Plymouth Brethren affirm Christ's literal, bodily second coming. Most significantly, they developed and popularized pre-tribulation rapture theology—the teaching that the church will be caught away before the tribulation period. This doctrine, articulated by J.N. Darby around 1830, became a defining feature of Brethren eschatology and has profoundly influenced evangelical Christianity. The return is expected to be imminent and visible. This framework is central to dispensationalism.