Transcript

A headline from an Austin, Texas newspaper once read: MAN EXPERIENCES HEART ATTACK AFTER THE RAPTURE

Herbert Washington worked at Significant Plastics Inc., and his co-workers stated that he was always very concerned with the rapture. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious heart attack when co-workers pretended they’d been caught away without him.

One Tuesday, they laid out work outfits on their chairs and hid in a supply room. When Herbert came back from the restroom, he thought the rapture had occurred. The janitor pretended to have witnessed everyone disappear and ran around the office feigning panic.

Herbert fell to the ground clutching his heart and screaming, “Don’t forget me, Jesus! What did I do wrong?” He was taken to a local hospital. The employees emerged, sober, from the supply room and gathered up their extra clothes.

“We didn’t mean to scare him to death,” said one woman. “He’s just always talking about it, so today we decided to turn the tables on him.”

Washington underwent bypass surgery and recovered well. His wife said that after this, he “dug into the Bible like never before.”

It’s good to have the Rapture on our minds and to tell others about it. And we need to dig into our Bibles in order to study and understand it more.

In this episode, we’ll continue our walk through the comparisons between the Rapture of the Body of Christ and the Second Coming of Christ to Israel.

Mark 13:27: “And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.”

Christ gathers believers “Himself” at the Rapture. The way 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 describes it is that the Lord descends from heaven with a shout and the trump sounds to call the Body of Christ home.

Then by the power of Christ’s shout, immediately the dead in Christ rise first, and then we that are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord.

The Lord shouts and then the gathering of the whole Body of Christ takes places. The Lord doesn’t use His angels to gather the Body at the Rapture. Angels are there, but they are there for a different purpose. Christ does the gathering Himself.

But then you find in Mark 13:27 how Christ sends “angels” to gather believing Israel at the Second Coming. Angels will be the agents that Christ uses to gather believing Jews who are spread out all over the earth.

Jewish people today are also spread all over the world. But in that day, as a result of the Anti-Christ’s persecution and pursuit of believing Jews, Israelites will be scattered to “the uttermost parts of the earth” and will be driven to the four winds or the four corners of the world in order to stay alive.

And at the Second Coming, angels will be commissioned by Christ to gather them together.

1 Corinthians 15:52: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

The “trump” at the Rapture closes the program of grace, and gathers the Church to heaven.

Paul calls the Rapture trump, “the last trump” in 1 Corinthians 15:52. This phrase means “the trump sounded at the last.” It’s a trumpet sounded at the last, the end of this dispensation of grace, which declares the close of this program.

This trump, as well as the trumpet used at the Second Coming are trumpets of gathering, but to different places. Paul refers to our gathering at the Rapture in 2 Thessalonians 2:1:

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our GATHERING TOGETHER UNTO HIM.”

The trump that sounds at the Rapture gathers all members of the Body of Christ unto Christ into one place. And our place, our hope, home, and eternal position in Christ is in the heavenlies.

That’s where the trump differs at the Rapture from the trump at the Second Coming.

According to Matthew 24:31, the angels will go around the world “with a great sound of a trumpet,” as they gather believing Jews. But the “trump” at the Second Coming gathers scattered Jews to the Promised Land for the Kingdom.

The trump doesn’t gather believers to heaven, but calls them to the Promised Land for the establishment and start of the Messiah’s millennial kingdom.

Revelation 1:7: “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”

Eyes are mentioned for each of these future comings of Christ. The Body disappears “in the twinkling of an eye” at the Rapture.

In that passage in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, it doesn’t say that the Rapture takes place in the twinkling of an eye, it says our bodies will be changed in the twinkling of an eye.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [or die], but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.”

I believe those who are alive will see the whole Rapture unfold. It won’t take a long time, but we will see Christ descend from heaven in all His glory.

We will see the souls of the members of the Body of Christ that come with Christ from heaven. We will hear Christ’s shout.

