BibleFacts

The Rapture

On the early church

When looking for references about the rapture one must remember several points.

  1. In the Tribulation people will be saved, and some will be martyred.
  2. If there is a Post-Tribulational Rapture, there would be:
    1. References to the saints in tribulation, persecuted by the Antichrist.
    2. No references to the saints being removed from the earth.
  3. If there is a Pre-Tribulational or Mid-Tribulational Rapture, there would be:
    1. References to the church, believers, Christians, and Saints in the tribulation, being persecuted by the Antichrist.
    2. And references to the church being removed from the earth.

So knowing that references to the believers in the Tribulation do not prove anything about the rapture, we should look for references about the church being removed prior to the time of wrath. Here is what the early church fathers said about the rapture: