Rapture & 2nd Coming are Distinct Scriptural Events
Rev. Neil Steven Lawrence, M. Div.
People are not “left behind” unless someone is taken away (Mat. 24:36-41). This language refers to events of the Rapture. The Rapture is a word that means “caught up.“ (1 Thes. 4:15-17) The 2nd Coming is not a “catching up” but a “going down” of Jesus and the armies of Heaven to the earth! (Zech.14:5; Mat. 24:30; 2 Thes.1:7; Jude 1:14; Rev. 19:11-21)
The Rapture is described as occurring like a “thief in the night” (1 Thes. 5:2-4) which comes unexpectedly. The 2nd Coming will not be unexpected and it will not be secret but the whole world will see it. (2 Thes. 1:7)
The Scriptures which say we should be on our guard and be watchful (Mat.24:42) because we don’t know when the Son of Man will call us from the clouds (ie. Rapture Mat. 24:31), do not apply to the 2nd Coming because we know exactly when that will happen – at the end of the 7 year Great Tribulation; when the Antichrist armies are surrounding Jerusalem. (Zech. 12:2-5, 9, 14:2; Luke 21:20; Rev. 16:14)
People who conflate these 2 distinct scriptural events (Rev. 14:14-17 and Rev. 14:17-20) & (2 Thes. 2:1b & 2:1a), even though they have been clearly shown by other teachers that they are distinct, are “spiritually stubborn.” What is another word for spiritually stubborn…?
