| A STUDY ON THE
RAPTURE
Section
5 - The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
..................Comparison
Between Rapture and Second Coming
The
Second Coming of Jesus Christ
The
book of Revelations provides details of events immediately concerned
with this phase of God's plan. In preparation for the times of trouble
and confusion ahead, the letters to the seven ecclesias commend, warn,
and encourage the believers who are outside Israel. The main body
of the book gives details of the calamities that accompany the opening
of the seals, the blowing of the trumpets, and the pouring out of the bowls.
It speaks of the destruction of Babylon, the military marshalling at Armageddon,
and of the attempted seizure of Jerusalem by the forces of evil!
Just
at this time when all seems lost, however, introduced by astounding signs,
and accompanied by His saints and the hosts of heaven, Jesus Christ
comes to the earth
the Second time! From the time of His ascension
into heaven, until this
scheduled moment, He could
not set
His feet on the earth. Even when He met Saul, as Paul was then called,
on the road to Damascus, it was in a vision, not in a physical presence
(Act.26:19).
Act.3:19-21
Repent, then, and turn about for the erasure of your sins,
so
that seasons of refreshing should be coming from the face
of the Lord,
and
He should dispatch the One fixed upon before for you, Christ Jesus,
Whom
heaven must indeed receive until the times of restoration of
all
which
God speaks
through the mouth of His holy prophets who are from the eon.
His feet
will touch down on the Mount of Olives, which is just east of the Temple.
This coincides with an earthquake which splits the mountain into two.
Act.1:10-12
And
as they were looking intently into heaven at His going,
lo
! two men stand beside them in white attire, who say also,
"Men!
Galileans! Why do you stand, looking into heaven?
This
Jesus Who is being taken up from you into heaven shall come thus,
in
the manner in which you gaze at Him going into heaven."
Then
they return into Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,
which
is near Jerusalem a sabbath's journey.
Zech.14:3,4
Then Yahweh shall fare forth and fight against those nations,
as
the day He fought in the day of attack.
And
His
feet shall stand in that day on the mount of Olives,
which
is adjoining Jerusalem on the east. And the mount of Olives is rent
in half;
toward
sunrise and seaward is a very great ravine,
and
half of the mountain removes northward, and half of it toward the
south rim.
Rev.19:11-16
And I perceived heaven open, and lo! a white horse.
And
He Who is sitting on it is called "Faithful and True,"
and
in righteousness is He judging and battling….
He
is clothed in a cloak dipped in blood,
and
His name is called "The Word of God."
And
the
armies in heaven, dressed in cambric, white and clean,
followed
Him on white horses. …. He should be smiting the nations.
And
He will be shepherding them with an iron club.
And
He is treading the wine trough of the fury of the indignation of God,
the
Almighty. And on His cloak and on His thigh He has a name written:
"King
of kings and Lord of lords."
His coming
for Israel will not be inconspicuous, some isolated event in the desert
or in secret chambers. With awesome power and splendour and fanfare will
He come for the people of God! All people in the whole land of Israel
at
that moment will witness His coming. It will be brilliant as the flash
of lightning against the dark clouds of the gathering storm!
Mt.24:26,27
"If, then, they should say to you,
`Lo!
in
the wilderness is He!' you may not be coming out;
`Lo!
in
the storerooms!' you should not be believing it. For
even
as the lightning is coming out from the east and is appearing as far
as the west,
thus
shall be the presence of the Son of Mankind.
Rev.1:7
Lo! He is coming with clouds, and
every eye shall be seeing Him--
those,
also, who stab Him--and all the tribes of the land shall
be grieving over Him
Zech.12:10
Yet
I pour out on
the house of David, and on
the
dwellers of Jerusalem,
a
spirit of grace and supplications; and they look to Him Whom they
stabbed,
and
they will wail over Him as the wailing over the only son,
and
they will be embittered over Him as the embittering over the firstborn.
