A guide for Bible believers on how to understand the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming

First of all, as usual, a BIG THANK YOU to Julka for her willingness to translate this text.

Let it be an answer to some who think that the rapture is the coming of the Lord:

 

 

"The Day of Christ, the Rapture is an event to be looked forward to, the Day of the Lord, the Second Coming is an event to be greatly feared.

 

"Strive earnestly that you may stand before God as a tried and blameless worker who expounds the word of truth properly." 2 Timothy 2:15

 

There is an old saying that says "things that are different cannot be the same thing". As Christians, we tend to read everything from Matthew to Revelation, trying to align everything with the Church. But it doesn't work that way because not all of the New Testament is written to the Christian Church. The Church is only part of it. Much of the New Testament is written for the Jews of that time and for the Jews who will live in the time of Jacob's Affliction otherwise known as the Great Tribulation. And some of it is written for unbelieving Gentiles. This, Paul told Timothy to teach the people how to "interpret properly" their Bibles so they would know which of the three groups God was speaking to at a particular time.

 

"Behold, I reveal a mystery to you: we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the final trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised as uncontaminated, and we shall be changed. "1 Corinthians 15:51,52

 

We see many Christian churches today that are not properly interpreting their Bibles, teaching people that there is no difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming. They say that it is one and the same event. But in this article we will show you the major differences between the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ that will show that it is impossible for them to be the same event.

 

#1: The rapture is the "blessed hope" and the Second Coming is the Day to be feared.

 

We begin with this because this difference is the most ignored in studying the differences between the Rapture and the Second Coming. In Titus 2:13 Paul speaking of the Rapture called it a "blessed hope," a day of comfort and joy. But in Amos 5:18 speaking of the Day of the Lord, which is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, God tells us that it is a day of "great distress" and is to be feared! Now, how are the Rapture and the Second Coming to be the same thing? Read Joel 3 about the cruelty and misery of the Second Coming. Paul called the Rapture of the Church "the day of Christ." The Coming of Christ is called "the day of the Lord." We should look forward to the day of Christ and fear the Day of the Lord. If you are someone who believes in the Bible, I could end this article now because I have proven my thesis without a shadow of a doubt. But if you are "foolish and dumb of heart to believe everything the prophets said" then we need to add 9 other solid proofs why the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ cannot be the same event.

 

• "Looking forward to the blessed hope and revelation of the glory of the great God and our Savior Christ Jesus" Titus 2:13 - Abduction
• "That ye be not immediately discouraged out of your senses, nor be troubled with yourselves, either by spirit, or by speech, or by letter, as if written from us, as if the day of Christ were coming." 2 Thessalonians 2:2 - Abduction
• "Woe to you who eagerly await the day of the Lord! For what use is this day of the Lord to you? For he is darkness and not light." Amos 5:18 - The Second Coming
• "Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel, full of sternness and burning anger, to turn the earth into a desert, and to exterminate sinners from it." Isaiah 13:9 - The Second Coming

 

#2: At the Rapture Jesus comes for His Church, and at His Second Coming He brings the Church with Himself.

 

Paul teaches that over and over again during Kidnapping, The Church is taken from the face of the earth. But at the Second Coming Jesus returns with His saints. Another major difference when you try to reconcile these two events together. The first is "going up" and the second is "going down."

 

• "For the Lord himself, at the given command, at the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven; then first those who have died in Christ will arise, then we who remain alive will be raptured with them in the clouds into the air, to meet the Lord; and so we will always be with the Lord." 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 - The rapture
• "And there followed him armies of heaven on white horses, clothed in pure white byssus." Revelation 19:14 - The Second Coming

 

#3: At the Rapture the Church is taken to Heaven, and at the Second Coming Jesus begins an earthly reign.

 

In the writings of John and Paul, the promise of a "heavenly home" awaits newborn Christians. We call it the Kingdom of God. But at the Second Coming a millennial kingdom is established on earth, known as the Kingdom of Heaven. To Christians it is never promised an earthly home, but a heavenly one. To the Jews and the Tribulation saints it was never promised, instead they get a home on Earth.

