“Rapture vs the Second Coming! Author and Writer Ronald Nelson

”BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Therefore encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

ENCOURAGING WORD:

Today there is a lot of discussion between Christians about the second coming of Jesus Christ verse's the rapture of the church. Most Christians do not know one from the other. They beleive that these two events are the same thing. The second coming refers to the future return of Jesus Christ to this earth, while the rapture of the church describes the event when believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. This is a topic filled with hope and excitement for us as Christians, as it promises the fulfillment of God’s plan for His people. It’s something we should think about, cherish, and look forward to. We should be on the mode of meditation as we study through God’s word.

The primary Bible passage describing the Rapture is in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; as we read in the opening Bible verse. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout... 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".

Another key verse is; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, which describes this transformation occurring "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye". "Behold, I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

I am going to expose the obvious difference between them.

Let’s start out with the following fact. The translation of all believers is what the rapture is about. Where the second coming supports no translation of anybody.

Bible verse that support this belief.

John 14:1-3; “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. (Jesus) 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. (All believers) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you (The Rapture) to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

In literal terms, this verse contains a vague promise to return and bring us to where He is. (Heaven) He does not indicate that anyone will travel or arrive on their own, but that He will be the One bringing them to this destination. This is especially interesting in that Jesus will also indicate that these men know "the way to" this place. Most true Bible scholars view this as a reference to the rapture, when Christ will take believers from earth in advance of the end times that will take place shortly. Good Bible scholars teach the Truth of the scriptures; religions teach religion which in many cases does not line up with Gods Word.

1 Thessalonians 4:17; “Then we (Born Agian Believers) which are alive and remain shall be “caught up” (Raptured) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air".

This verse continues an often-quoted description of "The Rapture:" the sudden, bodily taking of true Christians from earth to heaven by Jesus Christ. That depiction, in turn, is part of Paul's reassurance to the Christians of Thessalonica. He is correcting certain fears and misunderstandings about the end times, including what happens to believers who die before Jesus returns. The prior verse describes the rapture as a dramatic event, which first involves the resurrection of those believers who have already died. Following the resurrection of departed Christians, Jesus will snatch up the living Christians who are "left." Being left should not trouble believers, because they are left for only a fleeting moment before Jesus takes them up from the earth to join Him in the clouds of earth's atmosphere. This event will introduce Christians to an eternity in Jesus' presence. Notice, we meet Jesus in the clouds, not on earth.

The Rapture - the raising of the Church into heaven 1 Thessalonians 4:17; is the next event on Gods prophetic calendar. The Rapture is when Christ comes back and takes every True believer in Christ that is still on this earth and resurrects all of those who have died and takes them to heaven with Him.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8; “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.  For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord (the Rapture) so comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” 

Paul expresses that the Lord’s return will be like a thief in the night. No one knows the day or hour. However, there are several signs of the End Times that we can all be aware of. Events such as earthquakes and diseases, war and dispute among nations, and persecution against Christians are all signs leading to the Rapture. We are seeing all these things occurring at an unpresedented level like never before.

Some key points about the Rapture verse the Second Coming:

Translated Saints go to Heaven. 1Thessalonians; 4:13-18; “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, (Falling asleep refers to those that have already passed on, their bodies are in the grave, but their souls are in heaven.) lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we (The Born again believers) who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. (Those that are in the grave) For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up (Raptured) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

These words should be very comforting if you are a true believer in Jesus Christ. Its telling us to comfort one another with the truth of the Rapture. We have no need to fear the tribulation period because we will not be here. If we were going to go through the tribulation, I wouldn’t find much comfort in that.

Translated Saints return to earth. Revelation; 19:11-16; “ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He (Jesus Christ) who sat on him (The Horse) was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, (Those that were raptured)  clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

In these verses Jesus is returning with the Raptured Saints. How can they return if they never left? The rapture is when Jesus meets the saints in the clouds in the air, and the second coming is when Jesus comes back with the saints to earth.

