The debate over which one is the correct view has been ongoing for almost two hundred years; since the Biblical perspective of the theory of rapture resurfaced in the early 1800's. All too often what is overlooked with regard to the various views on this subject is the fact that well respected Christians, very knowledgeable in the Bible, can be found among each of these specific sets of beliefs; and each with worthy points to back their views.

Unfortunately, since there are differing views, what usually happens within the various schools of thought is that personal opinion takes the upper hand in dealings with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And soon, debate turns into argument over which view is correct. The end result! All too often, rather than demonstrating to the world the strength of our bonds in Christ, as we srive with one another, we manifest the weaknesses of our own flesh, and bring shame upon the house of our Master. Those involved are taken farther away from Christ and His cause, and the world remains cold and indifferent to the One who wants to show them His love, through us.

There is another alternative. Furthermore, it is a path which leads to more favorable results; No matter which category, or set of beliefs, one chooses. What is "the way" I am referring to?

"Then be watchful at every time, begging that you shall be counted worthy to escape all these things, the things being about to happen, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Lk. 21:36).

If our attitude is one of prayerful watching, and waiting, as our Lord commanded so many years ago - that we might be counted worthy to escape such things as shall come upon the world; if we follow this - His warning - then, no matter which is the correct view, the world will take notice of a people bonded by something stronger than these differences. What's more, when He returns for us, we shall hear, as if it were the sweetest melody of music to the ear, words a servant ever longs to hear: "Well done thou good and faithful one."

Having said that, the following are some of the names of saints you might be familiar with. Each is listed under the category their conscience held on the subject.

Pre-Trib Rapturists

The pre-tribulation rapture group finds such men in their ranks as J. N. Darby, William Kelly, R. A. Torrey (in later life changed to post-trib) D. L. Moody, J. H. Brookes, J. M. Gray, A. C. Gaebelein, C. I. Scofield, and others.

While the following did not believe in a pre-trib rapture, I have not yet been able to identify their specific position (it would appear most if not all fall into the post-trib view). Any assistance that could be offered in this regard would be greatly appreciated. David Baron, Alfred Edershein, Adolph Saphir, Dr. Morgan Campbell, Dr. Horatius Bonar, Dr. Nathaniel West, H. W. Soltau, S. P. Tregelles, Henry Alford, F. F. Bruce, John Bunyon, Charles Finney, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitfield.

Those who believe the whole church will go through the tribulation and then be raptured include: Corrie Ten Boom, George Muller, A. J. Gorden, Dr. W. J. Erdmen, Prof. W. G. Moorehead, Henry W. Frost (China Inland Mission), James Wright, Benjamin Newton, Pat Robertson, and others.

Those who believed a minority will be raptured at the beginning of the tribulation and the majority of believers will then go through the tribulation - multiple or "split rapture" theory include such names as: William Leask, Ira E. David, John Scruby, Hudson Taylor (Founder of the China Inland Mission), H. W. Fry, W. H. Hubbard, Sarah Foulkes Moore, Jessie Penn-Lewis, R. C. Chapman, Robert Govett, G. H. Pember, A. B. Simpson (founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance), J. A. Seiss, John Wilkinson (founder Mildmay Mission to the Jews), Samuel Wilkinson, Otto Stockmayer, G. H. Peters, Paul Radar, D. M. Panton ("The Prince of Prophecy"), G. H. Lang, Watchman Nee, T. Austin-Sparks, and others.

As interpretations of verses in support of each view vary, depending upon which school of thought is embraced, I'll not go into a study of each. Rather! I would join the company of Paul, ". . . commending ourselves to every man's conscience before God" (2 Cor. 4:2).

Excerpts taken from "The Collected Works of Watchman Nee," Vol. 19, p502-503.

Those who wish to pursue further study on the issue and possibilty and theory of the split or multiple rapture view see:
"The King and The Kingdom of Heaven," by Watchman Nee p271-289.
"The Collected works of Watchman Nee," Vol. 19, p502-569.
"The Saints Rapture," by Robert Govett.
"Firstfruits and Harvest," by G. H. Lang.
"Rapture," by D.M. Panton

Kingdom Baptist Church. Brother Joey Faust has some exceptional sermons on the split rapture view.

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Book Reviews:

RAPTURE

by, D. M. Panton

How will this present evil age end?