Mt.24:30
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Mankind in heaven,
and
then all the tribes of the land shall grieve,
and
they
shall see the Son of Mankind coming on the clouds of heaven
with
power and much glory.
Those
in the land will witness His arrival, the believer with joy and exultation,
the unbeliever with consternation and dismay! The first of the believers
to be in His immediate presence should be the 144,000 on Mt.Zion who
will, from then on, be in the vanguard of His retinue through the kingdom
period. The faithful from the wilderness will make their joyous
way to Jerusalem to be with their King and to participate in the glory
of His presence.
Christ
will then engage the enemy, all of whom He has caused
to
be convened in the environs of Jerusalem, annihilating them in the valley
of Jehoshaphat.
Israel
Returns To The Land
By
then, the call would have gone out to all survivors of the Diaspora,
the faithful of Israel from the farthest reaches of the earth.
The rest of them He destroys! Those of the nations who have survived the
day of God's indignation, will be eager to facilitate the return of these
expatriates to their homeland.
Mt.24:31
He shall be dispatching His messengers with a loud sounding trumpet,
and
they
shall be assembling His chosen from the four winds,
from
the extremities of the heavens to their extremities.
Jer.32:37
Lo, I am gathering them out of all the lands
whither
I have driven them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath,
and
I
have brought them back unto this place,…
Ezek.34:11-16
For thus said the Lord Yahweh:
Lo,
I--even
I, have required My flock,
And
I
have sought it out. As a shepherd's searching of his drove,
In
the day of his being in the midst of his scattered flock, so
I do seek My flock,
And
have delivered them out of all places, whither they have been scattered,
...
And
brought them out from the peoples, And have gathered them from
the lands,
And
brought them unto their own ground,
And
have fed them on mountains of Israel,
By
streams, and by all dwellings of the land. With good pasture I do feed
them,
And
on mountains of the high place of Israel is their habitation,
There
do they lie down in a good habitation,
And
fat pastures they enjoy on mountains of Israel.
I
feed My flock, and cause them to lie down, An affirmation of the Lord Yahweh.
The
lost I seek, and the driven away bring back,
And
the broken I bind up, and the sick I strengthen,
And
the fat and the strong I destroy, I feed it with judgment.
Isa.49:22,23
For thus says my Lord Yahweh,
"Behold!
I will lift My hand to the nations,
and
to
the peoples will I raise My banner high.
And
they
bring
your sons in a bosom pouch,
and
your daughters on the shoulders shall be borne,
and
kings become your foster fathers, and their chiefesses your wet nurses.
Nostrils
to the earth, shall they prostrate to you,
and
the soil at your feet shall they lick up.
Then
you shall know that I am Yahweh,
and
those expecting Me shall not be ashamed."
The First
time Jesus came to His own people, they rejected Him, their Messiah, in
spite of John's great work of introducing Him to them as the Lamb
of God. Only an elect minority accepted Him.
Jn.1:11,12
To
His own He came, and those who are His own accepted
Him not.
Yet
whoever
obtained Him, to them He gives the right to become children of God,
to
those who are believing in His name,
When He
comes this Second time around, His people, the faithful of the Circumcision,
the
bride of the Lambkin, will have been through vigorous preparation
and, hence, eagerly waiting to receive Him.
The
Born-Again Nation
30
days after His arrival on the mount of Olives, which is 1290 days after
the
daily sacrifices were disallowed, these offerings are resumed. Preparations
are made and thrones set up for the next 45 days. At
the end
of these days, 1335 days since the abomination was set up, the faithful
dead of Israel, from the time of Abraham till then, are resurrected
and will stand in their appropriate lots!
Dan.12:9-13
"Go, Daniel, for stopped up and sealed are the words
till
the
era of the end. Many will purify and whiten themselves and be refined;
yet
the wicked will be wicked.
None
of all the wicked shall understand; yet the intelligent are understanding.
"From
the era when the continuous ritual is taken away,
and
to the setting of the abomination of desolation,
is
a
thousand two hundred and ninety days. Happy is he who will tarry
and
attain to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days!
