Irenaeus (130 A.D. – 202 AD) was a Bishop of The Church in
Lyons, France. He (Irenaeus) was an
Eyewitness to The Apostle John (who wrote The Book of Revelation) and a
Disciple of Polycarp (The First of The Apostle John’s Disciples). Irenaeus is Most-Known for His (Irenaeus’) Five-Volume
Treatise, “Against Heresies” in which He (Irenaeus) EXPOSED The
False Religions and Cults of His (Irenaeus’) Day along with Advice for How to
Share The Gospel with Those (Unbelievers) were a part of Them (The False
Religions and Cults).
On The Subject of The Being Caught Up Together, in “Against Heresies” Book 5 Chapter 29, Irenaeus wrote:
On The Subject of The Being Caught Up Together, in “Against Heresies” Book 5 Chapter 29, Irenaeus wrote:
1. In The Previous Books I (Irenaeus) have set forth The Causes
for which GOD (GOD Almighty) permitted These Things to be made, and have
pointed out that all such have been Created for The Benefit of that Human
Nature which is SAVED, Ripening for Immortality that which is [possessed] of
Its Own Free Will and Its Own Power, and Preparing and Rendering it more
Adapted for Eternal Subjection to GOD (GOD Almighty). And therefore The Creation is suited to [the
wants of] Man; for Man was NOT made for Its Sake, but Creation for The Sake of
Man. Those Nations however, who did NOT
of Themselves (Unbelievers) Raise Up Their (Unbelievers) Eyes UNTO Heaven, NOR
Returned Thanks to Their (Unbelievers) Maker (GOD Almighty), NOR Wished to
Behold The LIGHT of TRUTH, but who were like Blind Mice CONCEALED in The Depths
of Ignorance, The WORD Justly Reckons "as waste water from a sink, and as
the turning-weight of a balance--in fact, as nothing;" (1) so far useful
and serviceable to the just, as stubble conduces towards the growth of the
wheat, and its straw, by means of combustion, serves for working gold. And therefore, When IN The END The Church
shall BE Suddenly CAUGHT UP From This, it is said, "There shall be
Tribulation such as has NOT been since The Beginning, NEITHER shall be."
Irenaeus
in This Passage Describes The Church LEAVING The Sinful World, BEFORE
Unprecedented Disasters. Note His
(Irenaeus) Use of the term “Caught Up” (harpazo), The SAME WORD used in The
King James Bible describing The Being Caught Up Together in 1 Thessalonians
4. He (Irenaeus) then quotes Matthew
24:21 where The LORD Jesus Christ says: “For THEN shall be Great Tribulation, such as was NOT since The Beginning
of The World to THIS TIME, NO, NOR Ever shall be.” In Irenaeus’ belief, The Being Caught
Up Together Took Place PRIOR TO The End Times Great Tribulation.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
For The LORD (Jesus Christ) Himself Will DESCEND
FROM Heaven WITH A SHOUT, WITH The VOICE of an Archangel (GOD Almighty’s Holy
Archangels), and WITH The TRUMPET of GOD (GOD Almighty). And The Dead (Dead Believers) IN Christ
(Jesus Christ) Will RISE first. Then We (Living Believers) who are ALIVE and REMAIN shall be CAUGHT UP TOGETHER with Them (The
Dead Believers) IN The Clouds to MEET The LORD (Jesus Christ) IN The AIR. And Thus We (Living Believers) shall ALWAYS
BE WITH The LORD (Jesus Christ).
Matthew 24:21
For then there will be Great Tribulation, such as
has NOT been since The Beginning of The World until This Time, NO, NOR Ever
shall be.
More about Irenaeus:
Irenaeus pointed to SCRIPTURE as a PROOF of
Orthodox Christianity AGAINST Heresies, Classifying as SCRIPTURE, NOT ONLY The
Old Testament, but Most of The Books, now known as The New Testament. Scholars contend that Irenaeus quotes from 21
of The 27 New Testament Texts. Irenaeus
CITED The New Testament approximately 1000 times. About One Third of His (Irenaeus’) Citations
are made to Paul's Letters (Epistles). Irenaeus
considered All Thirteen Letters belonging to The Pauline Corpus to have been
written by Paul himself.
Before Irenaeus, Christians differed as to
which Gospel They Preferred. The
Christians of Asia Minor preferred The Gospel of John. The Gospel of Matthew was The Most Popular
Overall.
Irenaeus asserted that The Four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were
Canonical Scripture. Thus Irenaeus provides The Earliest
Witness to The Assertion of The Four Canonical Gospels.
Fellow Believers, Irenaeus
was just One of The Early Church Leaders who BELIEVED in The Being Caught Up
Together. So the next time someone tells
YOU (Believers) that The Early Church did NOT BELIEVE in The Being Caught Up
Together (aka The Rapture), YOU (Believers) KNOW The Truth.
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