Rapture could be partial!
Not all the believers might be taken out of this world at the time our Lord
appears in heaven to gather in the harvest which would be ready at the End of
the Age. I have nothing to assert here. I am writing this post to put forth a
possibility. Consider this…
I had already dealt with
1. Whether
Rapture is a pre-tribulation or mid-tribulation or post-tribulation event and
2. Whether
all the believers will be caught in mid-heaven when it happens
in my book, SYRIA, IRAQ,
ISIS, ISRAEL & BIBLICAL PROPHECIES. I had given my reasons for why I thought
that Rapture could be partial in which most of the harvest could be gathered
before the Great Tribulation would start while the remaining harvest could be
gathered in the middle of the Tribulation. But recently, while I was working on
another blog post entitled INTERTEXTUALITY IN THE BIBLE – II, I happened to
come across what might be another evidence to support this possibility.
I was going through the
details regarding the three annual feasts for which God had demanded of Israel
that they must gather in Jerusalem each year to observe them. That the Passover
had to do with Jesus, I knew very well. But I didn’t know about the
significance of the other two feasts. It was only during the time I was working
on the above-mentioned blog that I returned to study them. It provided me with wonderful
insight into the importance of these feasts and I would like to share it with
my readers.
Of these two annual feasts,
the Feast of Firstfruits indicates the Resurrection of Jesus, and the Feast of
Ingathering or the Feast of Tabernacles probably indicates the event that we know
as Rapture. The latter is the last major feast according to the Hebrew
calendar. It celebrates the last harvest which takes place at the end of the
year. It is the end-of-the-year event. It reminds us of two things:
1. Even
in the wilderness, God did not let His people go without shelter and
2. Our
existence in this world is temporary.
We are moving toward our
ultimate destination, that is, the Kingdom of Heaven. Ingathering suggests
gathering of the people of the Kingdom at the end of the age. The one very
interesting detail I alluded to earlier regarding implication of Ingathering
for Rapture appears in Leviticus 23:22:
“When you reap the harvest
of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you
reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them
for the poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God.”
It is very much possible
that this verse gives us a reason why at the time of Rapture, some believers
might be left behind. It seems to suggest that they are left behind for the
sake of the spiritually poor who would be living on the earth at that
time; so that these believers might guide them into the path of truth. They
will be the source of spiritual sustenance for the poor and the stranger during
the period of Great Tribulation.
Daniel 11:32-35 probably
refers to these believers who are called part of the harvest which is growing
in the corners of the field in Exodus 23:22. They are the corners of a field
which is not to be reaped, and they are also called the gleanings left for the
poor and the stranger. I would like to quote these verses from Daniel 11. Here:
“Those who do wickedly
against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know
their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. And those of
the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they
shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. Now when they fall,
they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by
intrigue. And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify
them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it
is still for the appointed time.”
In the verses quoted
above, he that shall corrupt with flattery those who do wickedly against the
covenant is the Antichrist. And, the people who know their God, the people who
understand, are the faithful who will be left behind for the sake of the spiritually
poor and strangers.
There was time I thought only
those would be left behind who wouldn’t have the Spirit of God, like the five foolish
virgins of the parable in Matthew 25, who went out to meet the bridegroom with
lamp but without oil. I thought the same about the one who would be left behind
in the following verses from Matthew 24: Then two men will be in the field: one
will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one
will be taken and the other left.”
But after considering in
depth the facts given in the Bible regarding the people who would be taken and
the people who would be left behind at the time of Rapture, I seriously began
to think that I might be erring in measuring all the left behind people by the
same rod.
Now I have come to the
conclusion that if Rapture is partial, then it is very much possible that the
first harvest would take place right before the Great Tribulation starts, and
the last harvest in the middle of the Tribulation. I also believe that the
people who will not be gathered at the time of the first harvest will not all
consist of the people whose lamps will run out of oil. Rather they will also
include the people who will be so strong in their faith and deeds that they
would be able to weather the worst of times in human history and yet remain
loyal to their God. For that very reason God will let them remain on earth
during this time. Not only they will remain loyal to their God, they will also be
able to lead many to Him with their wisdom and understanding and steadfastness,
thereby save them from utter destruction.
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