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For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. |
The Rapture and the 2nd Coming of Christ are not the same events. The Rapture is when Jesus comes in the air for His Church, but His feet will not touch earth.
This will happen Before ANY tribulation is sent on the world by God.
The 2nd Coming is when Jesus comes back to earth and His feet stand on the Mount of Olives. After seven years of Tribulation is sent on the world by God.
In the Old Testament, there were 2 different pictures painted of the Messiah, one is "him suffering" (Isa. 53:2-10, Ps. 22:6-8, 11-18) and one "reigning as King" (Ps. 2:6-12, Zech. 14:9,16).
As we look back on these scriptures, we see they predicted two separate comings of the Messiah, the first coming as a "suffering Messiah" and the second coming (still future) as a reigning King.
In the New Testament, we have another picture added. Again, we have two pictures painted, and they do not look the same. These two different descriptions of Jesus; coming point to two separate events we call "The Rapture" and "The Second Coming."
Listed below are 15 differences between the Rapture and the 2nd Coming.
Rapture |
Second Coming | |
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1 |
Jesus coming FOR His Church. (John 14:1-3, 1 Thess. 4:14-17) | Jesus coming WITH His Church (Col 3:4, Zech 14:5, Jude 14, Rev 19:14) |
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2 |
Caught up with Him in the air (1 Thess 4:13-18) | Jesus' feet touch the earth (Zech 14:4, Rev:19:11-21) |
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3 |
Christians taken first, unbelievers are left behind. (1 Thess 4:13-18) | Wicked are taken first, the righteous (Tribulation saints) are left behind. (Matt 13:28-30) |
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4 |
Purpose: To present the Church to Himself and to the Father (2 Cor 11:2, Rev. 19:6-9 40) | Purpose: To execute judgment on earth and set up His Kingdom (Jude 14-15,Rev 19:11-21, Zech 14:3-4) |
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5 |
MARRIAGE: Marriage of Lamb in heaven after the Rapture | WAR: Marriage is followed by war on earth at the second coming |
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6 |
Happens in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (too fast for eyes to see) (1 Cor 15:52) | Slow coming, people will see Him come back. (Zech 12:10 Matt 24:30, Rev 1:7) |
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7 |
Only Christians will see Him (1 John 3:2, 1 Cor 15:52) | Every eye will see Him (Rev. 1:7) |
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8 |
Jesus descends with a shout (for resurrection) (1 Thess 4:16) | No shout mentioned (Rev. 19:11-21) |
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9 |
A resurrection takes place <(1 Thess 4:13-18, 1 Cor 15:51-54) | No resurrection mentioned (Rev 1:7, 19:11-21, Zech 12:10, 14:4-5) |
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10 |
Can happen at any time (Rev 3:3, 1 Thess 5:4-6) | Occurs at end of 7 years of Tribulation (Dan 9:24-27Matt 24:29-30, 2 Thess 2:3-8) |
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11 |
No angels are sent to gather (resurrected people don't need angels to help them) | Angels sent forth to gather people together for judgment (Matt 13:39, 41, 49, 24:31, 25:31, 2 Thess 1:7-10) |
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12 |
Spirits of those dead in Christ return with Jesus to receive their resurrected bodies (1 Thess 4:14-16) | Christians return with Jesus in already resurrected bodies riding on white horses. (Rev 19:11-21) |
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13 |
Jesus does not return on a white horse | Jesus returns on a white horse (Rev 19:11) |
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14 |
For the Church only (those in Christ) 1 Thess 4:14-17 | For redeemed Israel & Gentiles (Rom 11:25-27, Matt 25:31-46) |
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15 |
A message of hope and comfort (1 Thess 4:18, Titus 2:13, 1 John 3:3) | A message of judgment (Joel 3:12-16, Rev 19:11-21, Mal 4:5) |
Some people teach that the Rapture will occur after the Tribulation. This is a false teaching causing many to think that they will see the prophesied events coming before the end as a spiritual wake up call - but they will miss the Rapture because of it. Don't be one of them.
Think about it - why would there be a rapture after the Tribulation? What would be the purpose? There won't be anything to be raptured from. The Antichrist will have forced the whole world to take his mark or be killed - how many believers would be left to rapture? It makes no sense.
Let's look at all this in some detail.
Revelation 4:1-2
After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
John's translation to the throne in heaven pictures the Church at the end of the age. It occurs prior to the opening of the first seal and the appearance of the rider on the white horse (see Revelation 6). The 'come up here' command heard by John is the same command given to the two witnesses in Revelation 11 when they were translated back to heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:23
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming (rapture).
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
II Thessalonians 2:1-2
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
The movement of the believer at the Rapture is from earth to heaven in which the Lord comes to call His bride up to His Father's House
1 Corinthians 15:51-54
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
There are too many Christians who try to relate the last trump of 1st Corinthians 15:52 with the trumpet judgments in the Book of Revelation. It is a common problem of 'post-tribbers', but easily rectified if you understand the Old Testament and the Jewish Feasts.
There doesn't appear to be anything left in prophecy that needs to be fulfilled before the Rapture can take place other then the dead in Christ rising. That means the next thing to take place in Bible prophecy is the the dead in Christ rising - then the Rapture of God's true believers. It could easily happen this year so be ready and watch for our Lord to return!
Please believe me when I tell you that time is short and days are few. If you are ever going to get right with God; this is the time to do it. Don't make the biggest mistake of you life and put it off another day. It is almost time for Jesus to return to rapture his true believers from this world before it is cleansed.
All of the book of Matthew is about the second coming and NONE of it is referring to the Rapture. The mislead people that believe that the book of Matthew is referring to the Rapture is where much of the confusion comes in. They believe that Jesus said no one can know the "day or hour" of the Rapture. Jesus never said that! He was not talking about the Rapture in Matthew 24 nor anywhere in Matthew. He was speaking of the second coming.
