In this lesson and in the following lesson we will consider the rapture of the believers, which is the third item of the believers’ future in the completing stage of God’s full salvation, the stage of glorification.
Being glorified, redeemed in our body, and raptured are actually three aspects of one thing. To be glorified is to be redeemed in our body, and to be redeemed in our body is to be raptured.
The rapture of the believers is a great matter in the Bible and is emphasized strongly in the New Testament. Generally speaking, during the past century and a half there have been three main schools of understanding among Christians concerning the rapture: the pretribulation school, the posttribulation school, and the so-called partial rapture school. Those of the pretribulation school say that the believers’ rapture will take place before the great tribulation, which, strictly speaking, will be the last three and a half years of this age. These three and a half years will be the second half of the last week of the seventy weeks revealed in Daniel 9. Those in the posttribulation school say that the rapture will take place at the end of the great tribulation. Those in the partial rapture school say that the overcomers will be raptured earlier than the majority of the believers. The Bible teachers in this school include G. H. Pember, Robert Govett, and D. M. Panton. They taught that, according to the New Testament, the believers who are overcomers and who mature earlier will be raptured before the great tribulation, but the remainder of the believers will pass through most of the great tribulation so that they may be helped to mature. These believers will be raptured close to the end of the great tribulation. The teachers in this last school have accurately seen the details concerning the Lord’s coming back and the believers’ rapture.
The Bible presents two main aspects of the rapture: the rapture of the overcomers and the rapture of the majority of the believers. Leviticus 23:10 presents a type related to the two aspects of the believers’ rapture—the type of crops ripening in the field. Some crops ripen earlier, and others ripen later. The crops that ripen first are the firstfruits, and those that ripen later are the harvest. In Old Testament times the firstfruits were brought from the field not to the barn but to the temple of God. This is seen in Exodus 23:19, which says, “The first of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of Jehovah your God.” The firstfruits were brought into the temple of God for His enjoyment and satisfaction. When the rest of the crop in the field was completely ripe, that was the time of the harvest. After the harvest was reaped, it was brought into the barn. The crop signifies God’s people (1 Cor. 3:9). The first of the crop to ripen is the firstfruits, the overcoming believers, who will be brought directly to God’s temple in the heavens. Later, after the rest of the crop has ripened, the majority of the believers will be harvested and taken to the air (1 Thes. 4:15-17).
Now, we will consider in a brief and simple way the rapture of the believers.
Revelation 12:5 says that the woman “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.” The female, according to nature in God’s creation, is weaker than the male, physically and psychologically (1 Pet. 3:7). Hence, the man-child in Revelation 12:5 signifies the stronger part of God’s people. The fact that the man-child “is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod” indicates that the man-child is composed of the overcomers spoken of in 2:26-27. These overcomers are the dead overcoming saints, who will be resurrected before the last three and a half years, the period of the great tribulation. The man-child should also include the martyred saints who cry out to the Lord in the fifth seal (6:9-11). These believers “loved not their soul-life even unto death” (12:11). Unto death indicates martyrdom. Beginning with Abel, who was the first martyr, all the martyred overcomers throughout the generations are waiting for the time of resurrection (see “The Chart of the Seventy Weeks and the Coming of Christ, with the Rapture of the Saints” in the Recovery Version of the Bible). The resurrection of the dead overcomers will be the delivery of the man-child. After the dead overcomers are resurrected, they will be raptured to God and to His throne.