pre-tribulation rapture is not new invention - rooted in the ancient church

http://youtu.be/vQPvx56dksw#t=10m17s

Pre-Tribulation Eschatology

  • Epistle of Barnabas (A.d. 100)
  • Irenaeus, in Against the Heresies
  • Hyppolitus, a disciple of Irenaeus (2nd century)
  • Justin martyr, Dialogue with Trypho
  • Ephraem the Syrian (4th century)
Ephraem of Nisibis, the Syrian
(306-373 AD)

"For all the saints and the elect of God are gathered, prior 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".
from "On the Last Times, the Antichrist and the End of the World"