Page 19 - The Rapture Question by John F. Walvoord

The Rapture Question: Revised and Enlarged Edition
that the church will go through the Tribulation.
An exception to the normal definition of the church by
posttribulationism is given by Robert H. Gundry, who at­
tempts to maintain a distinction between Israel and the
church while at the same time holding to posttribulationism.
In taking this position, he is opposed by practically all other
posttribulationists, and his definition of the church leads to
many novel interpretations of Scripture. A proper distinction
between the church and Israel naturally' leads to pre-
tribulationism, as practically all posttribulationists admit.
Gundry’s unusual position will be considered in the treatment
of contemporary posttribulationism.
Apart from Gundry, practically all posttribulationists
build on the concept that the church includes the saints of all
ages. Even a thorough work in advocating posttribulationism
such as Alexander Reese’s The Approaching Advent of Christ as­
sumes the concept of the term church as all-inclusive with prac­
tically no proof or discussion. George E. Ladd’s The Blessed
Hope is no better. In Ladd’s recent work, The Last Things, he
clearly identified Israel and the church and interpreted Daniel
9:27 as fulfilled in connection with the first coming of Christ.8
Any answer to the rapture question must therefore be
based on a careful study of the doctrine of the church as it is
revealed in the New Testament. To a large extent premillen-
nialism, as well as pretribulationism, is dependent on the
definition of the church, and premillenarians who fail to dis­
tinguish between Israel and the church erect their structure of
premillennial doctrine on a weak foundation. Before the de­
tailed arguments for and against pretribulationism can be
considered, therefore, it is necessary first of all to establish a
biblical definition of the Tribulation and the church.

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