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Burning Questions
answered by Rev. Colin Le Noury
Does
the parable of the Ten Virgins
support the idea of
a Partial Rapture?
The
partial rapture theory is not a widely held one
but it is gaining some popularity; especially among
some extreme charismatic groupings.
The
parable of the virgins is just one of a number of
scriptures used by proponents of this theory in
support of their particular belief.
Partial
Rapturists will seize hold of particular verses
and use them as proof texts. Such verses centre
on the idea of 'watchfulness' and 'readiness' -
sentiments held, of course, by all believers of
the imminent return of the Lord.
Some
of the so called proof texts are as follows:
'And
take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts
be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness,
and cares of this life, and so that day comes upon
you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all
that dwell upon the whole earth. Watch ye therefore,
and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy
to escape all these things that shall come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of man'. (Luke 21 vv.34-36)
'Blessed
are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh
shall find watching; verily I say unto you, that
He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down
to meat and will come forth and serve them. And
if he shall come in the second watch, or come in
the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those
servants'. (Luke 12 vv. 37-38)
'....
unto them that look for Him shall He appear the
second time without sin unto salvation'. (Hebrews
9 v.28)
'And
now little children abide in Him; that when He shall
appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed
before Him at His coming'. (1 John 2 v.28)
In
the first of these verses - Luke 21 vv.36-38 - much
emphasis is made by partial rapturists of the phrase,
'Accounted worthy to escape' suggesting that only
the watchful will avoid the Tribulation.
In
Luke 12 v.37 the emphasis again is on the blessedness
of those watching, as opposed to the slumbering
believers who will 'miss out' on the rapture.
Hebrews
9 v.28 is said to imply that the rapture is only
for the watchful, and it is inferred from 1 John
2 v.28 that some believers will 'loose out' when
the Lord returns for His church.
Another
line of argument used by partial rapturists is the
repetitive use of the phrase 'To him that
overcometh'
in the Lord's letters to the seven churches of Revelation.
The implication being that those who have become
spiritually strong and mature enough will be spared
the refining process of the Great Tribulation, and
will instead be translated into the presence of
the Lord. In support of this it will be asserted
that Enoch's godly walk and maturity was very much
the basis of his translation.
Again
partial rapturists will often use the phrase, 'the
victorious church'. The implication being that the
church divides into two parts; the 'victorious
church' is spared of the Tribulation whereas the
'slumbering church' is refined by the Tribulation.
It
is in conjunction with all of these ideas that the
parable of the ten virgins is brought into play.
The interpretation being that the five wise virgins
represent the 'victorious church' whilst
the foolish ones represent the 'slumbering
church'.
On
the surface the partial rapture theory looks plausible
but one soon finds that the theory is full of holes
and doesn't tie in with other tenets of the
faith.
Let
us firstly consider the parable of the virgins.
It has to be said, first and foremost, that that
it is a dangerous thing to try to build a doctrine
from parables. Parables are simple stories told
usually to convey one simple truth. To emphasise
and spiritualise every detail in a parable can often
lead to erroneous conclusions.
Clearly
the truth conveyed in the parable of the ten virgins
is that of readiness - a tenet of the partial rapture
theory. Beyond this any attempt to support the theory
though the parable is questionable.
It
has to be said that there are a number of interpretations
to the parable and its questionable whether it refers
to the church, or to the Jews or to christendom
in general. It is also arguable whether the virgins
represent the church or if they are attendants at
the marriage feast. Good evangelical scholars over
the years have been divided on these interpretations.
The
partial rapture theory comes into difficulty on
a number of points. Gavin Hamilton in his Olivet
discourse has this to say:
"There
is no ground here to warrant the belief that only
saints that are watching will be caught up in the
rapture, and those not watching will be left to
go through the Great Tribulation. In the first place
it is not the rapture that is in view but the coming
of the bridegroom to begin the Kingdom festivities;
and, in the second place, the emphasis is not on
watching but having oil.'
Furthermore,
if, as the partial rapturist asserts, the five foolish
virgins represent the 'struggling church'
left to face the Tribulation, and be refined by
it, then why does the bridegroom say in verse 12
'I know you not'. Also in verse 10 the
door is shut on these people. Is it conceivable
that the Lord would ever close the door on his people?
Did he not say, 'Him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out'.
Quite
apart from the flaws raised above in connection
with the parable of the virgins, there are also
fundamental reasons for rejecting the partial rapture
theory. Not least of these is the doctrine of grace.
The theory does lean strongly towards legalism and
seems to set human works and effort as the criterion
for salvation from the tribulation wrath. This is
quite contrary to grace. Romans 6 v.14 states that
'We are not under law but under grace'.
The
whole doctrine of grace implies that we have no
human merit and all that we receive is an undeserved
favour. Our sufficiency is in Christ and not in
ourselves. To mix human merit with grace is to take
away from Christ the glory that is due only to Him.
Salvation from beginning to end is all of grace
so that none may boast.
Partial
rapturists are also forced into believing in a partial
resurrection if they are not to be left inconsistent.
1 Thessalonians 4 v.16-17 states that 'The dead
in Christ shall rise first then we who are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them
to meet the Lord in the air.' There is no mention
here of being selected on the basis of readiness
or watchfulness. The criterion is to be 'In Christ'
- that means all believers.
If
the partial rapture theory were true, and if only
selected raptured, then of necessity the same basis
of selection would have to be applied to the resurrection
of believers gone before, but in verse 14 Paul states
that, 'ALL those that sleep in Jesus will God bring
with Him'. Also in 1 Corinthians 15 vv.51-52, which
refers to the rapture, the statement is clearly
made that 'we shall ALL be changed.'
Also
arising from the above is the problem of dividing
the body of Christ. The apostle Paul at times goes
to great pains to emphasise the unity of the body
of Christ under the headship of our Lord. The partial
rapture theory effectively divides that body and
establishes a two tier christian order based on
spiritual maturity. The lower order being left to
face an 'earthly purgatory' in the form of the Great
Tribulation whilst the rest of the body enjoys the
benefits and blessings of being in the presence
of the Lord.
This
seems to go against all the scriptures showing the
unity of the church as depicted by a bride, a body
and a building fitly joined together in Christ.
This
writer is of the opinion that there is a certain
arrogance about the partial rapture theory. Surely
the spirit of humility and grace which the Lord
desires to see in all of us creates a feeling of
unworthiness as opposed to delusions of self worth.
In any case we might well ask how do we know if
we have reached a point of worthiness or readiness
to be included in the rapture? At what point can
the believer be assured that he is among those to
be taken if this theory be true?
Let
us remember that the Tribulation is a time of outpoured
wrath on a Christ rejecting world and more particularly
a time of 'Jacob's troubles'. Paul writing to THE
WHOLE BODY OF BELIEVERS IN CHRIST at Thessalonica
said: 'God hath not appointed us unto wrath but
to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ' 1
Thessalonians 5 v.9, Maranatha.
YT
12/96
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