"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." - Revelation 1:7
From Omega Frequency: Episode 7 (0:50):
Now this is the first vision that John sees in the book of Revelation and this vision is the thesis of this book - and that is the return of Jesus. Without the hope that this vision gives all of the other visions in the book or Revelation are really pointless. We are going to explore the return of Jesus and the controversial subject of the rapture. If we get this wrong, we will not properly understand the rest of the book.
There are two major view points when it comes to the return of Jesus and the rapture of his church. At the rapture we will be resurrected from the dead and we will be gathered together with Him. The Bible teaches that before Jesus returns there will be a seven year period of time called the tribulation. During that time the Antichrist will be in power until the Messiah returns and destroys him. Then Jesus will set up his one thousand year kingdom on earth. This doctrine is held by every viewpoint. Let's look at the major viewpoints.
Pre-Tribulation Rapture
This teaches that Jesus will come in two stages. He will rerun at the end of the tribulation as king and before the tribulation starts he will secretly come and take all believers to heaven, sparing them from having to go through the tribulation. this is the most popular view in all of America's churches, but is rarely taught in most churches around the world.
Post-Tribulation Rapture
This teaches that the return of Christ and the rapture will happen at the end of the tribulation. There will be no secret coming and only one return.
There are some people who are in the middle of this and say the coming of Jesus is a mystery and we can not say which one is correct. We must understand that there is a correct answer and we need to find out what it is.
In John 5:39 Jesus says "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." Jesus says it is our job to search the scriptures. When we know the Word of God, we know the one who is the living Word of God, Jesus. And when it comes to this topic He wants you to understand how vitally important it is.
The Second Coming of Jesus Will Not Be a Secret
In the 260 chapters of the New Testament there are 318 references to the second coming. That is an average of one out of every thirty verses. There are 1,845 references to the second coming of Jesus in the Old Testament. If you can not understand his second coming, it is not because the Bible did not talk about it. Jesus wants us to know the answer because it is how you have hope when things look the darkest.
Titus 2:13 says, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" His return is the blessed hope, not the blessed question. Revelation 1:7 says, "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."
The return of Christ will be visible and not secret. This is a reference to Acts 1:11, "Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." The disciples watched him ascend into the clouds.
Matthew 24:30-31 says, "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. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Jesus Will Only Return Once
The Bible teaches that there will be one coming of Jesus.
Matthew 24:27 says, "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming [singular] of the Son of man be."
Matthew 24:37 says, "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming [singular] of the Son of man be."
Matthew 24:39 says, "And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming [singular] of the Son of man be."
New Resurrected Bodies
The Bible also teaches when He returns we will have new resurrected bodies like his.
1 John 3:2 says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
He Will Return On The Last Day
The Bible teaches we will receive those resurrected bodies when he returns on the last days, not seven years before hand. In John chapter 6 Jesus goes out of his way to tell us this not once, but four times:
John 6:39 says, "And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day."
John 6:40 says, "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:44 says, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:54 says, "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
It can't be any clearer, Jesus will give us the resurrected body and the rapture will happen, not seven years before when the tribulation starts, but the last day.
Bible Teaches Rapture After the Tribulation
The Bible teaches that the return of Jesus and the rapture will be after the tribulation and not before it.
Mathew 24:29-31 says, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 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. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Antichrist Must Be Revealed First
The Bible also teaches before the day of the Lord comes the Antichrist must be revealed. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 says, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" The Bible teaches the Antichrist is revealed to be the Antichrist when he enters the temple of God and claims to be God in the middle of the tribulation.
God Can Keep Us From Evil
The Bible teaches we do not need to be removed from the world to be kept safe from evil in the tribulation. Jesus prayed the following prayer concerning His followers in John 17:15, "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil."
That prayer was not only for the twelve disciples but for everyone who would believe in Jesus. John 17:20 says, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;" The Bible also teaches that Jesus will give us the strength to endure unto the end so that we can be saved. Matthew 24:13 says, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
Mark 13:13 says, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
Revelation 2:26 says, "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:"
Revelation 20:4-6 says, "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."
The first resurrection is after the tribulation. We know this because it includes the tribulation martyrs. There can be no resurrection before the first resurrection. Therefore there can not be a mass resurrection of the dead in Christ before the tribulation because the first resurrection takes place at the end of the tribulation before the thousand year rein of Christ. Therefore the pre-tribulation rapture becomes Biblically impossible.
In Christ Alone!
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