Is it possible that Jesus' parable about the ten virgins could indicate that there will be a Mid-tribulation Rapture?

Ted’s Response:

Actually, I do believe in secondary rapture events. The question is, When does the first Rapture event take place? I am convinced that a Pre-tribulation Rapture is a false notion, mostly because I believe it is unscriptural, but also because I believe that the European Neighbourhood Policy may be the prophesied seven-year agreement of Daniel 9:27, yet no Rapture has taken place.

If the latter is true, the 70th Week has begun without the occurrence of a Rapture event. The next realistic time for a "catching-up" event to take place would be at the midpoint of the 70th Week, which would be a Mid-tribulation Rapture. Perhaps the phrase, "No one knows about that day or hour..." (Matthew 24:36), indicates that even believers do now know in which Rapture event they will be caught up to be with the Lord. Only the Father will be the judge of that.

At my website, most of what I state about the Rapture pertains to a Pre-wrath (or Pre-Seventh-Seal) view. This event is to take place soon after the opening of the Sixth Seal of the heavenly scroll. I feel that the Pre-wrath Rapture is most likely to take place a year prior to the end of the 70th Week (Isaiah 34:8, 61:2, 63:4—see The Seventh Year).

I also feel that this will be the primary and most important Rapture event, because I believe this is when the dead in Christ, throughout all the ages, will be raised (1 Corinthians 15:52). The great multitude of these believers "from every nation, tribe, people and language," who will have been "caught up" into heaven via the Pre-wrath Rapture, can be seen in Revelation 7:9,10.

I believe it is reasonable, though, to consider the feasibility of another Rapture event, prior to this point. All ten virgins in Jesus' parable have lamps; however, five are foolish and five are wise, with the foolish ones not having "oil" for their lamps, while the wise ones will have lamp "oil" (Matthew 25:1-4). All of the "virgins" will become "drowsy" and will "fall asleep" (25:5). Then:

At midnight the cry rang out: "Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!" (Matthew 25:6).

If the five wise "virgins" go to be with Him at that time, this very well could be indicative of a Mid-tribulation Rapture, with as many as half of living believers going with Jesus and the rest remaining behind. The purpose of this Rapture would be to protect these believers from the Great Tribulation. Now, is there anything else that might indicate a "catching up" or "snatching up" of believers at the midpoint of the 70th Week, when the Great Tribulation will begin? I believe there is.

John wrote this:

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne (Revelation 12:1-5).

However, there is something odd about this analysis.  Look what the next verse says:

The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days (Revelation 12:6).

So when you see standing in the holy place "the abomination that causes desolation," spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains (Matthew 24:15,16).

He will confirm a covenant with many for one "seven." In the middle of the "seven" he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him (Daniel 9:27).

Why, then, in Revelation 12:5, would John write about events that happened during the same century in which he wrote (that is, the birth of Jesus and, over three decades after that, his ascension into heaven) and then, in the very next verse, suddenly, skip to the middle of the 70th Week, almost two millennia in the future? Could the "son" born of the "woman," and being "snatched up to God and to His throne" in heaven, be referring to anyone besides Jesus? I suggest that this may be the case.

To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—"He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery"—just as I [Jesus] have received authority from my Father (Matthew 24:15,16).

We know that the Gentile church of believers has been "grafted in" to Israel (Romans 11:13,17). It is as much of a "son" of Israel as is the Israeli remnant who will flee at the midpoint of the 70th Week. Both of them are part of the whole group known as "the elect." Perhaps, then, Revelation 12:5 has a dual meaning, as do many things spoken by God.

The "son" could be a segment of believers who, in the middle of the 70th Week, will be "snatched up" to heaven in a Mid-tribulation Rapture. Maybe this initial group of caught-up believers are those to whom Isaiah was alluding when he wrote this (see also birth pains):

Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son. Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children (Isaiah 66:7,8).

Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Revelation 12:17).

For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened (Matthew 24:21,22).

Believing Gentiles/Messianic Jews, along with chosen Israelis, ultimately will come together as one, sharing together in the promise of Christ Jesus. This "mystery of Christ" (Ephesians 3:6) will manifest itself in "stages": first believing Gentiles and Jews (in consecutive catching-up events), then the Israeli remnant when He returns. A Mid-tribulation Rapture, of "firstfruits" believers, very well could be the "first domino" that begins this process.

I believe that the Pre-wrath Rapture (following the opening of the Sixth Seal) will take place on a Rosh haShanah, the Jewish New Year. It would be noteworthy, then, if a Mid-tribulation Rapture of believers were to take place on the Feast of Firstfruits—the day on which Jesus rose from the dead.

Paul indicated that believers would not suffer wrath but, whether awake or asleep (alive or dead), would live together with Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:9,10). However, during the 70th Week, there will be two types of wrath: Satan's fury and wrath (Revelation 12:12,17) and, later, God's wrath (during the dreaded "day of vengeance"). Perhaps a Mid-tribulation Rapture will protect some believers from Satan's wrath during the Great Tribulation, while the Pre-wrath Rapture will protect the remainder of believers from God's wrath, which will commence after the opening of the Seventh Seal.

If, indeed, there will be a Mid-tribulation Rapture, the obvious question is this: Who is part of this first group to be taken away, and who is left behind?. Frankly, I do not know; only God knows. I only can speculate. It would seem that if the left-behind believers ("foolish virgins") are "those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus" (Revelation 14:17), there must be something more that "qualifies" someone to be "worthy" of being "snatched away" before the Great Tribulation begins.

The "wise virgins" had "oil" with their "lamps" (Matthew 25:4); whereas, the "foolish virgins" had no "oil" (25:3). Perhaps the "wise virgins" are those who have developed and nurtured an intimate relationship with the Lord, shining the light of Jesus, faith, and hope into the dark, deteriorating world around them. On the other hand, Jesus' response, later, to the "foolish virgins"—those having remained in darkness—was "I tell you the truth, I don't know you" (25:12).

Maybe the faultless Philadelphian Church (Revelation 3:7-13) represents the "wise virgins," who act their faith throughout the week, rather than merely on Sundays (or, in the case of Messianic believers, Saturdays). Jesus detested religious hypocrites. It could take the suffering and distress of the Great Tribulation to cause the "foolish virgins" to "walk the walk," rather than just to "talk the talk"—to know the One, true God, not just to know about Him, and to be a real light to those around them, rather than to be part of the darkness.

Perhaps the "oil" for the "lamps" implies a special anointing of the Holy Spirit. It may be that only those who have utilized the gifts of the Holy Spirit, in the most effective ways possible, and who meditate on and keep the Torah (Law) of God, will be eligible to participate in the "firstfruits" Rapture, at the midpoint. Those who celebrate the Hebrew feasts/festivals, and who keep the proper Sabbath (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), also may be more likely to take part in this event.

I believe that Jesus' urgings to the seven churches, in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, will apply to believers during the 70th Week, especially during the second half. Basically, it will involve firm rejection of the ways of the world and complete acceptance of the ways of God. It may be that those who heed and follow Jesus' counsel of repentance, endurance, and overcoming, prior to the midpoint—as well as those long earnestly and sincerely for Jesus' next appearance (2 Timothy 4:8)—will be removed in a Mid-tribulation Rapture. Then, those "left behind" will have to demonstrate the capacity to follow Jesus' guidance and direction, to be able to be taken up in the Pre-wrath Rapture, about 2½ years later.