Lesson 8: Who Are the 24 Elders? – The Rapture
Lesson 8 Overview
Is the Rapture of Christians Really in the Bible? with Dr. Andy Woods
This lesson continues the second argument for the pre-trib rapture: that the church is absent from the earth during the tribulation section of Revelation. Dr. Woods shows the word and concept of the church disappear, and then argues the 24 elders in heaven are the raptured church. Use this overview to review the key points after watching the full video.
The Word “Church” Disappears
Dr. Woods reviews the second argument. Revelation divides into three parts, and in the futuristic tribulation section (chapters 4 through 22) the Greek word for church, ekklesia, disappears, after appearing 19 times in the first three chapters. He points to a telling detail: in the letters to the seven churches, the phrase “let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” is repeated seven times, but in Revelation 13:9, in the middle of the tribulation, the nearly identical phrase drops the words “to the churches” and simply says “if anyone has an ear, let him hear.” His explanation is that the churches are no longer being addressed on earth because they have already been raptured to heaven.
The Concept of the Church Disappears Too
Dr. Woods argues it is not just the word but the concept of the church that is absent. The church is by definition transnational, made up of Jews and Gentiles together as one new man (Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:14). But in the tribulation section, God is clearly working through a nation again: the 144,000 Jews, two Jewish witnesses resembling Moses and Elijah, and the woman clothed with the sun, moon, and twelve stars (imagery from Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37, representing Israel). So both the word and the transnational concept of the church are missing from the earth during the tribulation.
When the Church Does Appear, It Is in Heaven
Dr. Woods argues that where the church is hinted at in the tribulation section, it is always in heaven, never on earth. Revelation 1:20 identifies the lampstands as the churches. In Revelation 4:5, once John is caught up to heaven, the lamps are burning before the throne in heaven, implying the lampstands (the churches) are in heaven, not on earth.
The 24 Elders Are the Raptured Church
The centerpiece of the lesson is the identity of the 24 elders (Revelation 4:4). Dr. Woods first rules out the common alternatives. They cannot be Israel, since Israel’s resurrection does not occur until after the tribulation (Daniel 12:2), yet these figures are already crowned and therefore resurrected. They cannot be the redeemed of all ages for the same reason (Revelation 20:4-5). And they cannot be angels, because they sit on thrones (angels stand in God’s presence, Luke 1:19) and are distinguished from the angels (Revelation 5:11; 7:11).
He then argues positively that the elders match how the church is described in Revelation 2 and 3. They wear crowns, which Christ promised to the churches (Revelation 2:10; 3:11) as rewards that believers cast at His feet (Revelation 4:10). They are resurrected (you cannot crown a disembodied spirit). And they are clothed in white, exactly as Christ promised the church at Sardis (Revelation 3:5).
Do the Elders Sing of Their Own Redemption?
A key question is whether the elders sing of their own redemption. In Revelation 5:9-10, the New American Standard Bible has them singing about “men” from every tribe (third person), which some use to argue the elders are angels singing about others. Dr. Woods answers that Scripture allows people to sing about themselves in the third person, as Israel did about its own redemption in Exodus 15.
He then notes that the King James Version reads “redeemed us” and “made us” (first person), which would clearly make the singers the redeemed church. He explains the difference through textual criticism: we do not possess the original manuscripts (God in His providence did not preserve them, partly so people would not worship a single original), but we have about 24,000 copies, far more and far closer to the originals than any other ancient work (Caesar, Plato, Homer, and others), so the objection that the Bible is unreliable would also require throwing out all of ancient history. The manuscripts agree over 99 percent of the time, and none of the differences touch any core doctrine.
On this passage, the difference is which manuscripts to follow. The NASB generally follows the earliest manuscripts; the King James follows the majority. Citing J.A. Seiss and David Hawking, Dr. Woods argues that 23 of the 24 Greek manuscripts of Revelation 5:9 read “us,” with only Codex Alexandrinus differing, so the “us” reading should be regarded as authentic. This supports the conclusion that the 24 elders are the previously raptured church singing of their own redemption.