Now
you, go on to the end,
and
you
shall rest and stand up for your lot at the end
of the days."
This is
the time when the nation of Israel is born again! This is
the event and the experience Jesus was referring to at His meeting with
Nicodemus. Being a chief of the Jews, this Pharisee should have been able
to identify the passages He was alluding to.
Jn.3:1-9
Now there was a man of the Pharisees,
Nicodemus
his name, a chief of the Jews....
Jesus
answered and said to him "Verily, verily, I am saying to you,
If
anyone should not be begotten anew, he can not perceive
the kingdom of God."
Nicodemus
is saying to him, "How can a man, being a veteran, be begotten?
He
can not be entering into the womb of his mother a second time and be begotten!"
Jesus
answered, "Verily, verily, I am saying to you,
If
anyone should not be begotten of water and of spirit,
he
can
not be entering into the kingdom of God.
That
which is begotten by the flesh is flesh,
and
that which is begotten by the spirit is spirit.
You
should not be marveling that I said to you, `You must be begotten
anew.'
The
blast is blowing where it wills, and the sound of it you are hearing,
but
you are not aware whence it is coming and where it is going.
Thus
is everyone who is begotten by the water and the spirit."
Nicodemus
answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"
Jesus
answered and said to him,
"You
are a teacher of Israel, and these things you do not
know?
Jesus
was referring to the passage in Ezekiel (37:1-14), concerning 'the valley
of dry bones'. The very many dry bones are a figure for the faithful
dead of Israel who seem to have been neglected and forgotten. Flesh is
put on the bones and spirit is given which bring these figures to life.
Ezek.37:8-10
And I beheld, and lo, on them [are] sinews, and flesh has come up,
and
cover them does skin over above--and spirit there is none in them....
And
I have prophesied as He commanded me, and the Spirit comes into them,
and
they
live, and stand on their feet--a very
very
great force.
Ezek.37:11-14
...`Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel;...
Therefore,
prophesy, and you have said unto them, thus said the Lord Yahweh:
Lo,
I
am opening your graves, And have brought you up out of your graves,
O
My people, And brought you in unto the land of Israel.
And
you have known that I [am] Yahweh, In My opening
your graves,
And
in My bringing you up out of your graves, O My people.
And
I have given My Spirit in you, and you have lived,
And
I have caused you to rest on your land,
And
you have known that I Yahweh, I have spoken, and I
have done [it],
An
affirmation of Yahweh.'
Isa.66:7-10
...Ere she is travailing, she bears.
Ere
a cramp is coming to her, then she causes the escape of a male.
Who
has heard a thing as this? And who has seen things as these?
Will
the land travail in one day? Should a nation be bornat
one time?
For
she travails. Moreover, Zion is bearing her sons.
Am
I causing to hope, and not begetting?" saying is Yahweh.
"Should
I be begetting, then restrain?" says your Elohim.
Rejoice
with Jerusalem, and exult in her, all who love her.
Be
elated with her with elation, all who mourn over her.
It was
a shame that a teacher of Israel could not make the connection to the relevant
passages to interpret Jesus words correctly. It is a much bigger shame
for teachers of today to use this same passage outside its intended contexts
and apply it to individual gentile Christians of this
era.
This
will be one of the glories of Israel, the nation reborn. It will
be a time of joy and exultation for all her people. It is the time of celebration
of her wedding to the Lambkin. Thus begins the one thousand year reign
of the saints. Israel will be the paramount power in those days. The twelve
apostles will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel
(Mt.19:28), who will, in their turn, rule the rest of the nations that
have survived the day of God's indignation (see Isa.60; Isa.61; Rev.2:26,27;
12:5; 20:6)
A
Summary Of Events
Let
us summarise the sequence of events that concern this Second Coming of
Jesus Christ for His people.
