Page 53 - The Rapture Question by John F. Walvoord

The Rapture Question: Revised and Enlarged Edition

flatly that “there is no sound reason for supposing the other
thirteen do not refer to the church, or individual members of
the church.” Without offering any proof or argument what­
ever, this important doctrinal point is settled. Thus the term
church and the elect arc made equivalent, thereby proving that
the church is in the Tribulation. This is possible only with a
background of scriptural interpretation that spiritualizes the
promises of Israel much in the same way as amillenarians do.
Among contemporary posttribulationists, Robert H.
Gundry is the exception to the rule and attempts in his post-
tribulational interpretation to maintain a distinction between
Israel and the church. One of the major factors of confusion in
eschatology in the history of the church has been to confuse
the program of God for Israel with the program of God for the
church. The distinction of these two programs is an essential
feature of contemporary dispensationalism, and Gundry fol­
lows a modified dispensational form of interpretation.
However, the idea of distinguishing Israel from the
church is not limited to dispensationalists, nor even to pre-
millenarians, and such prominent theologians as Charles
Hodge and William Hendriksen, who are not premillenarians,
make this distinction. In the arguments for posttribula-
tionism, however, this distinction becomes quite crucial and
normally leads to the pretribulational position. As will be seen
in later discussion. Gundry’s dispensationalism leads him to
some unusual and novel interpretations as he endeavors to
maintain the distinction between Israel and the church
throughout the Great Tribulation and at the same time sup­
port the posttribulational position. Gundry’s views, however,
illustrate the wide diversity of arguments among the post­
tribulationists themselves and their disagreement on major
factors in posttribulational teaching.
A second aspect of spiritualization characteristic of post-
tribulationism is in its treatment of the Tribulation itself.
While adherents often recognize a future period of trouble, the
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