Matthew 24:27
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
II Thessalonians 2:8
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
At Christ's second coming, the Lord appears with His saints, coming from heaven to Earth to set up His Messianic Kingdom (see Zechariah 14:4-5 & Matthew 24:27-31).
Long before Christ was born; the Jewish rabbis taught a six-day theory about the future of the world. They believed that the world would face several eras lasting a total of 6000 years, from Adam's creation until the Messiah would come. This theory was based in part on Psalm 90:4 - "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday." Since God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, they reasoned, the world would go on for 6000 years followed by a 1000 year millennial "rest" period presided over by the Lord himself.
Think about this: from the creation of Adam until the birth of Christ, a period of 4000 years (or four days) passed. From Christ's time on earth until now represents approximately another 2000 years (or two days). This total of six days is just one more reason to believe that Jesus could return very, very soon.
Six day periods, followed by remarkable transitions, have been important throughout scripture. Look at Matthew 17:1 for example:
Matthew 17:1
And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And he was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
Jesus was giving them a preview of what it would be like when He comes back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords as described in Revelation 19:16. When they came down from that mountain, He told them not to tell anyone of these things until after His Resurrection.
Not only did the ancient Jewish rabbis teach this six day theory, but so did the church during the first 300 years of Christendom. The church leaders based their belief on 2nd Peter 3:8: "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
St. Victorinus, the bishop of Petah, wrote a commentary on the book of Revelation in 270 AD. He said that he saw another great and wonderful sign: "Seven angels having the last seven plagues, for in them is completed the indignation of God. And these shall be in the last time when the Church shall have gone out of the midst." In other words, St. Victorinus was talking about the Rapture!
This teaching is not a present day innovation but a doctrinal statement dating back 17 centuries to St. Victorinus and 20 centuries to Jesus and Paul.
In the 16th century there were those expressing assurance of the Rapture. Hugh Latimer, burned at the stake for his faith in 1555, said: "It may come in my days, old as I am, or in my children's days, the saints shall be taken up to meet Christ in the air and so shall come down with him again." Joseph Medde, the great 16th century literalist understood I Thessalonians 4:13-18 to teach the catching up of the saints and even used the word "rapture." So this is not some new idea.
However, understand this: the Rapture is not the same thing as the second coming. You can find it twice in the Gospel of John and a few others places in the Gospels. Most other times when you are reading about Christ's return in the gospels, it is not referring to the Rapture. Instead, these are references to the second phase of Christ's return - when He physically comes back to earth to rule over it after a seven year Tribulation period and it's called, in theological circles, "The Revelation" or the revealing of Christ upon Earth.
The four gospels have very few reverences to the Rapture and the much misapplied Matthew 24 is referring to the second coming and not the Rapture.
There are two references in the gospel of John about the Rapture:
John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
This is not His coming to the Earth. This is the point at which He receives us unto Himself at the great Rapture - the snatching away - to be with Him in heaven as the seven years of torment occur on earth.
The second reference:
John 11:25,26
I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
The actual word 'rapture' is not found in most Bibles. The original Greek word 'harpazo' which was translated 'caught up' in the King James version (see 1 Thessalonians 4:17), it was translated in the Latin as 'rapturo.' So, the term 'rapture' comes from a Latin translation. In fact, the original Greek word 'harpazo' easily could have been, or should have been translated, 'to seize, to pluck away, or to take by force.' There are two precedents in the Bible; Enoch (the 7th from Adam in the book of Genesis) and the prophet Elijah, were both taken, 'raptured', before they died.
However the apostle Paul knew more about the Rapture then most others in the Bible:
Hebrews 11:5
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up. For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God.
Other examples; Elijah was taken up alive (see 2 Kings 2:11). Jesus was transfigured on the mount, Paul said he had been taken to the 3rd Heaven, and John was Raptured in Revelation.
In my studies, I see many things that fully support the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. For one, we have a set precedence of God saving His people from imminent peril. The best example is Noah. The people had been warned; they scoffed and disbelieved that warning. And when the torrent came, they were drowned.
Jesus rose from the grave, and scripture tells us that the dead also rose AFTER he did, and witnessed to the Jews in Jerusalem for 40 days. Those who did not believe lost the hope of their Messiah redeeming them as a nation at that time. A little over 30 years later, their temple was burned to the ground and until 1948 they have not had a home in Jerusalem. A prophecy Jesus Himself mentioned.
Revelation is another book that makes the Rapture clear.
It is easy to see how God sectioned off Revelation to give us a solid look at what was, what is, and what is yet to come. The first 3 chapters he addresses the Church. In chapter 4, we see John being literally taken up from the Earth alive, and straight up to heaven in a Rapture. Then we see those who have been redeemed by Jesus thanking Him for their redemption.
Revelation 4:1-2
After these things I looked, and there was a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said: 'Come up here so that I can show you what must happen after these things.' Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was standing in heaven with someone seated on it!
Follow the book to chapter 6 where we see the advent and rise of the Antichrist and the beginning of the Tribulation.
Revelation 6:1-6
1 - I looked on when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a thunderous voice, 'Come!'
2 - So I looked, and here came a white horse! The one who rode it had a bow, and he was given a crown, and as a conqueror he rode out to conquer.
3 - Then when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, 'Come!'
4 - And another horse, fiery red, came out, and the one who rode it was granted permission to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher one another, and he was given a huge sword.
5 - Then when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, 'Come!' So I looked, and here came a black horse! The one who rode it had a balance scale in his hand.
6 - Then I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, 'A quart of wheat will cost a day's pay and three quarts of barley will cost a day's pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine!'
May God bless you all.
Rev. JR Seabolt
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