-
He will
come with His army of messengers
-
His feet
shall stand on the mount of Olives
-
He will
be greeted by the 144,000 on Mt.Zion
-
The 'woman'
believers will make their way to be with their Lord in Jerusalem
-
He will
crush
the gathered opposition in the valley of Jehoshaphat
-
The Antichrist
and the False Prophet will be cast into the lake of fire
-
Satan
will be incarcerated in the abyss
-
The survivors
of 'the rest of her seed' will be brought back to the land
-
The daily
sacrifices will be resumed 30 days after His arrival on Olivet
-
The
resurrection of the faithful
of Israel takes place 45 days after this
This
begins
the 1000 year reign of Israel under the apostles
Comparison
Between Rapture and Second Coming
Preceding
Signs
Preceding
Christ's presence in the air to snatch away the members of His body, there
are no specific signs, no particular event or incident, given to
watch out for - except for the serious deteriorating conditions
within
the Christian fellowship, worldwide! It will be a time of spurious
doctrine, of spiritual deception and confusion, of self-gratification and
disruption of fellowship. But, rather than being something that works against
God's plans, this 'dire' situation is in complete accord with it.
1Tim.4:1-5
Now
the spirit is saying explicitly, that in subsequent
eras
some
will be withdrawing from the faith,
giving
heed to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons,
in
the hypocrisy of false expressions, their own conscience having
been cauterized;
forbidding
to marry, abstaining from foods, which God creates to be partaken
of
with
thanksgiving by those who believe and realize the
truth,
seeing
that every creature of God is ideal and nothing is to be cast away,
being
taken with thanksgiving, for it is hallowed through the word of God and
pleading.
2Tim.3:1-10
Now this know, that in the last days perilous periods
will be present,
for
men will be selfish, fond of money, ostentatious, proud, calumniators,
stubborn to parents, ungrateful, malign, without natural affection, implacable,
adversaries, uncontrollable, fierce, averse to the good, traitors, rash,
conceited,
fond
of their own gratification rather than fond of God;
having
a
form of devoutness, yet denying its power. These,
also, shun. For
of
these
are
those who are slipping into homes and are leading into captivity little
women,
heaped
with sins, being led by various lusts and gratifications,
always
learning and yet not at any time able to come into a realization
of the truth.
Now,
by the method by which Jannes and Jambres withstand Moses,
thus
these
also are withstanding the truth,
men
of a depraved mind, disqualified as to the faith.
2Tim.3:12,13
And all who are wanting to live devoutly in Christ Jesus
shall
be persecuted.
Yet
wicked men and swindlers shall wax worse and worse,
deceiving
and being deceived.
1Cor.11:19
For it must be that there are sects also among you,
that
those also who are qualified may be becoming apparent among
you.
2Tim.2:15
Endeavor
to present yourself to God qualified,
an
unashamed worker, correctly cutting the word of truth.
It is
definitely different with the coming of Jesus for Israel!
They are told to notice the rise of false christs, the occurrence of wars
and famines, pestilences and death, only as the
beginning of pangs.
These general conditions are covered by the first four seals of Revelations.
The
main sign of the end time, the most significant event given that marks
the various countsdown, is that of Daniel. It speaks of the discontinuation
of the daily sacrifices, which began three years prior, and which coincides
with the setting up of the abomination of desolation in the Temple!
This signals the start of the great affliction, a terrible time
of suffering not only for the people of Israel, but also for the whole
inhabited earth! The martyrdoms of this period are figured by the
opening of the fifth seal of Revelations.
Mt.24:15-22
"Whenever, then, you may be perceiving the abomination of desolation,
which
is declared through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy
place
(let
him who is reading apprehend!); then let those in Judea flee into
the mountains.
Let
him who is on the housetop not descend to take away the things out of his
house.
And
let him who is in the field not turn back behind him to pick up his cloak.
...for
then
shall be great affliction,
such
as has not occurred from the beginning of the world till now;
neither
under any circumstances may be occurring.
And,
except those days were discounted, no flesh at all would be saved.
Most important
of all, these two events begin the 1260-day countdown to the actual, physical,
presence of the Lord on the earth beginning when He sets foot on the mount
of Olives!
