Apocalypse of Pseudo-Ephraem

Apocalypse of Pseudo-Ephraem (known today as the Sermon at the end of the world) is a pseudoepigraphical text attributed to the church father Ephrem the Syrian.[1] Two distinct documents have survived—one in Syriac and one in Latin.[2] The Syriac document focuses on apocalyptic themes through the lens of Middle Eastern events which took place at the time it was written. Confusion exists around the Pseudo-Ephraem text primarily because of its doubtful authorship and date, differences between the Syriac and Latin versions, the small number of extant manuscripts, and the limited study that has been conducted of the text. Additionally, many extant works have been ascribed to Ephrem despite his authorship of these documents being doubtful. This has created significant difficulty in the area of textual criticism.

T. L. Frazier states, "Collections of works ascribed to Ephrem exist in several languages, the largest body of texts being Greek. Nearly all the surviving texts attributed to Ephrem in languages other than Syriac and Armenian are derived from this Greek corpus, including the Latin corpus."[3]

Latin Pseudo-Ephraem and the Dating

The Latin text is suggested to be dated somewhere between the 4th to 8th centuries. There appears to be little relation between the Syriac and Latin, and the Latin may be earlier or later than the Syriac document. The Latin's relation to the Greek texts is uncertain.

The opinions of scholars are divided on the origins of this apocalypse, but a date later than Ephrem (A.D. 306–373) and pseudonymous authorship is advanced by some. As an example, C. P. Caspari (Latin text editor) and Paul Alexander advanced a date after the demise of Ephrem in 373. Caspari suggested a date between late 6th and early 7th centuries. Alexander claims the work apparently was originally written at the end of the 4th century but only reached its final form by the late 6th to early 7th centuries. These scholars strongly doubt that Pseudo-Ephraem is the actual work of Ephrem the Syrian. Yet, both Caspari and Alexander consider Pseudo-Ephraem to be greatly influenced by the actual work of Ephraem.[4]

The Controversy Over Pre-Tribulationism in the Ephraem Documents

Controversy arose within evangelicalism after Cameron Rhoades, a professor of Latin at Tyndale Theological Seminary, a private Christian seminary located in Fort Worth, Texas, produced the first translation of the Latin text into English in 1995. Statements within this document suggest that some in the early church held to a pretribulational rapture—the belief that Christ will return to gather resurrected believers in Christ and living believers into the clouds to take them to Heaven and away from the Tribulation.

Different documents translated by different translators

A translation by Professor John C. Reeves, from the Syriac text published by Edmund Beck, is available from the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina.[5]

A translation from the Latin text was produced by Cameron Rhoades, a Latin professor at Tyndale Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas.

As referenced above, these two translations differ substantially because the underlying texts are in different languages.

References
  1. Dr Mal Couch (31 January 1997). Dictionary Of Premillennial Theology. Kregel Publications. pp. 329–. ISBN 978-0-8254-2410-6. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  2. Gunn, David (September 22, 2015). "Is the Pre-Trib Rapture a Recent Invention?". Baptist Bulletin. September/October 2015: 17–19.
  3. T.L. Frazier, "A Second Look at the Second Coming," p. 181.
  4. Bennett, David Malcolm: "Raptured or Not Raptured? That is the Question," The Evangelical Quarterly, 80.2 (2008), 144.
  5. Translated from the text in Edmund Beck, ed., Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Sermones III (CSCO 320; Louvain: Secrétariat du Corpus SCO, 1972), 60-71; see also 79-94 for Beck’s translation. The text is based on two manuscripts: (1) Codex Vaticanus Sir. 566, and (2) Codex Dublinensis (Trinity College) B 5.19. Editio princeps: Thomas Josephus Lamy, ed., Sancti Ephraem Syri Hymni et Sermones (4 vols.; Mechliniae: H. Dessain, 1882-1902), 3:187-212
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