• "In my Father's house are many dwellings; if it were otherwise, 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 take you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:2,3 - Abduction
• "And I saw thrones, and there sat upon them those to whom the right of judgment had been given; and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for bearing witness to Jesus and preaching the word of God, and of those who had not worshipped the beast or his statue, and had not accepted the mark on their forehead and on their hand. These came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." Revelation 20:4 - The Second Coming

 

#4: The Rapture takes place before the Antichrist and the Tribulation, and the Second Coming after both.

 

Paul emphasizes repeatedly that one of the greatest benefits of being taken away in the Rapture is to avoid the wrath of the Great Tribulation altogether. But Matthew tells us that the Second Coming is "after the Tribulation of those days." So how is this? If the Rapture and the Second Coming are the same event, then these verses present an undeniable conflict. However, there is not, because they are different events.

 

• "For God has not destined us for wrath, but for the attainment of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" 1 Thessalonians 5:9 - Abduction
• " Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, until the falling away first come, and the man of sin, the son of perdition, be revealed." 2 Thessalonians 2:3 - Abduction
• "And immediately after the anguish of those days 'the sun shall be eclipsed, and the moon shall give no light, and the stars shall fall' from heaven, and 'the powers of heaven' shall be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. And 'all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven' with great power and glory." Matthew 24:29,30 - The Second Coming

 

#5: At the Rapture, only the born again Church will see the Lord coming for them, and at the Second Coming the whole world will witness it.

 

Mockers of the doctrine of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture like to call it the "secret" Rapture As if it were an insult to the people who believe it. The Apostle Paul, who in the Holy Spirit wrote this doctrine also considered it a secret, he called it a "mystery". During the Rapture only the saved will hear the Cries of the Lord, and He calls us to be with Him in the air. At the Second Coming, Jesus reveals Himself during the JUDGMENT to the whole world.

 

• "Then we who are left alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds into the air, to meet the Lord; and so we will always be with the Lord" 1 Thessalonians 4:17 - Abduction
• "Behold, he comes in the midst of the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth shall wail over him. That's right! Amen." Revelation 1:7 - The Second Coming

 

#6: During the Rapture, angels are not sent to gather the Church. During the Second Coming, angels gather for judgment.

 

Paul says that Jesus Himself will come to gather His Church from here. We hear His Call and "in a flash" we are gone. Angels are not mentioned here. Compare this to His Second Coming, where only angels are sent to gather God's elect, the surviving Jews who survived the Tribulation. Again, a big difference.

 

• "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the final trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised as uncontaminated, and we shall be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:52 - The rapture
• "Then shall appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then shall all the tribes of the earth wail, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with great power and glory, and he shall send his angels with a great trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four corners of the world from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24: 30,31 - The Second Coming

 

#7: The judgment of Christ will occur after the Rapture, and the judgment of the nations will occur after the Second Coming.

 

Immediately following the Hijacking of the Church, Paul says that we will appear before the judgment of Christ. It's not a judgment of sins that were dealt with at Calvary, it's a judgment of works that we did or didn't do for Jesus Christ after we were saved. But immediately after the Second Coming the judgment that will occur will be public, not individual, but of the nations.

 

• "For we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the recompense of his deeds done in the body, whether good or bad." 2 Corinthians 5:10 - Abduction
• "Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord! When did we see thee hungering, or thirsting, or coming, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did we not serve thee? Then he shall answer them in these words, Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye did not do unto one of the least of these, ye did not do unto me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life." Matthew 25:44-46 - The Second Coming

 

#8: Famine, war and pestilence will follow the Rapture, and 1000 years of peace will follow the Second Coming.

