The Rapture Question by John F. Walvoord

Author:John F. Walvoord [John F. Walvoord ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780310877202
Publisher: Zondervan

Argument From the Nature of the Tribulation

Much of the controversy of the tribulation issue arises from a failure to agree on the definition of the Tribulation itself. Among posttribulationists there is utter confusion on this point, some insisting the entire present age is the Tribulation; others, like pretribulationists, regarding it as a future period. Obviously there can be no objective discussion concerning the church going through the Tribulation until there is some agreement on basic terms.

Pretribulationists would agree with posttribulationists that the church has always had a measure of trial and tribulation. This is mentioned too often in Scripture to leave any room for argument (Matt. 13:21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Rom. 2:9; Rev. 2:10). It is summed up in the words of Christ, “In this world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33 KJV). Many posttribulationists, however, agree with pretribulationists in holding that the Great Tribulation of which Christ spoke (Matt. 24:21) is to be distinguished from this general experience of trial. The Great Tribulation, then, is a future period, properly identified with the last three and one-half years preceding the coming of Christ to establish His kingdom on earth. If so, the fact that the church is already in many trials is quite beside the point in determining whether it goes through the future period.

Norman MacPherson, the posttribulationist father of Dave MacPherson, rightly began his discussion of posttribulational arguments by treating the definition of the Tribulation itself. He found that out of fifty-five occurrences of the verb thlibo and the noun thlipsis only three refer specifically to the Great Tribulation.21 He therefore concluded that, while most of the passages refer to the present age, the three mentioned refer specifically to a future period.

The minority of posttribulationists who want to settle the whole question on the basis of Scriptures referring to present trials seem to be influenced by the desire to make pretribulationism ridiculous. The arguments of Fromow and Rose to this point, referred to previously, are of this character. In taking this line of argument, however, they did not face the evident fact that a period of trouble cannot be unprecedented and at the same time general throughout the age. The time of trouble referred to by Christ as the Great Tribulation was to have such a specific character as to make it a sign of the approaching Second Advent. The tendency of posttribulationism to blur the scriptural description of the Tribulation arises from the necessity to defend posttribulationism from certain contradictions. One of these is the question as to why saints of the present age who are perfectly justified by faith, given a perfect position of sanctification, and declared to be in Christ, should have to suffer the “great day of his wrath” in the Tribulation. While Christians can be disciplined and chastened, they cannot justly be exposed to the wrath of God.

This apparent difficulty within posttribulationism is handled in various ways, but usually by distinguishing, as Rose did, the time of trouble from the “great day of wrath.

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