Page 157 - The Rapture Question by John F. Walvoord

The Rapture Question: Revised and Enlarged Edition
held. On the basis of generally accepted facts of a Hebrew
marriage, there is no scholarly ground for the point Ladd was
attempting to make on the basis of Revelation 19. The wed­
ding feast is future, but the previous two stages arc already
accomplished in Revelation 19. Instead of demonstrating that
the church is in the Tribulation, this reference to the wedding
feast should make clear that Christ has previously come for
His bride.
Posttribulationists arc wont to ask triumphantly, as did
Orson P. Jones, “Did Jesus warn us to expect him BEFORE
THE TRIBULATION? Did any apostle pen a line to the
effect that Jesus will come BEFORE THE TRIBULATION?
Chapter and verse! Please! If not a verse can be found stating
that Jesus will come before the tribulation, why is it so widely
taught? and seldom questioned?"29 Jones went on to point out
that the Bible teaches that Christ will come after the Tribula­
tion.
Pretribulationists all teach that Christ will return to the
earth after the Tribulation—this is not disputed. This fact
does not settle the question of when the translation will take
place. This sort of illogic advanced by Jones only adds to the
confusion and proves nothing. If one were ready to reply in
kind, one could ask. "Where in the Bible is the translation of
the church stated to be after the Tribulation?” “Where does it
say that the ealcsia is in the Tribulation?” “Chapter and
verse, please!”
Ladd, in contrast to Jones, conceded that a posttribula-
tional Rapture is an inference rather than an explicit revela­
tion of Scripture in the following statement: “Nor does the
Word explicitly place the Rapture at the end of the Tribula­
tion.”30 The fact is that posttribulationism is an interpretation
of Scripture that pretribulationists believe is contradicted by
many' passages that imply otherwise. Pretribulationism is
based on the fact that it allows a harmony of the Scriptures
relating to the Second Advent. The separation of the transla-
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