 

Again, the difference could not be more apparent. After the Rapture, a time of incredible suffering begins, a time of Jacob's Affliction (Jeremiah 30:7). But after the Second Coming, the 1000-year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem will bring a world of peace so wonderful that even deadly animals are no longer a threat. The verse in Matthew 24 where the apostles ask Jesus about "the signs of your coming" is a direct reference to the Second Coming. The doctrine of the Rapture was unknown to them at that time and was not to be revealed until Paul, 30 years after this Gospel was written.

 

• "As he sat on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him in private, saying, Tell us, when shall these things come to pass, and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? Then you will hear of wars and news of wars. Take heed lest you be troubled, for it must come to pass, but it is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famine, and plague, and earthquakes in places. But all this is only the beginning of sorrows." Matthew 24:3,6-8
• "And a wolf shall be the guest of a lamb, and a leopard shall lie down beside a kid; a calf and a lioness and fattened cattle shall be together, and a little boy shall lead them. (7) The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will feed on straw like an ox. The infant will play over the pit of the viper, and to the burrow of the serpent the child will stretch out his hand. They shall not harm or hurt in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters that fill the sea. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the nations shall seek the root of Isaiah, which shall break forth as a standard of the peoples; and the place of his dwelling shall be famous." Isaiah 11:6-10 - The Second Coming

 

#9: No one in the Bible knew the doctrine of the Rapture of the Church until the Lord revealed it to Paul.

 

This is one of the most important pieces of evidence why the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming are not the same events. Paul in Corinthians 15 is the first to tell us about the Rapture of the Church and informs us that it is a "secret" revealed only to him by God when he began to teach the Church. Almost all biblical chronologies date Matthew's Gospel to about A.D. 35 and the letter to the Corinthians to about A.D. 66.

 

("Trumpet the horn on Zion! Shout on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the earth tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is near!" Joel 2:1)

 

Why is this important? Because if no one knew about the doctrine of the Rapture of the church until Paul then Matthew 24 and 24 cannot in any respect refer to the church and the Rapture because no one knew anything about any Rapture. In fact, at the time of Matthew the Church had not yet been formed. If Matthew knew and wrote about the Rapture of the Church then Paul was lying when he said it was a SECRET that was only revealed in his letter to the Corinthians.

 

• "Behold, I reveal a mystery to you: we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the final trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised as uncontaminated, and we shall be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 - The rapture

 

#10: During the Rapture, believers will receive a glorified body, and during the Second Coming they will remain in earthly bodies as they enter the Millennial Kingdom.

 

During the Rapture of the Church a great personal and physical change will take place for the believer. The Bible says that newly born-again believers will receive new bodies that have a form similar to the "glorified body" that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself received during His Resurrection. Wow, imagine that. How exciting it is for a believer to look forward to that day. But at the Second Coming, Jesus establishes His earthly rule from Jerusalem, and the people who survived the Tribulation do not have special bodies and may die. Christians who get a glorified body will never be able to die.

 

• "But our fatherland is in heaven, from whence also we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our frail body into a form like his glorified body, by that power wherewith he also subjects all things to himself." Philippians 3:20,21 - Abduction
• "Or rather, they shall rejoice and make merry for all time over what I will create, for, behold, I will create joy out of Jerusalem, and joy out of her people! And I will rejoice with Jerusalem and make merry with my people, and the voice of weeping and the voice of complaint will never be heard there again. And there shall no longer be a babe that liveth but a few days, nor an old man that becometh not to his age: for he shall be reckoned a youth that dieth at an age of a hundred years, and he that sinneth not until he becometh a hundred years old shall be under the curse. When they build houses, they will live in them; when they plant vineyards, they will eat their fill." Isaiah 65:17-21 - The Second Coming

 

If you are not only a Bible believer, but also intellectually honest, then you must admit that we have proven that the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ are two different events with different outcomes. In this article we have given 10 reasons why, but we could easily add 20 more examples of the differences between the two events.

 

Things that are different not to be the same thing. Case closed.

 

In the original text all quotations from the Bible come from the KJV, I have chosen the Polish translations that best correspond to the English version, but they are not always perfect, and I do not feel competent enough to translate the Scriptures.