“Another suggestion traces the influence to a Jesuit priest, Manuel Lacunza (1731-1801), who was born in Chile but came to Italy in 1767 where he would spend the rest of his life. Posing as a converted Jew (under the pseudonym Juan Josafat Ben Ezra), he wrote, in Spanish, a large apocalyptic work entitled The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty. The book appeared first in 1811, 10 years after his death. http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac1005.asp
Another influence is said to be a Jesuit priest named Francisco Ribera (1537–1591) was a Spanish Jesuit theologian, identified with the Futurist Christian eschatological view.
“In the Dictionary of Premillennial Theology (1997) it is said that Ribera was an Augustinian amillennialist, who may have revived a “mild” form of futurism.[1] His interpretation was then followed by Robert Bellarmine and Thomas Malvenda.[2]
Thomas Brightman, in particular, writing in the early 17th century as an English Protestant, contested Ribera’s views. He argued that the Catholic use of the Vulgate had withheld commentary from the Book of Revelation, and then provided an interpretation avoiding the connection with the Papacy put forward in the historicist point of view.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Lacunza
Ribera “in the days of the Reformation, first taught that all the events in the book of Revelation were to take place literally during the three and a half years reign of the antichrist way down at the end of the age.” http://www.theologue.org/Theory-JPEby.html (Protestant source, which gives the most lengthy explanation).
I myself also see the “rapture”- which term is derived from the text of the Latin Vulgate of 1 Thess. 4:17—”we will be caught up,” [Latin: rapiemur]) - as being the first resurrection, (Rv. 20:5,6) which is only for the saved, “the resurrection of life, (Jn. 5:29a), the “resurrection of the just,” on the “day of the Lord, in which all the bodies of believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and go on with Him to the battle of Armageddon.
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. “ (1 Thessalonians 4:14)
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. “ (1 Thessalonians 4:17)
“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. “ (Jude 14-15)
Those who effectually believe on the Lord Jesus now have eternal life life, and if they die in the Lord they shall go to be with the Lord, (2Cor. 5:6-8; Phil. 1:23; 1Thes. 4:17) but their rewards or loss thereof are not given out until that “day of the Lord.”
Believers will be rewarded for their good works, (Lk. 14:14; cf. 1Cor. 4:5; Acts 24:15) in distinction to “the resurrection of damnation” (Jn. 5:29b) which evidently occurs 1,000 years after, (Rv. 20:5) and in which believers will be part of the jury in the judgement of men and angels.
“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. “ (1 Corinthians 3:13)
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, “ (2 Thessalonians 2:1)
And on that “day” every believer shall “receive his own reward according to his own labour,” (1Cor. 3::8) including suffering loss of rewards:
“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. “ (1 Corinthians 4:5)
And will sit with Him in judgment of men and of angels:
“Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? “ (1 Corinthians 6:3)
Those who die in their sins shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth upon them, yet their exact degree of punishment is not meted out until the Great White Throne judgment.
The “great and notable day of the Lord” ‘ Acts 2:20) culminates in the Great White Throne judgment in which the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire, (Rv. 20:11-5) with their degree of punishment being determined in accordance with how much light and grace was given. (Lk. 10:12-13; 12:47,48)
The blood of Christ has cleansed AAALL those born from above, so they have passed from condemnation unto life and are not standing for Judgment at the Great White Throne. These redeemed return with Jesus to the Earth at the end of the Tribulation. They left when the Church Age ended just before the seventieth week of Daniel.
First of all, the word "rapture" is found in the Bible, if you have the Latin Vulgate produced by Jerome in the early 400s.
The Vulgate was the main Bible of the medieval Western Church until the Reformation. It continues to this day as the primary Latin translation of the Roman Catholic Church. Yet, as we shall see later, it was Protestants who introduced the word "rapture" into the English language from the Latin raeptius.
It was Jerome's Vulgate that translated the original Greek verb harpaz used by Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which is usually translated into English with the phrase "caught up."
The leading Greek Lexicon says that harpaz means "snatch, seize, i.e., take suddenly and vehemently." This is the same meaning of the Latin word rapio "to seize, snatch, tear away." It should not be surprising to anyone, that an English word was developed from the Latin which we use today known as "rapture."
http://www.pre-trib.org/articles/view/rapture-myths
Well researched post. Thanks.