Page 6 - The Rapture Question by John F. Walvoord

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

The first edition of this book was published more than
twenty years ago and has enjoyed eighteen printings and con­
tinued interest. With the passing years, however, many new
books bearing on the doctrine of the Rapture have been pub­
lished.
While remarkably few statements in the first edition need
correction or revision, some new approaches to the doctrine
have been introduced. In general, discussion of the rapture of '
the church continues to be limited to those holding the premil­
lennial interpretation, with liberal interpreters and amillenar-
ians largely ignoring the subject.
Within premillenialism a definite trend can be seen to­
ward a more literal interpretation of prophecies concerning
the Great Tribulation. This has tended to sharpen the distinc­
tion between those holding that the rapture of the church
occurs before the Tribulation and those who hold that it fol­
lows the Tribulation.
In the last twenty years, Israel has continued to occupy
the center of the stage in the Middle East, and the importance
of contemporary events relating to fulfillment of the prophecy
has become increasingly more apparent. If the current events
indicate that the end of the age is approaching, the question as
to whether the church is to be raptured before end-time events
are fulfilled becomes more important than ever.
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