What the Bible Reveals: Rapture & 2nd Coming, Pt 2 :: By James Pannafino

The Rapture is imminent; it could take place at any moment…

(Titus 2:13; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:50-54)

The Second Coming will not occur until after a multitude of end-times events take place…

(2 Thess. 2:4; Matt. 24:15-30; Luke 21:7-36; Rev. chapters 6–18)

The purpose of the Tribulation is all about fulfilling the Lord’s promises to Israel…

• According to Daniel’s 70th Week Prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27), the Tribulation focus is Israel.
• The Tribulation is specifically called the “time of Jacob’s [Israel’s] trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7).
• In context, Matthew 24 addresses the Tribulation, with Israel being the primary subject that Jesus was speaking about, not the church (see pertinent references in Matthew 24:15-16; 20).
• The Matthew 24 text does not address the Rapture, but does relate directly to the events regarding Second Coming (see Matthew 24:32-51).

Some Additional Considerations Regarding the Truth of the Pre-Tribulational Rapture

The primary evangelistic mission during the Tribulation will be carried out by the Jews (not the Church)…

1. The 144,000 Jewish men (Revelation 7:3-8; 14:1-5)
2. The “two witnesses” (Revelation 11:1-14)
3. 3. The angel who proclaims “the everlasting gospel throughout the earth” (Revelation 14:6-7).

There is no mention of the church here on the earth during the Great Tribulation!

• The church is referenced 20 times in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, and is missing as the events of the Tribulation are described in various details (Revelation 6-19).
• During this same time period, the saints of the church age are clearly seen in heaven.
• Many of those who come to faith after the Rapture will be martyred during the Tribulation, and they are seen coming into heaven, joining those Raptured previously (Revelation 7:9-10, 14-15).

If the Rapture and the Second Coming are conjoined together, the logical question of who repopulates the earth for the Millennial Kingdom is irreconcilable…

• According to the Bible, all believers receive their Resurrection bodies at the Rapture (1 Cor. 15:51-53).
• At the end of the Tribulation, all unbelievers will go into judgment and not enter the Millennial Kingdom where Christ reigns as King (see Matthew 25:31-46, the Sheep-Goat Judgment).
• Therefore, if believers no longer reproduce children (in their resurrected bodies), and all unbelievers are cast away from earth in judgment, there would be no one to repopulate planet Earth throughout the Millennium Kingdom of Christ (if the Rapture is the same event as the Second Coming).

If the Rapture and Second Coming are Post-Tribulation events…

• When do we, the church-age believers, appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ and celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb?
• The Pre-Tribulation Rapture proposes that these events occur in heaven during the time of the Tribulation here on the earth since both of these events involve church age believers only.
• The Post-Tribulation view does not allow time for these very significant events if the Rapture would happen at the end of the Tribulation.

Summary:

• The Rapture is the return of Christ in the clouds to remove all believers from the earth before the time of God’s wrath.
• The Second Coming is the return of Christ to the earth to bring the Tribulation to an end, defeating the Antichrist and his evil world empire.

The Rapture and Second Coming are similar but separate events.

Both involve Jesus returning.

Both are end-times events.

However, it is crucially important to recognize the many Biblical differences.

For more information on Bible prophecy, go to PerspectiveInProphecy.com

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