement.  I said, "Let's hear it."  Heread the following to me over the phone:All the saints and elect of God are gathered together before the tribulation,which is to come, and are taken to the Lord, in order that they may not see atany time the confusion which overwhelms the world because of our sins.I said that it sure sounds like a pre-trib statement and began to fire at himall the questions I have since received many times when telling othersabout the statement from Pseudo-Ephraem's sermon On the Last Times,the Antichrist, and the End of the World.9  Grant's phone call started me onjourney through many of the substantial libraries throughout theWashington, D.C. area in an effort to learn all I could about this historicallysignificant statement.  The more information I acquired, the more it led meto conclude that Grant is right to conclude that this is a pre-trib rapturestatement of antiquity.Who is Pseudo-Ephraem?The word "Pseudo" (Greek for false) is a prefix attached by scholars tothe name of a famous historical person or book of the Bible when onewrites using that name.  Pseudo-Ephraem claims that his sermon waswritten by Ephraem of Nisibis (306-73), considered to be the greatestfigure in the history of the Syrian church.  He was well-known for hispoetics, rejection of rationalism, and confrontations with the heresies ofMarcion, Mani, and the Arians.  As a poet, exegete, and theologian, hisstyle was similar to that of the Jewish midrashic and targumic traditionsand he favored a contemplative approach to spirituality.  So popular were                                    7William E. Bell, “A Critical Evaluation of the Pretribulation Rapture Doctrine in Christian Eschatology” (Ph.D. diss., NewYork University, 1967mm 26-27.8For more information on the Pseudo-Ephraem statement see Grant R. Jeffrey, Final Warning (Toronto:  Frontier ResearchPublications, 1995).  Forthcoming, Timothy Demy and Thomas Ice, "The Rapture and an Early Medieval Citation"Bibliotheca Sacra 152 (July 1995): 300-11.  Grant R. Jeffrey, "A Pretribulational Rapture Statement in the Early MedievalChurch" in Thomas Ice and Timothy Demy, ed., When the Trumpet Sounds: Today's Foremost Authorities Speak Out onEnd-Time Controversies (Eugene, Or:  Harvest House, 1995).9Grant Jeffrey found the statement in Paul J. Alexander, The Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition, by (Berkeley: University ofCalifornia Press, 1985), 2.10.  The late Alexander found the sermon in C. P. Caspari, ed. Briefe, Abhandlungen undPredigten aus den zwei letzten Jahrhunderten des kirchlichen Altertums und dem Anfang des Mittelaters, (Christiania,1890), 208-20.  This German work also contains Caspari's commentary on the sermon on pages 429-72.www.pre-trib.org 3his works that in the fifth and sixth centuries he was adopted by severalChristian communities as a spiritual father and role model.  His manyworks, some of doubtful authenticity, were soon translated from Syriac intoGreek, Armenian, and Latin.It is not at all unreasonable to expect that a prolific and prominent figuresuch as Ephraem would have writings ascribed to him.  While there is littlesupport for Ephraem as the author of the Sermon on the End of theWorld, Caspari and Alexander have demonstrated that Pseudo-Ephraemwas "heavily influenced by the genuine works of Ephraem."10  What ismore difficult, though secondary to the main purpose of this article, isdetermining the exact date, purpose, location of, and extent of subsequenteditorial changes to the sermon.11Suggestions on the date of the writing of the original sermon rangefrom as early as Wilhelm Bousset's 373 date,12 to Caspari's estimation ofsometime between 565 and 627.13   Paul Alexander, after reviewing all theargumentation, favors a date for the final form similar to that suggested byCaspari,14  but Alexander also states simply, "It will indeed not be easy todecide on the matter."15   All are clear that it had to have been writtenbefore the spread and domination of Islam.Pseudo-Ephraem's SermonThe sermon consists of just under 1500 words, divided into ten sectionsand has been preserved in four Latin manuscripts.  Three of these datefrom the eighth century and ascribe the sermon to Ephraem.  A fourthmanuscript from the ninth century, claims not Ephraem, but Isidore ofSeville (d. 636) as author.16  Additionally, there are subsequent Greek andSyriac versions of the sermon which have raised questions regarding thelanguage of the original manuscript.  On the basis of lexical analysis andstudy of the biblical citations within the sermon with Latin, Greek, andSyriac versions of the Bible, Alexander believed it most probable that thehomily was composed in Syriac, translated first into Greek, and then into                                    10Paul J. Alexander, "The Diffusion of Byzantine Apocalypses in the Medieval West and the Beginnings of Joachimism,"in Prophecy and Millenarianism: Essays in Honour of Marjorie Reeves, ed. Ann Williams (Essex, U.K. : Longman, 1980),59.11Paul J. Alexander, "Medieval Apocalypses as Historical Sources," American Historical Review 73 (1968): 1017.  In thisessay Alexander addresses in-depth the historical difficulties facing the interpreter of such texts.   To these difficulties,issues of theological interpretation and concern must also be added.12W. Bousset, The Antichrist Legend, trans. A. H. Keane (London: Hutchinson and Co., 1896), 33-41.  An early date is alsoaccepted by Andrew R. Anderson, Alexander's Gate: Gog and Magog and the Enclosed Nations. Monographs of theMediaeval Academy of America, no. 5. (Cambridge, MA.: Mediaeval Academy of America, 1932):16-18.13Caspari, 437-42.14Alexander, Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition, 147.  This leaves the possibility that the work may have been altered orrevised prior to the date of the extant manuscripts.15Ibid., 145.  