The
intervening period is filled by the sixth and seventh seals, the seven
trumpets, and the seven bowls, of the book of Revelations. Each
of these brings on specific calamities on the people of the earth. Many
are the signs, therefore, that precede the coming of the Messiah.
The
Sequence Of Events
Let
us examine, once again, two passages in Scripture relevant to our being
snatched away.
1Thes.4:15-17
For this we are saying to you by the word of the Lord,
that
we, the living, who are surviving to the presence of the Lord,
should
by
no means outstrip those who are put to repose,
for
the
Lord Himself will be descending from heaven
with
a
shout of command,
with
the
voice of the Chief Messenger,
and
with the trumpet of God,
and
the dead in Christ shall be rising first,
Thereupon
we, the living who are surviving,
shall
at
the same time be snatched away together with them
in clouds,
to
meet the Lord in the air.
And
thus shall we always be together with the Lord.
1Cor.15:51-53
Lo! a secret to you am I telling!
We
all, indeed, shall not be put to repose, yet
we all shall be changed,
in
an instant, in the twinkle of an eye, at the last trump.
For
He
will
be trumpeting,
and
the
dead will be roused incorruptible, and
we shall be changed.
For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality.
The first
thing to notice is that these revelations were 'a secret' until
the time Paul wrote. There was no hint or reference by the
other writers of such a resurrection that is to take place before
that of Revelations 20! This is new revelation, released
'by
the word of the Lord' through Paul only, and meant only for
those under
his ministry to the nations! First Thessalonians
is Paul's first letter to these people of the Uncircumcision. So,
right at the very start, the different destiny of the body of Christ
is brought to their attention for due emphasis and for their consolation
over those in repose.
Comparison
A
The
Rapture
Christ
Jesus does not delegate to others this honour and responsibility
of calling His complement
to Himself. So, there is no
mention of angels or othersaccompanying our Lord
when He comes for us. During the whole ministry of Paul and
under the evangel of the Uncircumcision, messengers do not seem
to have any active part. Our Lord comes alone to keep His tryst
with us.
The
Second Coming
When
He returns to the earth to save Israel, touching down on the mount of Olives,
however, He will be accompanied by
the armies in heaven (Rev.19:14),
among ten thousand of His saints
(Jude14), with His powerful
messengers (2Thes.1:7).
Comparison
B
The
Rapture
As
He descends
into the atmosphere, Jesus Christ, Himself, will blow the
trumpet of God.
The
Second Coming
When
He is about to come to God's people, faithful Israel, however, seven
trumpets, not just one, are blown by seven messengers, not
by Jesus! The blowing of the last trumpet, the seventh, signals the last
phase of preparations for the Messiah's coming. The seven bowl-calamities
are cast on the earth, and during this phase, among other incidents, Babylon
is destroyed, and a mighty armed force led by Satan, the Antichrist, and
the False Prophet, will be convened at Armageddon. Christ's coming will
be in time to destroy this conglomerate force in the environs of
Jerusalem! So, Jesus does not come at the blowing of the
last of the seven trumpets, but some time after it has been
sounded!
Comparison
C
Scripture
speaks of resurrection for believers in both evangels. This applies to
us, just as it does to Israel, too. Believers of both ecclesias
will receive eonian life, a quality of life that will span
the two eons that are impending.
The
Rapture
He
will give the shout of command. He
is the Logos, the Word of God, the Spokesman
of God, through Whom every message comes! His, therefore, is
the voice of the Chief Messenger. At His command, at the
very sound of His voice, His faithful will come to life.
The
Second Coming
After
Christ has come, having descended on the mount of Olives, defeated the
forces of Satan and imprisoned him in the 'abyss', there will be the resurrection
of the faithful of Israel, who will come to life at the sound of His voice,
too.
