1. “So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. At that time two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left” (Matt. 24:39-41).
These verses speak of facts related to the rapture of the believers and prove that some believers will be raptured and others will be left. The two men and two women spoken of here refer to believers. We should not regard the first man and first woman as believers, and the second man and second woman as unbelievers. The Bible does not consider the situation of believers and unbelievers as being the same and, therefore, does not compare them with each other in this portion. Also, according to verse 42, the Son of Man is described as being the Lord of the men in the field and the women at the mill. Therefore, verses 39 through 41 compare the situation of believers who are watching with believers who are not watching. When the Lord returns, the believers who are watching will be raptured, and the believers who are not watching will be left. The believers who are watching will be raptured, and the believers who are not watching will be left behind.
2. “She brought forth a son, a man-child, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne” (Rev. 12:5).
The man-child brought forth by the woman will be caught up to God’s throne. This is a fact related to the rapture of the overcoming believers. The woman represents all God’s people from the Old Testament and New Testament ages. However, in the Bible a man-child refers to a strong one. Thus, the man-child brought forth by the woman will be the strong ones from among God’s people throughout all the ages. This man-child will shepherd the nations with an iron rod. This corresponds with what is said concerning the believers who overcome the degradation associated with the church in Thyatira in Revelation 2:26-27. In Revelation 12:5 the man-child is described as shepherding the nations with an iron rod. This indicates that the man-child in chapter 12 bears the characteristics of the overcomers in chapter 2, and it also proves that the rapture in chapter 12 is a rapture of overcomers.
According to verse 6 of chapter 12, the rapture of these overcomers occurs before the last three and one half years, which is a thousand two hundred and sixty days, the time of great tribulation. Furthermore, according to the context of verse 17, after these overcomers are raptured, there will still be believers on earth who “have the testimony of Jesus.” Therefore, this portion shows that the overcoming believers will be raptured before the great tribulation and other believers will be left behind in the great tribulation.
The verses in Revelation 12 related to the rapture of the man-child present a problem that cannot be resolved by the group that teaches that all believers will be raptured before the tribulation or by the group that teaches that all believers will be raptured after the tribulation. With the exception of a few overcomers, who are raptured before the great tribulation, most believers will be left on the earth during the tribulation. These verses show that not all believers will be raptured before the tribulation. These verses, however, also show that some believers will be raptured before the great tribulation. Since neither of the views related to a rapture before the tribulation or a rapture after the tribulation can be reconciled with these verses, we must reject both views. According to verse 5 and other portions of the Bible, we should acknowledge only that there will be a rapture of overcoming believers before the great tribulation and a rapture of the believers who have passed through the tribulation at the end of the tribulation.
When I spoke to the preacher who strongly taught that all the believers would be raptured at the end of the tribulation, I asked him about the verses in Revelation 2:26-27 and chapter 12. I said, “There are many thoughts about the identity of the man-child, but based on these verses, no one would say that the man-child does not refer to overcomers among the believers. Since the man-child displays the characteristic of an overcoming believer and since the man-child is raptured before the three and one half years of the great tribulation, it would be wrong to say that no believer will be raptured before the great tribulation. How can you say that all believers must pass through the great tribulation and be raptured at one time after the tribulation?” This preacher had no answer. Then I said that I could only believe that all believers would be raptured after the great tribulation if Revelation 3:10 and Revelation 12:5-6 did not exist. But these two portions tell us clearly and definitely that some believers will be raptured before the tribulation and others will be left on earth to pass through the tribulation before being raptured. When I got to this point, this brother admitted that these portions of the Bible posed a great difficulty for him. These verses are difficult for people like him because they clearly show that a group of believers will be raptured before the tribulation. The teaching that all believers will pass through the tribulation and be raptured together at the end of the tribulation is too strained. According to the Bible, we must believe that a group of overcoming believers will be raptured before the great tribulation and that the rest of the believers will be left on the earth during the tribulation to be raptured at its end. There is no need to strain to believe this.
3. “I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand...These are they who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He may go. These were purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth no lie was found; they are without blemish” (Rev. 14:1, 4-5).
According to these verses one hundred and forty-four thousand are on Mount Zion, which is the heavenly Mount Zion (Heb. 12:22), as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. In order to be standing on Mount Zion in the heavens, their entire being must have been raptured to the heavens because the spirits and souls of the dead cannot enter into the presence of God in heaven. This point was clearly seen in chapter 58. Therefore, those who are on the heavenly Mount Zion cannot be unclothed spirits and souls but must be entire persons with bodies who have been raptured to the heavens. Revelation 14:4 says that they were purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. Firstfruits refers to a harvest that starts in a field, and the field is the world (Matt. 13:38). The firstfruits were growing in the world, but now they are on Mount Zion in the heavens because they are ripe. Therefore, they were reaped into the heavens. To be reaped into the heavens is to be raptured into the heavens. Therefore, these verses refer to the rapture of the believers.
Those who are raptured are virgins; that is, they have never been defiled. They follow Christ wherever He goes, and there is no lie in their mouth; hence, they are without blemish. They are the firstfruits among God’s harvest because this is their condition before the Lord. Since they are the firstfruits of God’s harvest, they also are overcomers among the believers. Revelation 14:9 shows that after the firstfruits are raptured to the heavens, Antichrist is still able to work on earth. Furthermore, verse 12 shows there are still believers on earth who keep the Lord’s word after the rapture of the firstfruits. On the one hand, the overcomers are raptured to the heavens as firstfruits before Antichrist appears, that is, before the great tribulation; on the other hand, the remaining believers as God’s complete harvest are reaped, or raptured, to the air after Antichrist appears, that is, after the great tribulation begins. Revelation 14 clearly shows that some overcoming believers are raptured before the great tribulation, whereas most of the believers will pass through the great tribulation and only be raptured at the end. This portion proves that those who teach that all believers are raptured before the great tribulation and those who teach that all are raptured after the great tribulation are not correct.