Page 174 - The Rapture Question by John F. Walvoord

The Rapture Question: Revised and Enlarged Edition
problem when there is no mention of the Rapture in the im­
portant sequence of events that climax in the Second Coming.
In view of the many detailed prophecies that relate events
leading up to and climaxing in the second coming of Christ to
the earth, it is most strange that there should be no mention
whatever of a Rapture or translation of living saints if, as a
matter of fact, this is a major feature of end-time events. Ac­
cordingly, the problem of posttribulationists is much more
serious than that of pretribulationists.
While both pretribulationists and posttribulationists
have strained to find some specific reference in support of their
views, most adherents of cither view usually concede that
there is no explicit reference; however, the embarrassment to
posttribulationists in admitting that there are no specific
references to a posttribulational Rapture has driven a number
of posttribulational scholars to great extremes in attempting to
find some evidence for a posttribulational Rapture. In par­
ticular, supporters of posttribulationism. such as Alexander
Reese and recently Robert H. Gundry, have taken the position
that an explicit reference to a posttribulational Rapture is
found in the Gospels. Usually two major passages are
cited—Matthew 13 and Matthew 24.
Is the Rapture in Matthew 13?
Matthew 13 is one of the important major discourses of
Christ dealing with the period between the First and Second
Advents. It follows in the Gospel of Matthew the open rejec­
tion of Christ as the Messiah of Israel, His judgment pro­
nounced on the nation Israel for their unbelief, and the setting
of the stage for revelation concerning the present age. In gen­
eral, Matthew 13 answers the question as to what is going to
happen in view of the rejection of Christ at His first coming.
Our Lord used seven parables to describe various aspects of
the interadvent period.1
In approaching Matthew 13, one should observe first that
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