Mike Owens
docbrat@yahoo.com
All Church doctrine will fall into one of two categories: that which is clearly and reasonably brought forth out of Scripture, and that which is vague and unclear but still presents itself to the reader. Salvation is a good example of the first, Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (Jn 14:6)
The Rapture of the Church at His Second Coming is a good example of the latter. What we know definitely about this event is that:
1) Christ will return again And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (Jn 14:3)Everything else we know about the Rapture of the Church is based on what we were taught and on our own personal views of what the Scriptures say. When interpreting Scripture, we should keep one thing in mind: the Bible is without error. The Bible is the inspired Word of God and should be taken literally unless there is clear reason not to take it this way. The Bible should be taken at it's easiest and most natural understanding, let the more difficult understanding be proved right. The Bible should be taken for exactly what it says, not what we would like it to say. It is with this understanding of the Bible that I now present this study on the Second Coming of Christ.
2) that when He returns we will receive new bodies So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (1Co 15:42-44)
3) from that moment on we shall always be with the Lord After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1Th 4:17)>br> 4) we will ascend in a certain order or rank For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (1Th 4:16)
5) we will return to earth with Him to rule with Him for a thousand years When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Co 3:4) Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Re 20:6)Foretold
First we will look at all the verses which foretell His return to earth. We will be looking at what these verses say, at what they don't say, and at what others have said about them. We will be looking at what they tell us about His second Coming, and what they tell us about the Rapture of the Church. If the Bible presents a fact, we will look at it as a fact, if the Bible presents a implication, we will study it as an implication. Your task in this study will be to take what you have learned and apply it to your own life an grow from it. With that in mind, let us start.
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."Mt 26:64 (Mk 14:62)
Christ is on trial and has just been asked to plainly state whether or not He is the Messiah, to which He gave this answer. As such, this is a prophecy of His return in the Second Coming. No reference is made in this verse as to when this might occur. However, Luke, in the 21st chapter, talking about the Tribulation period, goes on to say that this coming on the clouds will be at the end of the Tribulation period, or at best, during the latter half.
"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven." Ac 1:11
Christ had just finished telling the Disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they had received the Holy Spirit. After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight (Ac 1:9). What this statement says then, is, Christ, who left this earth physically and visibly, will also return to it physically and visibly.
so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. He 9:28Paul is talking to the Jewish Christians. These new converts were being torn between Judaism, which they had been taught all their lives, and the new Christian doctrines. Judaism was filled with rites and ceremonies which were a foreshadowing of the things to come. Paul is trying to explain to them that in Christ we had the fulfillment of those foreshadows. Now our salvation is through faith, but when He returns, He will bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
The word for appear is optanomai and means to look at or behold, to allow one's self to be seen. It is used through out the Greek Old Testament for the Hebrew word ra'ah: to see (see Ge 1:4; 8:5; IKg 8:8), and is the same word used in Mt 24:30 for Christ's Second Coming. It is a physical and visible seeing. Those who await this appearing, await the salvation now given to them vicariously, but then being consummated in His return.
Nothing is said of when this will occur, only that it will come unexpectedly and suddenly without warning But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. (2Pe 3:10) But the implication is that it will be at the end of the Tribulation, or at least in the last half of the Tribulation.
Time Unknown
One thing that is made very clear about the return of Christ and the Rapture of the Church is that the time in not known by anyone but God the Father. Not even Christ, Himself knows the time. But it is the day and the hour we can not know, not the season. Now we will look at those verses which speak of the time.
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Mt 24:36
Matthew is describing a discourse between Christ and His disciples. His disciples had asked Him when His return would be and Christ takes the rest of this chapter telling them about the Tribulation Period, and then implies that at the end of this period, He will return and gather His Church.
but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (:13) What need is there to stand firm if we are taken out before all this takes place?
"So when you see standing in the holy place `the abomination that causes desolation,' (this occurs in the middle of the Tribulation) spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (:15-16) What need is there to flee if we are taken out before all this takes place?
For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (:21- 22) Why is it for our sake's these days are cut short, we're already gone?
For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (:27) This describes a very physical and visible event, and His return will be the same in comparison.
"Immediately after the distress of those days "`the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' (see1Pe 3:10) "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (:29-31) This very strongly implies a Rapture at the end of the Tribulation.