Jn.5:25,26
Verily, verily, I am saying to you that coming is an hour, and now is,
when
the dead shall be hearing the voice of the Son of God,
and
those
who hear shall be living
For
even as the Father has life in Himself,
thus
to
the Son also He gives to have life in Himself.
Rev.20:4-6
And I perceived thrones, and they are seated on them,
and
judgment was granted to them.
And
the souls of those executed because of the testimony of Jesus and
because
of the word of God, and those who do not worship the wild beast or its
image,
and
did not get the emblem on their forehead and on their hand--
they
also live and reign with Christ a thousand years.
(The
rest of the dead do not live until the thousand years should be finished.)
This
is the former resurrection.
Happy
and holy is he who is having part in the former resurrection!
Over
these the second death has no jurisdiction,
but
they will be priests of God and of Christ,
and
they will be reigning with Him the thousand years.
There
will be a another difference, too.
Comparison
D
The
Rapture
We
will receive eonian life as a gift of God, in
grace,
through faith - and not in any way out of our works! God's
Own pledge and seal, and the homing in of holy spirit, guarantees our deliverance
and life, no matter whether we are watching or drowsing.
The
Second Coming
Israel's
faithful will receive eonian life as a reward for their continued
faithfulness
to the law and for their
faith in Christ. Only
those who endure will receive eonian life. Those who backslide are punished!
But,
there will be an even more marked difference!
Comparison
E
The
Rapture
Only
under the evangel of the Uncircumcision, given to us through Paul, the
apostle of the nations, is there direct reference to a putting on of immortality
and of becoming incorruptible! Death will be totally inoperative
in us! Our bodies will be transfigured. This is what eonian life will be
for us.
Phil.3:20,21
For our realm is inherent in the heavens,
out
of which we are awaiting a Saviour also, the Lord, Jesus Christ,
Who
will transfigure the body of our humiliation,
to
conform it to the body of His glory,
in
accord with the operation which enables Him even to subject all
to Himself.
The
Second Coming
Eonian
life for the people of the bride does not have this quality, Scripture
carefully avoiding such a statement. It asserts that those who are brought
to life in the first, or former, resurrection, will not come under the
jurisdiction of the second death! Even in the new earth where these
righteous people will be, those of Israel need to eat of the fruit of the
log of life while the proselytes, those of the nations, need to partake
of the leaves for healing! The dying factor, passed through from Adam,
will not have been removed, yet. That will occur only at the Consummation!
Comparison
F
The
Rapture
When
Christ, God's Chief Messenger, comes for us He will give the shout of command
and sound the trumpet. At the last blast of the trumpet,
the
dead in Christ will be roused incorruptible. In almost the same instant,
in the twinkle of an eye, those who have survived until then will be
changed so that all of us will be immortal and incorruptible
before
we meet with our Saviour. Thereupon, following that moment, all of us,
at
the same time and together, as befitting the one
body of Christ, will be snatched away
in clouds
of believers,
to meet our Lord in the air! We will meet Him together.
The
living will not precede the dead into His presence!
The
Second Coming
On
the other hand, there will be no resurrection of the faithful
dead of Israel at the time the Lambkin comes for the Bride. The living
faithful will precede the dead into His presence! The
144,000,
being on Mt.Zion, will probably meet with Him when He comes from
the mount of Olives. The faithful of the 'woman' will make their
way to be with Him, next. The call would have gone out through the messengers
for the gathering in of the survivors of 'the rest of her seed'.
Within a month of Christ's coming for Israel, the daily sacrifices
will be resumed. It will be two and a half months
after
His coming on Olivet that the faithful dead are roused to take their places
with the others in the kingdom! And they all meet Him on the earth
- not in the air!
November 2001
Back to:
....Main
menu of articles
....Section
1 - Introduction
....Section
2 - God's Different Operations
...................
- The Different Evangels of Scripture
....Section
3 - The Different Operations
of Holy Spirit
...................
- The Nations Are Being Called Now
...................
- What Lies Ahead
....Section
4 - Post-Rapture Operations
Proceed to:
....Section
6 - Conclusions
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