The whole problem is solved by a parable of our Lord. He compares the world to a field: The wheat sown in this field are the children of the kingdom; the tares are the children of the Evil One; the harvest is the End of the Age, and the reapers are angels. "Let both" (the wheat and the tares) "grow together until the harvest" (Matt. 13:30, 38).

Solemn are the lessons of the Tares: "Bind them in bundles to burn them" However! So long as the blade has not come into ear, there is such a remarkable resemblance between the two, it is "either impossible, or very difficult, to discriminate between the one and the other" (Jerome). For this reason, any attempts to uproot the tares are forbidden: - "lest haply while you gather up the tares, you root up the wheat with them" (Matt. 13:29).

Exquisite are the lessons of the Wheat: Unlike the emblem of Israel - the Fig tree - whose roots are driven deep into the earth, to abide in this world, wheat is the symbol for the Church - a fragile, annual crop, with no physical power to resist the storms and other hazards of this earth. It is planted, grows, and passes rapidly from the earth in successive harvests; the Church’s garner is a better world. Wheat dies downward as it ripens upward; the roots and stalk die causing the grain to ripen. Likewise, as the soul dies to the things of this world, it ripens to the Throne above. A field of ripened wheat is one of bowed heads; while ripened tares remain tall and erect. Wheat ripens by absorbing the summer sunlight; its burning heat is what transforms it to bear fruit.

And "so it shall be in the end of the Age. The Son of Man shall send forth His Angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matt. 13:40, 43).

The Parousia of Christ

The first great act in the coming drama of the Advent is the formation of the Parousia. In itself, the word "parousia" merely indicates a stationary presence (Liddell and Scott), and is a "coming" only when linked with words implying motion. In other words, the parousia is not merely a "coming," but an actual and personal presence (F. T. Bassett). This “Parousia of Christ” is used as a technical expression of our Lord’s immediate presence to the neighborhood of the earth. It is His proximity "in the air"; as the arrival of a judge when he "stands before the door" (James 5:9) ere it swings open and He enters for all to see. It is one stage of the Advent: Where Christ’s downward motion stops, His peoples upward motion stops, and the Lord forms His Royal Court in a pavilion in the clouds (Psa. 18:11).

Why in this manner? Because, our Lord will return “in like manner” to that of His departure from the earth; He ascended visibly, and was wrapt from sight in a cloud (Acts 1:11). The order of His return is merely a reversal of the order of events when He left. First, He descends invisibly, concealed by the clouds. At the end of the tribulation, when the Bema is complete, He then bursts forth, visibly and bodily, and as the Sun of Righteousness, descending out of the clouds, down to the earth. The interlude is the Parousia, where the Bema is set up and court is called into session.

Thus, the Parousia serves a purpose of vital importance to the Church. It is the location to which the saints are rapt up - to meet the Lord, in the clouds. It is our reunion, not on earth, nor in the heaven of the heavens, but “in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17). It is a heavenly Tabernacle, against which the Antichrist, enraged by the loss of his prey, hurls impotent blasphemies (Rev. 13:6). It is also the judgment court of the Church. “Judgment begins at the House of God” (1 Pet. 4:17): for “after a long time, the lord of those servants is coming, and he will make a reckoning with them” (Matt. 15:19).

Within the context of events surrounding the Parousia, is the fulfillment of the parables of the Virgins, the Talents, and the Pounds. Here the believer’s heart and life are examined - every thought, word, and deed. Yes, while it has been a "long time" since our Lord spoke the words, now they come to pass in reality. The Bema is set up, and that approval which comes from the Judgment Seat is the supreme reward. Thus, we make it our aim to be well pleasing to Him. “For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, that each may receive the things done in the body, according to what he hath done, whether good or bad” (1 Cor. 5:10).

You see! The Parousia of Christ runs concurrent with the Parousia of the Antichrist (2 Thess 2:9); the heavenly Parousia is the advance outpost whither God recalls His ambassadors, just prior to the outbreak of the last judgments of God, and the war that ensues, against the world.