When Jesus comes in the rapture, He does not judge the world at this time. The Earth is not judged. 1 Thessalonians, 4:13-18; (See verse above)

When Jesus returns to the earth at His second coming, He will judge the Earth and establish righteousness at that time. Matthew 13:28-30; “He (Jesus) said to them, ‘An enemy (Satan) has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he (Jesus) said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.” Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Jesus is referring to when He physically comes back to the earth at His second coming. The tares are those that will be bundled up and cast into Hades for a thousand years waiting judgement and the wheat will be those that enter into the thousand year Millennial Kingdom of God.

At any moment, the rapture is sign less. Revelation 3:3; ”Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. At the rapture of the church, that event could happen at any moment. The second coming when Jesus literally comes back to earth has to be preceded by many events that have to take place first. Ask yourself this question, do you believe Jesus could come back today. If you say yes, then you have to believe in the pre-trib rapture. If you say no, then you take away the imminent return of Jesus where He says He could come back at any moment. You can’t have it both ways.  Either He can come back at any moment, or He can’t come back until after the tribulation. You can't argue this point, but yet the denominational churches of today deny the rapture of the church.

1 Thessalonians; 5:4-6; “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” We should be watching for the soon return of Jesus Christ as He has instructed us to do. Those of us that know the truth, are watching and we are very much aware of the times in which we live, so we will not be caught off guard. If you are not watching the signs for the soon return of Jesus Christ, you will be caught off guard, and you won’t be ready. Read the parable of the ten virgins on your own time to get a better understanding of this lesson. Matthew 25:1-13:

The second coming follows definite predicted signs,  Matthew. 24:29-30; “ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Notice, it says that immediately after the tribulation, all these things will happen, and everybody will see the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) coming on the clouds of heaven with power and glory. And it says all the tribes of heaven will be shaken. In the rapture, only those who have been born again will see Jesus and they will meet Jesus in the air in the clouds, not on earth as these verses above clearly state.

2 Thessalonians. 2:3-8; “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (The Second Coming) will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. According to these verses, The tribulation has to happen before Jesus can

physically return to earth which is after the seven year tribulation.

Do you not remember that when I (Paul) was still with you (The Thessalonians) I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, (The church is still on earth and the lawless one (Satan) cannot come on the scene until the church is gone.) that he (Satan) may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness (Satan) is already at work; only He (The Church) who now restrains will do so until He (The Church)  is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one (Satan) will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His (Jesus) coming.”  If Jesus can’t return until after the tribulation, then you take away the imminent return, and He cannot come back today or any day for that manner until after the tribulation. You make Jesus a liar if you tell Him He can’t comeback until after the tribulation because He said He could come back at any time. The rapture is the only explanation for an imminent return.

The Rapture is Not in the Old Testament; 1Corinthians 15:51; “Behold, I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” The word mystery means something that hasn’t been revealed until this moment. It was not mentioned in the Old Testament.

1 Corinthians 15:51; states: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: “We shall not all sleep, (Die) but we shall all be changed—". This verse explains that not all believers will die ("sleep") before the resurrection, but all will be transformed into immortal bodies. 

Some in Corinth claimed there was no resurrection from the dead for Christians. Paul has disputed that almost entirely, though he has agreed on at least one point. Namely, that there's no way corrupt, dying "flesh and blood" bodies can possibly inherit the kingdom of God. Put another way, our naturally born bodies cannot exist in God's presence in heaven for eternity. What the confused Corinthians don't understand is the mystery Paul reveals in this verse. It's the mystery he has been revealing throughout chapter 15. In a word, this is "transformation." God will, in fact, transform the "natural" bodies of Christians into glorified, or "spiritual" bodies

1 Corinthians 15:44; “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” Before we can enter heaven, we have to be changed from our corruptible body into an incorruptible body and that transformation tales place at the rapture of the church. Those that have died before the rapture will be taken up to meet Jesus in the air where they will also receive their incorruptible (glorified) bodies. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to receive my glorified body. This earthly body of mine is wearing down fast.