You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." Lk 12:40
In Ex 12:11-12, we read that the Jews in Egypt kill the Passover lamb and eat it after brushing it's blood on their door frames. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover. On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn--both men and animals--and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. They were to eat it in haste and be ready to go when the Lord came. So too, Christ tells His disciples to Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. But He warned them that this might take so time, even if he comes in the second (9:00 pm-midnight) or third watch (midnight to 3:00 am) of the night. Thus they were to keep themselves ready so that His return did not catch them by surprise. An interesting note to this is that as often as Christ mentioned the Second Coming, He mentioned that it could be a long time in coming.
for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 1Th 5:2 (Re 3:3; 16:15)
Paul has just finished telling the Church at Thessalonica about the Rapture of the Church when Christ returns. Now he is telling them that they have no need to be told about times and dates because that day will come suddenly and without warning.
In the Old Testament, the day of the Lord was when God would bring His wrath on His enemies, and also His deliverance on His people (Joel 1:15; 2:11; Ez 13:5; Is 2:12). So it is reasonable to assume here that the day God pours out His wrath on the kingdom of Antichrist, He will also deliver His people from out of the Tribulation, and this will happen suddenly when people least expect it.
Imminent?
The word imminent basically means any moment. In order to have the Rapture occur before the Tribulation starts is to have it happen at any moment, thus the reason to keep ourselves pure and holy so we don't miss the Rapture. But is this really an incentive to live a godly life? Is it really what the Bible teaches? Now we will look at those verses in the Bible which are used to show this imminent return.
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Ph 4:5
The author here is Paul. Paul wrote more letters then any other Apostle, and more about the Second Coming then any other. Here he is writing to the Church he established during his second missionary journey, it is a spiritual love letter filled with warm affections and gratitude. Paul has just finished telling them that our citizenship is in heaven, we all eagerly await the return of Christ who will give us new bodies like His own. Apparently two of the members of this Church were quarreling and Paul exhorts the others to help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, thus making this statement similar to the statement of the exclamation of the approaching divine judgment in 1C0 16:22 anathema maranatha let the person be accursed when our Lord has come. The word maranatha is from maranah 'atah, of Chaldian origin and means our Lord has come or our Lord comes, and is in reference to His coming in judgment at the end of the age.
The word near is from the Greek eggus, which is from the primary verb agcho which is translated near (literally or figuratively, of place or time). But does it mean imminent? To answer this question we will look at some of the other passages where it is used.
Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Mt 24:32,33 (Mk 13:28,29; Lk 21:30,31)
The trees start to bud early in the Spring and Summer is still tree months off, yet we know that Summer is near when we see the trees start to bud. This verse goes on to say that when you see all these things, all what things? All the things which were just spoken about concerning the Tribulation period including the revealing of Antichrist.
But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. He 6:8
This verse, in analogy, speaks of that which is worthless being near to cursed and will be burned in judgment at the end of the age. These verses, though talking about the Tribulation period, do not sound as if they speak of an imminent return.
For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. He 10:37
This verse is taken from Isaiah 26:20 and Habakkuk 2:3. Paul is using the Greek version of these two verses with the added article to say The Coming One in reference to Christ, will come in a little while and He is a coming in judgment.
Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by. Is 26:20 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. Ha 2:3,4
This does not portray an imminent return, but a return that is delayed for some time. This more accurately portrays a post-tribulation return.
You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Ja 5:8
oti e parousia tou kuriou eggike because the coming of the Lord is at hand
Remember when we looked at definitions? Parousia is from the words para with and ousia being, or a being with, and the meaning is the same throughout scripture, namely that of a physical and visible presence. So what this verse is saying is simply: You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's physical and visible coming is at hand.
James was giving his readers comfort in that the return of the Lord may take place in the near future, but not necessarily in their life time.
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Re 3:11 (22:7; 22:20)
This verse is tied in with the preceding verse:
Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from
tereso ek the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole
world to test those who live on the earth
.
This verse talks of the deliverance out of the Tribulation of the Church, in the sense of guarding her and bringing her safely through it. It is reminiscent of Jn 17:15
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from tereses autous ek the evil one
We are not taken out of the world when we become a Christian, but are protected from the attacks of Satan while we are in the world. In like manner we will be protected from the hour of trial while we go through that trial. The difference between tereso and tereses is that tereso is in the future tense, but it is the same word with the same meaning, not a removal from, but a protection through the trial.
The word for soon here is the adverb taxu which means shortly, i.e. without delay. Another meaning for this adverb is suddenly by surprise. I will also keep you from the hour of trial... I am coming suddenly by surprise. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.