Does Hebrews 9:28 teach that only some believers will be raptured when the Lord returns?
Though those who teach the false doctrine of the partial rapture have used this verse as their proof text, the context forbids this interpretation.
The context in Hebrews is not carnal believers compared with spiritual but believers and mere professors who are not genuinely saved. The writer to the Hebrews is warning those who had only made a profession of faith but it was not genuine. He is warning them to go onto real faith and not to go back into Judaism like some had done and had brought upon themselves a terrible judgment for treading underfoot the Son of God. So the select company is not from amongst believers but all believers from amongst the mass of unbelieving sinners in the world, which include the false professors who do not have genuine faith.
This verse is speaking about the appearing of Christ unto salvation i.e. the salvation of the body, which will be changed into a glorious body like His body. The believer’s sins have been so perfectly put away that the believer has no more fear of judgment but a looking forward to meeting the Saviour when the redemption of the body will be complete. Salvation is not of works and so it is impossible to teach that this verse speaks of a select company of believers who shall have a reward of their bodies redeemed first because of their good works.
This means that even though there are believers who are cold or backslidden they know that the Lord is not coming for them in judgment. However, they know they shall be ashamed at His coming if they do not repent of their backsliding.
W E Vine has this to say –
Those who wait for Him are not spoken of as a select number who will be waiting, in contrast to those who are not in that attitude. The phrase, which in the original consists of the definite article with the present participle of the verb, is equivalent to the name of a whole company, and is descriptive of believers as a class of people whose characteristic attitude is that of waiting for Christ.