Thesis 17/36: Rapture versus Second Coming

DOCTRINES OF ESCHATOLOGY
Doctrine 17 / 36: The Difference in the Rapture and Second Coming

The second-oldest recorded prophecy in the Scripture, next to God's prophecy of a seed in Genesis 3:15, is actually found in the book of Jude. "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds..." (Jude 1:14-15). This prophecy, probably made during the life of Adam, was a prophecy regarding the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when He returns to execute judgment. Throughout the Old Testament, the Jews were looking for this coming Messiah to restore order in the earth and to establish the kingdom.

The Bible consistently talks about when Jesus comes back and brings judgment to the world (Matthew 16:27; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). His Second Coming is accompanied by His saints, and is the establishment of His earthly kingdom (Daniel 7:9-10). His Coming is described as being with a white horse, wearing clothes that are "dipped in blood," followed by His armies on white horses, bringing with Him the "fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" (Revelation 19:11-15). After this coming, He rules the nations with a rod of iron. All eyes in the world shall see this return (Revelation 1:7).

Before this coming of the Lord, there is a period described of Great Tribulation. This period is the time of the reign of the Antichrist, and of God's pouring out of His wrath. Which brings to bear the question, "What of His people, the church, during this time of God's wrath?" Some would answer that by saying that He protects His church during this time of tribulation. However, there are Scriptures that teach that rather than protecting His church upon the earth during this time, He actually catches them up before this time.

When writing to believers, Paul writes, "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:9). The time of tribulation is a time of wrath, yet God did not appoint His church to wrath. He will deliver it from it. One of the most important things to remember when considering the timing of the rapture is the fact that the Tribulation is the time of "Jacob's trouble" (Jeremiah 30:7). It is a time when God focuses His attention back towards the children of Israel, and away from the Gentiles. The church is raptured up from the earth, participates in the "marriage supper of the Lamb," and is then prepared to return to the earth with Christ at His Second Coming. This sequence of events is documented in Revelation 19:8-11.

The word "rapture" comes from a Latin translation of the Greek word harpazo. This word is found several places in the Bible with the most descriptive of the rapture being 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. In this passage, Christians are encouraged to comfort each other because the day will come when all saints, both dead and alive, will be caught up (harpazo) together with the Lord in the clouds, and then they will be forever with the Lord. If the rapture were at the same time as the Second Coming, then the saints would be caught up into the clouds, as they are on their way back to the earth. God takes His saints up to Heaven during the seven years of tribulation on earth, and then He returns to earth with His completely sanctified saints following on their white horses.

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

Coming Again

News Flash! News Flash!

Jesus is coming again. He tells us that in John 14, Acts 1, I Thessalonians 4 and many other places (think Revelation). Now, prophecy and eschatology are two of my weakest points in biblical studies. Some day I will put more labor into that area, but it just hasn't happened yet. I just thought it important to once again bring it up, because I too often am caught up in this life and this flesh. The things which are seen are temporal, the things which are not seen are eternal.

Here's what I do know. This temporal world will be coming to an end, and it will be a spectacular ending. But even if Jesus does not come back for 1,000 years... He is still coming back. One of the reasons I think Jesus tells us that we won't know the day nor the hour is so that when we have these date-setters, which come and go (including their dates), we wouldn't lose faith. It would be easy to think that since there were 88 reasons that the Lord was coming back in '88, and that didn't happen, it must be that the Bible is wrong. But that just is not the case. He is not slack concerning His promise.

Anyway, I love how Josh Merriman closes his prayers frequently: "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

Just a thought