We will see the archangel and hear his voice. We will see the angels that have been summoned. We will hear the trump of God. Then we will see the dead in Christ rise first.

And then in the twinkling of an eye, our bodies will be changed and we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

This is an argument from silence, as far as the Scripture saying nothing about it, but I believe the Rapture is seen only by the members of the Body of Christ.

Only believers will see the Rapture. This is unlike Christ’s Second Coming which is seen by “every eye,” both believers and unbelievers.

Matthew 24:30 puts it, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

A lot of people have a lot of different ideas about “the sign of the Son of man in heaven.” Some wonder if it’s a cross that appears in the sky, or maybe the star that appeared the night Christ was born.

But what I think, and what I think is very clear from Scripture, is that the sign of the Son of Man is the Son of Man. They see Christ coming on a white horse. Revelation 1:7 says that “every eye shall see Him” and then they will wail and cry out in their fear and dread.

In Matthew 24:30, after the sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven, then all the tribes of the earth mourn. Seeing Christ Himself coming “with power and great glory,” in judgment and wrath, will cause all unbelievers at that day to wail and mourn.

1 Thessalonians 4:17: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

This is one of my favorite Rapture versus Second Coming comparisons. The Rapture happens “in the air,” where Satan is “the prince of the power of the air.”

Both the Rapture and the Second coming take place where Satan’s stronghold and where He currently resides.

Ephesians 2:2 tells us “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of THE AIR.”

Having been kicked out of the third heaven, the unseen god of the world, Satan, with all his demons, range through the air around us and above us in the first heaven of the upper atmosphere and in the second heavens in space.

As the “prince,” of the air Satan rules, guides and influences the course of this world.

What I love about the Rapture is that the Lord sticks it to the devil, by descending right into the middle of where Satan’s stronghold is. The Rapture happens in “the air” to catch the Body of Christ off this earth to heaven.

The Lord does this in the air to demonstrate to the prince of the power of the air and to all, who has the real power, who is really in control here.

This is also why the voice of the archangel is heard at the Rapture, as Michael accompanies the Lord at the Rapture and he summons the angelic host to preparedness and to provide us with safe passageway through enemy territory as we are taken to the third heaven.

After the Rapture, in the middle of the Tribulation, Revelation 12:7-9 teaches that will be a war in heaven, in which Michael and his angels will fight against Satan and his angels.

The result of the war is: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev. 12:9).

Thus, the prince of the power of the air is then cast down to the earth at that point. At the end of the Tribulation, the Second Coming happens ON THE EARTH to where Satan has been cast down, and then results in Satan being bound 1000 years.

And again, the Lord sticks it to the devil by descending to where Satan is and where he will have been cast down and confined to on the earth.

At the Second Coming, Christ comes all the way down to the earth, and removes authority and control of this world from the devil as Christ establishes His worldwide kingdom.

And before Christ reigns, and to further humiliate the devil, he is cast down again by being cast into and confined in the center of the earth for the 1000 year kingdom.

So at the Rapture, it happens in the air to the shame of the prince of the power of the air. At the Second Coming, it happens on the earth to further disgrace the god of this world.

Luke 21:27: “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

The title Son of Man is never used in any of the passages dealing with the Rapture. Paul speaks of it as the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and meeting the Lord in the air, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. But Paul doesn’t use the title “Son of man” as he describes the Rapture.

But in contrast, the Second Coming is spoken of as the coming of the “Son of man.” This is a reference to the Lord fulfilling the prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14:

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

“And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”

Daniel saw glory, dominion, and an everlasting kingdom given to the Son of man. By the Lord saying that He, the Son of man, would come in a cloud with power and great glory He was applying this prophecy to Himself as Israel’s Messiah and that He would fulfill it.

He, the Son of Man, will be given the Kingdom from the Father and He will come at His Second Coming to establish that kingdom on the earth which shall never pass away.

Psalm 110:5-6: “The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.”

