Replies

From wiki:

History

The popularization of the term is associated with teaching of John Nelson Darby[citation needed], prominent among the Plymouth Brethren, and the rise of premillennialism and dispensationalism in English-speaking Churches at the end of the 19th century.
In 1908, the doctrine of the rapture was further popularized by an evangelist named William Eugene Blackstone, whose book, Jesus Is Coming, sold more than one million copies[1], and then by its inclusion in the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909.
The rise in belief in the "Pre-Tribulation" rapture is sometimes attributed to a 15-year old Scotch-Irish girl named Margaret MacDonald (a follower of Edward Irving), who in 1830 had a vision that was later published in 1861. Some pre-Tribulation proponents maintain that the earliest known extra-Biblical reference to the "pre-Tribulation" rapture is from a sermon by "pseudo-Ephraem", attributed to a fourth century Byzantine, Ephraem of Nisibis, in which he is quoted as saying, "For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins."[2][3] However, the interpretation of this writing, as supporting pre-tribulation rapture, is debated.[4][5]
Others argue[citation needed] as well that the oldest known reference to a great tribulation to come and a possible escape from it is contained in The Shepherd of Hermas manuscript dated to the second century. This text includes a series of visions that appeared to the shepherd. The first vision was of a giant raging bull, and the Shepherd was able to escape harm from it by relying on God for protection. The next vision encountered was that of a beautiful maiden, identified by the shepherd as the church. She identifies the bull as the great tribulation to come, and tells him he escaped it by putting his trust in God. She then charges him to go tell all other believers they can also escape the coming tribulation but only if they also put full faith in the Lord [citation needed]. This interpretation, however, is not accepted by scholars[citation needed], as it is clearly taking the visions out of context. The "escape" of the "beautiful maiden" does not refer to a rapture, or being taken out of the tribulation, but it refers to going through the tribulation and yet coming out victorious from it by faith in the Lord.[6]
There exists at least one 18th century and two 19th century Pre-Tribulation references prior to Macdonald - in a book published in 1788, in the writings of a Catholic priest Emmanuel Lacunza in 1812, and by John Darby himself in 1827.[7] However, both the book published in 1788 and the writings of Lacunza have opposing views regarding their interpretations, as well. It is inarguable, however, that John Darby held the pre-tribulation position[citation needed].
In 1957, Dr. John Walvoord, a theologian at Dallas Theological Seminary, authored a book, "The Rapture Question," that gave theological support to the pre-tribulation rapture; this book eventually sold over 65,000 copies.
In 1958, J. Dwight Pentecost authored another book supporting the pre-tribulation rapture, "Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology" that sold 215,000 copies.
During the 1970s, the rapture became popular in wider circles, in part due to the books of Hal Lindsey, including The Late Great Planet Earth.[8] Lindsey based his analysis that the rapture was imminent on world conditions at the time. The Cold War and the European Economic Community figured prominently in his predictions of Armageddon, and other aspects of 1970s global politics were seen as having been predicted in the Bible. Lindsey believed, for example, that the seven-headed beast with ten horns, cited in Revelation, was the European Economic Community, a forebear of the European Union, which at the time aspired to ten nations. (Now it has 27 nations).
In 1995, the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture was further popularized by Tim LaHaye's book series, Left Behind, which sold tens of millions of copies and was made into several movies.
The doctrine of the rapture continues to be an important component in fundamentalist Christian eschatology today. Many Christians continue to feel that world conditions point to the rapture occurring soon. Although this belief is strongly held in many English-speaking denominations, these views continue to resonate in certain circles around the world [citation needed].