Page 205 - The Rapture Question by John F. Walvoord

The Rapture Question: Revised and Enlarged Edition
likewise so identified the expressions “on that day” (2 Thess.
1:10; 2 Tim. 1:18; 4:8); “the day of Christ” (Phil. 1:6, 10;
2:16); “the day of the [our] Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7-8;
2 Cor. 1:14); and “the day ofthe Lord" (1 Cor. 5:4-5; 2 Thess.
2:1-3). According to Reese, all refer to the same time and the
same event.
Reese and other posttribulationists. as their argument
unfolds, lump together all references to “the day,” ignor­
ing the context, arguing in a circle, assuming that post-
tribulationism is true. As is frequently the case with difficult
points of exegesis, it is of utmost importance that the context
of each passage be considered before terms can be equated
with similar wording elsewhere. Reese paid little attention to
the variety of contextual backgrounds. The central problem,
however, is that this kind of explanation assumes that “the
day” is a simple and uncomplicated reference to a point in
time, whereas in fact the total view of Scripture indicates
something quite different.
The subject of the day of the Lord is so extensive that a
complete exposition would require a major work and would
involve many references in both the Old and New Testa­
ments.5 Nevertheless the matter can be simplified if truth re­
lating to the dav of the Lord is placed into three categories:
(1) references to a day of the Lord as referring to any period of
time in the past or future when God deals directly in judgment
on human sin; (2) a day of the Lord in the sense of certain
specific future events constituting a judgment of God; (3) the
broadest possible sense of the term, indicating a time in which
God deals directly with the human situation, both in judg­
ment and in blessing, hence broad enough to include not only
the judgments preceding the Millennium but also the bless­
ings of the Millennium itself.
As we encounter the difficult problem of 1 Thessalonians
5, the broadest definition of the day of the Lord is indicated.
This contrasts, for instance, with the use of the same term in
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