The beginnings of modern Rapture theology are rooted in premillenialism, a step-child of the Protestant reformation. Premillenialism is simply the heresy of chiliasm – the belief that Jesus' reign at his return will last 1,000 years. This has been solved for the Church and you can see the results in the Nicene Creed (“His Kingdom will have no end”). You can find plenty on the origin of the Rapture online in many places, but suffice it to say that no one, anywhere in history, ever believed in the Rapture until nearly the 19th century.
