long before Darby. Norman Geisler notes, “The primary question is not whether the doctrine was taught by the early church, but when it was taught by the earliest church—the church of the apostles.”5 Thus, within this book are some chapters that provide biblical expositions of the major rapture passages to substantiate the apostolic authors’ original intent. And, we examine the rapture doctrine in light of its broader theological setting. In this chapter, we will survey various historical references