The Second Coming is predicted often in the Old Testament ; Daniel 12:1-3; “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;And there shall be a time of trouble, (The tribulation period) Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people (Israel) shall be delivered, Everyone who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, (Those that received Jesus as their Lord and Savior)  Some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Those that will be sent to Hades for one thousand years when at that time, they will stand in front of Jesus Christ at the white throne judgement where they will be sentenced for every sin that they ever committed because they rejected God’s only plan for salvation,) (The penalty for sin is what Jesus paid for as He hung on the cross.) Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.”

Daniel is prophesying about the future. An angel speaking to Daniel continues to describe what will happen in the end times: the last moments of history before God's judgment. Daniel 12:1 mentions ideas often discussed in "eschatology:" the study of those last days. Among these were the great tribulation and concept of a "book" recording those who are saved.This verse uses a euphemism for death, calling it "sleep." This reflects the idea that the end of earthly life is not the end of all life. In the New Testament, Paul uses this same metaphor (1 Corinthians 15:51 as we read above. 1 Thessalonians 4:15  as we also read above. Another crucial point reinforced here is that all people will be resurrected into one of two fates. These are the only possible eternal fates. One is life with God, the other is the "contempt" of separation from Him forever. 

Zechariah 12:10; “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”

Once again, this is a message that will take place at the end of the tribulation when Jesus returns to earth. This will happen when the inhabitants of Jerusalem will have their eyes opened and they will then know that Jesus was their long waited Messiah all this time.

Zechariah 14:4; “And in that day (The second coming) His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.” The second coming can’t happen until the end of the tribulation! The rapture could happen today. They can’t be the same event.

Before the day of wrath; 1Thesalonians 5:9; “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,” The second half of the tribulation period concludes with the wrath of God coming down on the unbelievers, those that took the mark of the beast. The church will not be here during this time.

Concludes the day of wrath; Matthew; 24:29-30; “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Do you believe the Bible is 100% true and inherent? I know that I keep repeating this but, its so obvious that there is a set time when Jesus will come back to earth. A lot of events have to happen before He can come back. So, how can anybody say the rapture and the second coming are the same event? The pastors of the Lutheran church will stick with this doctrine because if they don’t, then they would have to change 50% of their end time doctrine. It’s obvious that they are not indwelled by the Holy Spirit or they would teach the truth.

Revelation; 1:7; “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. At the second coming all eyes will see Him, at the rapture of the church, only those that are saved will see Jesus Christ.

I’ll end this teaching now because if it isn’t obvious to you now beyond a shadow of a doubt that the rapture and the second coming of Christ are to completely different events, then its obvious that you take the word of man over the Word of God.  Every religion that goes by some name, Catholicism, Lutheranism, or any other religious sect are all manmade. They do not teach the Bible, they teach religion. True Christianity is a relationship with Jesus, not a relationship with the world.

Romans 12:2; “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

I’ll end with this little thought. If you want to know which direction that you are headed in terms of eternity think about this. Lets say that you have two dogs in your body. One is white and one is black. Which one will lead you in the right direction. The answer is “The one you feed the most”  Are you feeding the Word of God to your body or are you feeding the world? Pretty easy question, what are you feeding your body most? Feed your soul the Word of God or feed your mind with all the corruption that is taking place in our world.

Now, I need to say one more thing. Believing in the rapture doesn’t save you, but if you deny the Word of God in one area, how many other areas of the Bible are you rejecting. Based on my knowledge of organized religion, and what they teach, they are all filled with false doctrine, and not understanding Gods plan for salvation could guide you down the wrong path. Remember this message and meditate on it.

Matthew 7:13-14; “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Few means a few! Will you be one of the few that find the way?

Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

Two totally different events!