You see a big difference between the two future comings of Christ with what they result in. The Rapture results in LIFE. Members of the Body of Christ are raised from the dead at the Rapture.

Colossians describes the Lord at His appearance as “Christ, who is our life.” In Him, we have life eternal. By Him we have the hope of our resurrection.

2 Corinthians 4:14 says, “Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus.” At the Rapture, Christ raises and gives life to the dead bodies of the members of His Church under grace, the Body of Christ. This coming of Christ results in life and resurrection.

And the Rapture is resurrection day only for the Body of Christ. The rest of the saints under God’s program with Israel will experience resurrection prior to the millennial kingdom at the first resurrection of prophecy.

Unlike the Rapture, the Second Coming results in DEATH. Carcasses from Armageddon cover the ground. Psalm 100:5-6 teaches how when the Lord comes at the Second Coming, He will strike through, or literally execute kings and the heads of many countries. And at the Battle of Armageddon when He comes, He will fill the places with dead bodies.

In anticipation of this result, an angel summons birds at the Second Coming to come and gather, “That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great” (Rev. 19:18).

These kings and men will gather at this battle to rise up against Christ. The ground will be littered with their dead carcasses after Christ’s Second Coming.

It is unbelievable pride that they will come thinking they actually have a chance against the One who is the Lord God Almighty. They will be slaughtered at His Second Coming.

This is the primary result of the Second Coming: death. This is unlike the Rapture, which results in life from the dead.

1 Thessalonians 4:14: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

Those trusting in the death, burial and resurrection have the hope of the Rapture.

First Thessalonians 4:14 makes this point clear. If we have believed Jesus died for us and rose again then we have the sure hope of the Rapture, resurrection, and eternal life.

Faith alone, trusting that Christ died for our sins and rose again are the terms of the gospel of the grace of God and is how one becomes a member of the Body of Christ. And the Rapture is for the Body of Christ.

In contrast, those who believe Jesus is Israel’s Messiah and endure to the end will be saved by the Second Coming.

Matthew 24:13 reads, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” We don’t have to endure to the end of our lives to be saved. This passage is written to Israel and in the context of the 7 year Tribulation period.

When it says to endure unto the end, we should ask: Unto the end of what? And the answer is the 7 year Tribulation. This doesn’t apply to us because we are delivered from the wrath to come and won’t be here during those 7 years.

Christ is teaching Israel in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24. And for those alive in that day after the Rapture, they have horrors and disasters to endure through during those years. They will have to endure through the persecution of believers by the Anti-Christ.

And they will also have to endure through the temptation to take the mark of the beast that they, so they can buy and sell. Revelation teaches that whoever takes that mark of the beast, their doom is sure, and they are going to the lake of fire.

So people after the Rapture have to endure to the end of the Tribulation period to be saved. But how are they saved by enduring to the end of the Tribulation period? And the answer is that they are saved by the Second Coming of Christ.

At the Second Coming at the end of the Tribulation, He delivers them from terrible and terrifying time period and He will deliver them into the joys, peace and life of His millennial kingdom. That’s Israel’s hope and the salvation that they’re looking for.

Along with enduring to the end, they must also believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God is what they must believe after the Rapture in order to be saved.

The reason they must believe this is because there will be a false Messiah on this earth in that day doing extraordinary, deceptive miracles and wonders by the power of Satan, claiming that he is the Christ, and that he is God.

Thus, Israel, under the terms of the gospel of the kingdom, must believe in the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, in order to be saved.

This is what Matthew, Mark, Luke and John spells out so clearly: the identity of Jesus of Nazareth as Israel’s Messiah and God’s Son.

And for those in that future day; those Gospel records is what they must trust and believe, rather than what they are hearing and seeing from the Anti-Christ, the false Messiah.

And when they place their faith in Jesus Christ, and they are water baptized, and they endure unto the end to be saved, they will be saved.

