The rest of the overcoming believers, who will be living at the Lord’s coming back, will be raptured to stand before the Son of Man in the heavens. The Lord Jesus said, “Be watchful at every time, beseeching that you would prevail to escape all these things which are about to happen and stand before the Son of Man” (v. 36). Stand in this verse has the meaning of being put in a certain place. This refers to our being raptured to the presence of Christ. Stand before the Son of Man corresponds to the standing of the overcomers in Revelation 14:1. At the time of the rapture of the living overcomers, Christ will not yet have left heaven to come down to the air. Therefore, the minority of those who are taken, the living overcomers, will stand before the Savior on Mount Zion in the heavens.
The Lord promises that if we are watchful and beseeching at every time, we will “prevail to escape all these things which are about to happen” (Luke 21:36). “All these things which are about to happen” are the things of the great tribulation. Escape signifies being taken, raptured, before the great tribulation. If we are able to escape or are counted worthy to escape the coming tribulation, we will be raptured to, placed in, His presence.
In Revelation 3:10 the Lord said, “Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial, which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth.” Trial in this verse undoubtedly denotes the great tribulation that is about to come on the whole inhabited earth (Matt. 24:21). The Lord promised the overcoming believers in Philadelphia that He will keep them out of the hour of trial (not just out of the trial but out of the hour of trial) because they have kept the word of His endurance, the word of His suffering. This implies that those who have not kept the word of His endurance will be left in the great tribulation. Therefore, to be kept out of the hour of trial, which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, is to be kept out of the great tribulation.
The rapture of the believers is a great matter and is emphasized strongly in the New Testament. There are 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; it is a type of crops ripening in the field. Some crops ripen earlier and others ripen later. Those that ripen first are the firstfruits, and those that ripen later are the harvest. The firstfruits, the overcoming believers, will be brought directly to God’s temple in the heavens. Later the crop, the majority of the believers, will ripen, be harvested, and taken to the air.
The overcomers through all the generations who have died, as the man-child among the believers, will be resurrected and caught up before the last three and 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. These believers loved not their soul-life even unto death. After their resurrection, they will be raptured to God and to His throne. In addition, among God’s people there will be a group of living overcomers who have been purchased from among men and who followed the Lamb absolutely. They are the one hundred and forty-four thousand firstfruits who will be raptured before the majority of the believers to stand with the Lamb, Christ, on Mount Zion for the fresh enjoyment of God and Christ. There is a difference between the man-child and the firstfruits. The man-child is for fighting and for defeating Satan. Hence, the man-child deals with the enemy. The firstfruits are not for fighting but for the satisfaction of God and of the Lamb. The enemy, the devil, must be cast down from heaven by the man-child, who will execute God’s judgment over him. But there is another need in the heavens—God and Christ must have the firstfruits in order to obtain fresh enjoyment and satisfaction. The rapture of the overcomers will also include the rest of the overcoming believers who will be living at the Lord’s coming back. These believers are signified by the one of two men working in the field, by one of the two women grinding at the mill, and by one of the two on one bed. Those who are mature in life will be raptured before the great tribulation; those who are immature will be left in the great tribulation. The rest, the minority, of the overcoming believers, who will be living at the Lord’s coming back, will be raptured to stand before the Son of Man in the heavens. The Lord promises that if we are watchful and beseeching at every time, we will prevail to escape all the things of the great tribulation.