"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all nations, and then shall the end come" (Matt. 24:14).
The Pre-tribulation Rapture school is confronted with considerable difficulty in that its fundamental thesis requires the Gospel's having been "preached in all the world" since the late eighteenth century when, for all practical purposes, the "imminent Rapture" proposal first appeared. (The early Church had anticipated Christ's return to the earth and believing community; see John 14:18, 28.) Problem here derives from the fact that long after "Pre-trib's" formulation of an imminent temporary translation to heaven, vast areas of the earth remained untouched by the Gospel in any form or expression.
The argument that modern media outreach (radio, TV, audio/visual systems, and now the internet - or as per earlier claim, the printed page) effectively fulfills the prophetic requirement simply fails of the fact that modern communication technology did not exist at the time in which an imminent Pre-tribulation Rapture was first promulgated nor, indeed, was it present for a long time afterward. Despite the sincerity of the concept's proponents, what is here encountered constitutes rather an opportunistic appropriation of subsequent development that in time became "proof" of a state alleged to exist before the proposed means to such end itself existed.
Examination of the text will show that Jesus here speaks of a final Gospel proclamation in a concluding time of global chaos, apostasy, hatred of believers, end time "abomination of desolation," etc., of which the
A.D. 70 "fulfillment in type" (destruction of Jerusalem, its Temple, violence and upheaval) gives a limited preview. The picture thus emerges of a discerning and purifed Church standing in opposition to evil end time powers, proclaiming the coming rightful rule of Jesus Christ. It is the world's final call and opportunity of choice. "And then shall the end come."
For the believing community, days of challenge and confrontation lie ahead. This explains much concerning Paul's defining of Christ's return as an event of "relief" ("rest," KJV) in terms of the believing Church (II Thess. 1:7).
Burl Ratzsch.
