Introduction

When one takes any journey, he feels that it is largely defined by the destination. What
will happen once he arrives? What will he have to endure to get there? These questions, and
others, would make him count the cost of travelling and whether the destination is worth it.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that humans think a lot about the destination at the end of
lifes journey; both as individuals and corporately. Christians believe that God will ultimately
have the final word as it pertains to the end of all things. The result is eschatology, a branch in
systemic theology that Thomas Slater defines as the study of the end of this world and a
theological forecast of reward or punishment in the next world.
1
Francis Gumerlocks article
suggests an extra-canonical Apocrypha from the third century, Apocalypse of Elijah,
demonstrates an early pretribulationism. This critique will examine Gumerlocks attempt to
show the idea of a pretribulation rapture is not as new as some believe.

Brief Summary

Beyond the shared belief that God will orchestrate all things pertaining to the end, there is
disagreement over what form and manner that it will take. Of these varying views, one espouses
that Christs second return will be in two stages: first to rapture the church to protect her from the
coming tribulation, then to return to establish his millennial reign. Paul Enns describes this view
as part of dispensational premillennialism.
2
It has, however, been argued among evangelicals that
pretribulationism was unheard of prior to the nineteenth century.
3


1
Thomas B. Slater "Apocalypticism and Eschatology: A Study of Mark 13:37", Perspectives in Religious
Studies 40, no. 1 (March 1, 2013): 8.
2
Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008), 416.
3
Francis X. Gumerlock, "The Rapture in the Apocalypse of Elijah", Bibliotheca Sacra170, no. 680
(October 1, 2013): 418.



Gumerlock submits that recent discoveries in the last few decades are beginning to
support an early belief in pretribulationism; specifically pointing to a third-century apocalyptic
work by an early Christian named Elijah. He begins to introduce the particular passage about the
rapture by first introducing passages in chapters three and four about the Antichrist and the
calamities he brings upon believers.
4
In chapter five of this work, Christ intervenes on behalf of
his people and delivers them by means of the rapture:
At that time the Christ will have compassion on those who are his. He will send his
angels from heaven, sixty-four thousand in number, each having six wingsThose
upon whose forehead is written the name of the Christ, upon whose right hand is the
seal, both small and great, they will be taken on their wings and removed from the
wrathThey will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the lawless one have power over
them.
5


Gumerlock then goes on to assert that the quoted text shows that purpose of Christs rapture is
not for the function to receive Gods judgment, to meet the coming King, or to escape what
Gumerlock calls the grand conflagration of the heavens and earth.
6
Rather, he suggests the
purpose is specifically the removal from the persecution of the Antichrist and the wrath of God;
much like modern pretribulationism.
7
Gumerlock reminds that Gregory Beale agrees by equating
the saints in Apocalypse of Elijah with those mentioned in Revelation 7.
8

Gumerlock demonstrates allusions of this rapture account to passages in Exodus,
Deuteronomy, and Revelation to provide evidence that the author of this passage was drawing on
canonical scripture.
9
He then concludes by answering a possible objection that this text is

4
Ibid., 420.
5
Albert Pietersma and Susan Turner Comstock, The Apocalypse of Elijah Based on P. Chester Beatty 2018
(Ithaca, NY: Scholars, 1981), 56-7, quoted in Gumerlock, 421 (emphasis added).
6
Gumerlock, 422.
7
Ibid.
8
G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text, The New International Greek
Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1999), 424.
9
Gumerlock, 426.



referring to an ascent to heaven of the souls of the martyrs after their deaths at the hands of the
Antichrist. His conclusion is that this is, in fact, a text referring to the bodily rapture of the saints
in the last days.
10

Critical Interaction

Gumerlock does an adequate job of providing evidence that not only is this particular
passage referring to a bodily rapture, but that its proof that there were ideas of pretribulationism
among the early church fathers. His main argument is that perhaps we allow for the idea that
pretribulationism is older than two centuries and he makes it pretty strongly. He provides a good
biblical argument that although this particular passage makes no mention of a Daniels seventieth
week, there is a case to be made that this account is congruent with canonical scripture. He also
provides a rudimentary timeline that points to a rapture that happens prior to any calamity or
wrath.
One may question, however, why Gumerlock did not examine the possibility that perhaps
what was being described in the highlighted text was a midtribulation rapture.
11
The third-century
text mentions that some persecutions of the saints do occur prior to the rapture. Why then, does
the author of this article not believe what is being described could not be classified as an
example of midtribulationism?

Conclusion

This work has evaluated the article The Rapture in the Apocalypse of Elijah by Francis
Gumerlock. Overall, the author provided a logical evaluation of this early church text. He laid
out a strong argument for reopening of the conversation for early pretribulationism. He also

10
Ibid., 430.
11
Enns, 414.



provided evidence for a somewhat strong biblical influence on this early text as well as that the
main purpose of the rapture was the protection of the saints. Gumerlock also gave a somewhat
satisfying answer to the potential objection that the discussed text was referring to souls of the
martyr. However, while he gave a reasonable assessment that the timing of Elijahs rapture is
before the Great Tribulation (i.e. the last half of Daniels seventieth week); he did not lay out
why he thought it was before the entire tribulation for it truly to be pretribulationism.




Bibliography

Beale, G. K. The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. The New International
Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1999.
Enns, Paul P. The Moody Handbook of Theology. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008.
Gumerlock, Francis X. The Rapture in the Apocalypse of Elijah. Bibliotheca Sacra 170, no.
680 (October 1, 2013): 418-31.
Slater, Thomas B. Apocalypticism and Eschatology: A Study of Mark 13:3-37. Perspectives In
Religious Studies 40, no. 1 (March 1, 2013): 7-18.