So the Presence is the lode-star of the Church. And while the exact duration is not provided by Scripture, it would seem from certain verses that its inception could be either hastened by prayer (Matt. 24:20), or retarded by its neglect. As for its close, or the conclusion of the Presence and the Bema, this comes after certain yet unfulfilled events have transpired, events which are timed and measured. For instance, Israel is given to know the exact date of the Advent at a given moment after the Parousia has begun (Dan. 12:12). But for the Church, nothing stands between us and the summons of God; no premonitions, no warnings, no signals, no prophecy. That is why we are encouraged to be ever watchful and in prayer. Our Lord comes as a thief in the night (2 Thess. 5:2; Rev. 3:3, 15:16, to steal away His own - the jewels of the earth. And one thing we know about a thief: he gives no warning. “But know this, if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken into” (Matt. 24:43). “Therefore, be ready” (V44).

The disciple’s questions to our Lord evoked a response containing a great prophecy of what shall come upon the totality of mankind. It unfolds the outcome of the three main divisions of mankind - the Jews, the Gentiles, and the Church; all of whom remain in the world up to the end of this - the Church Age, or the Age of Grace. The answer to the disciple’s first question includes insight into the destiny of the temple. As to the answers of their subsequent questions, insight is provided as to the destiny of the Jew, the Church, and the Gentile. And the outcome of each, is radically distinct from the other.

The first section (Matt. 24:7-31) reveals the final destiny of the Jew. How do we know this? First, reference is made of the destruction of the city by the Romans (V1-6). But “the end is not yet.” And second, a physical salvation or deliverance is spoken of for those “in Judea,” as well as an escape, by a physical flight to the mountains. Prayer should be offered, that the Sabbath would not be violated by its occurring on that day. False Christs are also emphasized, for the Jew is still liable to this deception. And last, the tribes of the land of this, the Jewish elect, are gathered, not from heaven, but from the four winds. All is Jewish.

The second section relates to the Church. Evidence of this is apparent through a shift of language. The first section was literal! In the second, all is figurative or parabolic language. What’s more, the first section is local and direct, the second is universal. “Day” in the former is literal, and figurative in the latter. “House” is literal in the first section, and figurative in the second. “Winter” is literal in the former, and figurative in the latter. Whereas the Jewish escape is earthly, and across the mountains into the wilderness, escape for the Church is heavenly and sudden; she mysteriously disappears off the earth altogether. The Jewish escape depends on physical activity; the Church’s escape depends on spiritual watchfulness. In one case prayer is for the avoidance of flight in the winter, in the other, it is for the moral worthiness that one is ready to be taken - ripened for the harvest (Lk. 21:36).

The last, or Gentile section (Matt. 25:31-46), sets before us the final events of the age - those which will occur just prior to the establishment of the Kingdom (millennial reign) on earth. In the two former parables we had the difference between, and the judgment of, Christians as to their inward readiness for their coming Lord, and their outward diligence as to how they have profited by His gifts. This section is wholly silent as the Church, and its only reference to the Jew - “the least brethren” - is veiled. Here, all the nations - the mass of Gentiles - are gathered before Christ, and each is judged according to their treatment of the Jew in the face of the terror imposed upon them by Antichrist.

In all these sections Christ appears in His universal title as the Son of Man. In the Jewish section, it is as the Son of Man only. In the Christian section it is the Son of Man who is also the Lord of the Household and Bridegroom. In the Gentile section, it is as the Son of Man and King; and this, as a King unknown to the Gentile world. This particular Gentile, living at the time of the Advent, and saved in a later epoch, is referred to as the elect “from the foundation of the world” (25:37). These are distinguished from the Church, which is, elect “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). For the Gentile, judgment is according to “inasmuch as you have done it”. Again, this judgment is peculiar to the Gentile world immediately prior to the Advent, and is based upon their actions toward the Jew while Antichrist and his forces are wreaking havoc on the nation. These “sheep” constitute the Gentile stock that will populate the millennial earth; recovering all that Adam had lost. They will be ruled over by Israel, who will be the "head of all the nations" (Deut. 28:13). We, in the Church, are a dateless people, with no earthbound inheritance. Ours is wholly a heavenly heritage.

Thus our Lord - the Prophet like unto Moses (Acts 3:22) - unfolded the destiny of all: The faithful Israelite who finds safety in the wilderness; the watchful believer whose safety is in ripening and being ready for the rapture; and the Gentile, whose redemption is through kindness to the Jew.

May God give us the grace, to be watchful, and in prayer; for the day is fast approaching, and will soon be upon us.

Exerpts taken from "Rapture," by D. M. Panton; available through Schoettle Publishing.