1 Corinthians 15:51: “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”

The Rapture was unrevealed in the past and is only found in the Apostle Paul’s letters, Romans through Philemon. When you come to the understanding, then everything falls right into place and makes sense.

When the Rapture is misapplied to passages outside of Paul’s letters that’s when confusion comes in and everything gets mixed up.

Paul had a special revelation given to him for the dispensation of grace, called the revelation of the mystery. This message was kept secret since the world began. Part of that revelation is Christ’s coming for the Body of Christ prior to the Tribulation period.

The Rapture was unrevealed in time past. It was first revealed to Paul, and is only found in Romans to Philemon.

However, the Second Coming is predicted in the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Hebrew epistles. It is taught and prophesied in many places in these parts of your Bible.

For example, Isaiah 66:15-16 prophesies, “For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.”

Any coming of Christ mentioned in the Old Testament, the Gospels and the Hebrew Epistles is referring to Christ’s first or second coming to Israel. None of the teachings and prophecies in these places in the Bible are referring to the Rapture of the Church.

We know this because Paul wrote, “Behold, I show you a mystery,” or a secret. The Rapture is something God said nothing about and did not reveal until Paul.

And the Hebrew epistles are written to Israel in light of her earthly hope. Thus, their teachings are about Christ’s second coming (Jude 1:14-15).

2 Timothy 2:15: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

These contrasts support the truth that these two comings of Christ are two DIFFERENT events for two DIFFERENT programs, and they cannot and should never be unified into one event. We must rightly divide the Word of truth as 2 Timothy 2:15 instructs us to do.

The Rapture is the coming of Christ for the Church, the Body of Christ before the Tribulation. The Second Coming is the coming of Christ for Israel after the Tribulation.
They are two separate comings for two different groups of believers.

Brian Bill tells the following: Recently we went with another family to an apple orchard. Upon discovering that they had a “Corn Maze,” we decided to check it out. I thought it was going to be a little field with a few paths through the corn.

Boy, was I mistaken! We paid our fee and then split up into three groups. We were handed some maps that we ignored, and ran into the maze. Our task was to find 12 signposts and get our card punched.

It didn’t take long for us to get lost, and for me to become claustrophobic. When we didn’t know which way to turn after going in circles for several minutes, we finally consulted the map. The map wasn’t much help because we didn’t know where we were.

A map only makes sense if you can find your location first. We eventually stumbled upon a signpost and punched our cards. We were encouraged, but then we lost our way again. I heard some people up ahead of us and asked them where the next sign was.

This is not easy for a man to ask for directions! They pointed left, then right, then straight ahead. I politely thanked them but had no clue what they were talking about.

Eventually, we discovered a few shortcuts through the corn where previous pilgrims had trampled down the stalks and found a couple more signposts.

As we stumbled through the maze, I realized that if we could get up high enough we could see part of a pattern and the paths to our goal. I found a raised platform, and when I stood on it, I gained a better perspective.

Then I thought if we had a helicopter, or access to a Global Positioning Satellite, we would have cruised through the confusion in about 10 minutes. If we could just get high enough we could see that there was an intelligent design to everything.

A person can easily get lost in God’s Word if they don’t rightly divide it.

Rightly dividing God’s Word, and seeing the revelation of the Mystery that was committed to Paul gives us this higher, “better perspective” understanding of God’s Word.

Because then we see God’s program for Israel as revealed through prophecy, and His program for the Body of Christ as revealed through the Mystery.

This allows us to see God’s overall design and plan, and the higher, broad view of the purposes of God for both heaven and earth.

And seeing this further helps us to differentiate between the two future comings of Christ.

By rightly dividing God’s Word, we learn that Christ is coming for the Body of Christ at the Rapture to catch believers away to heaven before the Tribulation,

And 7 years later He is coming to and for Israel at the Second Coming to deliver Israel at the end of the Tribulation and usher them into His kingdom on earth.