In the late 3rd century we have Victorinus ( Well known by 270 and died in 303 A.D.) who wrote a commentary on the book of Revelation. In it he says this...
"And the heaven withdrew as a scroll that is rolled up." For the heaven to be rolled away, that is, that the Church shall be taken away. "And every mountain and the islands removed from their places intimate that in the last persecution all men departed from their places; that is, that the good will be removed, seeking to avoid persecution." -
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And also in the 4th century, a Christian author named Ephraim the Syrian wrote a small book titled Anti-Christ and the End of the World, published in 376 AD.
“Let us prepare ourselves for the meeting of the Lord Christ so that He may draw us from the confusion which overwhelms the world. Believe you me, dearest brothers, because the coming of the Lord is nigh. Believe you me, because the end of the world is at end. Believe me because it is the very last time. Because all Saints and the elect of the Lord are gathered together before the Tribulation which is about to come and are taken to the Lord in order that they may not see at any time the confusion that overwhelms the world because of our sins. And so brothers most dear to me, it is the eleventh hour, and the end of this world comes to the harvest and angels armed and prepared hold sickles in their hands awaiting the empire or kingdom of the Lord. When therefore the end of the world comes, that abominable, lying, and murderous one who is born from the tribe of Dan.. he is conceived from the seed of a man and from a most vile virgin mixed with an evil or worthless spirit.
“Therefore when he receives the kingdom, he orders the Temple of God to be rebuilt for himself which is in Jerusalem who, after coming into it, he shall sit as God in order that he may be adored by all nations. Then all people from everywhere shall flock together to him and the holy city shall be trampled on by the nations for 42 months. Just as the holy Apostle says in the Apocalypse which becomes 3 1/2 years--1260 days. Then when the 3 1/2 years have been completed, the time of Antichrist through which he will have seduced the world, after the resurrection of the two prophets, in the hour which the world does not know and on the day when the enemy or son of perdition does not know, will come the sign of the son of man. And coming forward, the Lord shall appear with great power and much majesty with the sign of the word of salvation going before Him.” -
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As it turns out, nearly all of the early church "fathers" believed in a literal reading of scripture and thus both an eminent return of Christ, a per-tribulational removal of the church (not called the rapture until the 19th century, which is irrelevant) and a thousand year reign of Jesus as King in Israel from Jerusalem.
Resting in Him,
Clete
