Page 97 - The Rapture Question by John F. Walvoord

The Rapture Question: Revised and Enlarged Edition

Luke 21:36
This passage is cited by Lang as one of the conclusive
proofs for the partial rapture theory.6 The exhortation it pre­
sents is another command to watch: “Be always on the watch,
and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to
happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of
Man.” Appeal is made particularly to the King Janies Ver­
sion, which uses the expression “that ye may be accounted
worthy to escape all these things.” Lang summarized his ar­
gument in these words: “This declares distinctly: (1) That
escape is possible from all those things of which Christ had
been speaking, that is. from the whole End Times. (2) That
that day of testing will be universal, and inevadible [nr] by
any then on earth, which involves the removal from the earth
of any who are to escape it. (3) That those who are to escape
will be taken to where He. the Son of Man. will then be, that
is, at the throne of the Father in the heavens. They will stand
before Him there. (4) That there is a fearful peril of disciples
becoming worldly in heart and so being enmeshed in that last
period. (5) That hence it is needful to watch, and to pray
ceaselessly, that so we may prevail over all obstacles and dan­
gers and thus escape that era.” 7
All pretribulationists will agree that escape from the
coming time of trial is provided for believers in Christ. All also
agree that those who believe in Christ during the Tribulation
itself, while not kept out of the period, may have deliverance
from it at the coming of the Lord to establish His kingdom.
The point of dispute lies entirely in the conclusion that some
true believers will be left to go through the Tribulation while
others are translated before it comes to pass.
While the exegesis of this passage is admittedly difficult, a
careful study of the context provides a clue for its interpreta­
tion. The context has to do with signs preceding the Second
Coming, obviously addressed to people who will be living on
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