Earlier, he writes: "All that is certain, is as Caspari pointed out, that it must have been written prior toHeraclius' victories over Sassanid Persia, for the author talks repeatedly of wars between Rome and Persia and suchdiscussions do not make sense after Heraclius' victories and the beginning of the Arab invasions" (144).16Ibid., 136-37.  The only critical edition is Caspari's which suffers a lack of objectivity in that he relied upon only two ofthe four extant manuscripts.www.pre-trib.org 4Latin from the Greek.17  Regardless of the original language, thevocabulary and style of the extant copies are consistent with the writingsof Ephraem and his era.  It appears likely that the sermon was written nearthe time of Ephraem and underwent slight change during subsequentcoping.What is most significant for present-day readers is the fact that thesermon was popular enough to be translated into several languages fairlysoon after its composition.  The significance of the sermon for us today isthat it represents a prophetic view of a pre-trib rapture within the orthodoxcircles of its day.The sermon is built around the three themes of the title On the LastTimes, the Antichrist, and the End of the World  and proceedschronologically.  The fact that the pre-trib statement occurs in section 2,while the antichrist and tribulation are developed throughout the middlesections, followed by Christ's second coming to the earth in the finalsection supports a pre-trib sequence.  This characteristic of the sermon fitsthe first criteria outlined by William Bell, namely "that Christ’s secondcoming was to consist of more than one phase, separated by an intervalof years."  Thus, phase one is the rapture statement from section 2; theinterval of 3 1/2 years, 42 months, and 1,260 days, said to be thetribulation in sections 7 and 8; the second phase of Christ's return is notedin section 10 and said to take place "when the three and a half years havebeen completed."18Why Pseudo-Ephraem's Statement is PretribulationalAfter learning of Pseudo-Ephraem's rapture statement, I shared it with anumber of colleagues.  My favorite approach was to simply read thestatement, free of any introductory remarks, and ask what they thought.Every person, whether pre-trib or not, concluded that it was some kind ofpre-trib statement.  A few thought it was a statement from such pre-tribproponents like John Walvoord or Charles Ryrie.  Most noted the clearstatement concerning the removal of believers before the tribulation as areason for thinking the statement pre-trib.  This is Bell's second criteria foridentifying a pre-trib statement from the past, namely, "any mention thatChrist was to remove the church from the earth before the tribulationperiod."  Note the following reasons why this should be taken as a pre-tribstatement:1) Section 2 of the sermon begins with a statement about imminency:"We ought to understand thoroughly therefore, my brothers, what isimminent [Latin "immineat"] or overhanging."19  This is similar to the modern                                    17Ibid., 140-44.18Caspari, 219.  English citations are taken from a translation of the sermon provided by Cameron Rhoades, instructor ofLatin at Tyndale Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, TX.19Ibid., 210.www.pre-trib.org 5pre-trib view of imminency and considering the subsequent rapturestatements supports a pre-trib scenario.2) As I break down the rapture statement, notice the followingobservations:• "All the saints and elect of God are gathered . . ."  Gathered where?  Alater clause says they "are taken to the Lord."  Where is the Lord?  Earlierin the paragraph the sermon speaks of "the meeting of the Lord Christ, sothat he may draw us from the confusion. . ."  Thus the movement is fromthe earth toward the Lord who is apparently in heaven.  Once again, inconformity to a translation scenario found in the pre-trib teaching.• The next phrase says that the gathering takes place "prior to thetribulation that is to come. . ."  so we see that the event is pretribulationaland the tribulation is future to the time in which Pseudo-Ephraem wrote.• The purpose for the gathering was so that they would not "see theconfusion that is to overwhelm the world because of their sins."  Here wehave the purpose of the tribulation judgments stated and that was to be atime of judgment upon the world because of their sin, thus, the church wasto be taken out.3) Finally, Byzantine scholar Paul Alexander clearly believed thatPseudo-Ephraem was teaching what we call today a pre-trib rapture.According to Alexander, most Byzantine apocalypses were concernedwith how Christians would survive the time of severe persecution byAntichrist.  The normal approach given by other apocalyptic texts was ashortening of the time to three and a half years, enabling the survival ofsome Christians.20  Unlike those texts, this sermon has Christians beingremoved from the time of tribulation.  Alexander observed:It is probably no accident that Pseudo-Ephraem does not mention the shortening ofthe time intervals for the Antichrist's persecution, for if prior to it the Elect are 'taken tothe Lord,' i.e., participate at least in some measure in beatitude, there is no need forfurther mitigating action on their behalf.  The Gathering of the Elect according toPseudo-Ephraem is an alternative to the shortening of the time intervals.21ConclusionRegardless of what else the writer of this sermon believed, he didbelieve that all believers would be removed before the tribulation–a pre-trib rapture view.  Thus, we have seen that those who have said that therewas no one before 1830 who taught the pre-trib rapture position will haveto revise their statements by well over 1,000 years.  This statement doesnot prove the pre-trib position, only the Bible can do that, but it shouldchange many people's historical views on the matter.                                    20 Alexander, 209.21Ibid., 210-11.

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