THE SECOND COMINGS OF CHRIST (Rapture)

There is no fact in history more clearly established than the fact of the First Coming of Christ. But as this First Coming did not fulfil all the prophecies associated with His Coming, it is evident that there must be another coming to completely fulfil them. It was because the religious leaders of Christ's day failed to distinguish between the prophecies that related to His First Coming, and those that related to His Second Coming that they rejected Him.

Peter tells us (1 Peter 1:10-11) that the prophets themselves did not clearly perceive the difference between the Sufferings and Glory of Christ. That is, they did not see that there was a TIME SPACE between the Cross (Christ's crucifixion) and the Crown, (The Second Coming) and that the Cross would precede the Crown. But we have no such excuse. We live on this side of the Cross and we can readily pick out all the prophecies that were fulfilled at Christ's First Coming and apply the remainder to His Second Coming and the Rapture.

While the First and Second Comings of Christ are separated by this Dispensation of Grace, they are nevertheless not complete in themselves, the Second necessitated the First, and the First demands the Second. They are both necessary to complete the Plan of Salvation. The first to choose out a people from all nations to become the Body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:27 "Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular". Ephesians 1:23 "Which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all". Ephesians 4:12 and Colossians 1:24-25 "his body's sake which is the church: whereof I am made a minister.."

The Second is for the salvation of the Hebrews. He will come with the clouds of heaven, Daniel 7:13, Revelation 1:7 with power and great glory, thus completing Gods plan of salvation.

THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

The word Rapture literally means 'a seizing and carrying away' and in relation to the Church it is describing a time where Christ will call home to heaven the chosen from among the earth. It will happen in a 'tenth of a second' and will be silent.

People will wonder where a friend or loved one has gone and then they will hear screams and shouts as people up and down their street wake up to the news that tens of thousands have vanished all over the earth. This will be the Rapture.

THE MANNER OF HIS COMING

In contrast to the Second Coming the rapture will be unnoticed and over with in a split second. 1 Corinthians 15:51-58

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 Second Coming is visible to all, Christ will come in Glory and with His saints (Revelation 19:11-16). He will come in a physical sense and will touch the earth. The Rapture is significant as Christ calls His Church from the sky. The meeting is heavenly, not earthly as will be the Jewish gathering. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 tells us.

16. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17. Then they, 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.

It is quite evident that this description can not be the same one described in Revelation 19. This is the gathering of the Church for its reward whereas the Second Coming is for the Jewish nation and the judgement of the earth.

WHO WILL BE CALLED

The Church, (ecclesia) or called-out-ones, who are called by God through the Lord Jesus Christ, were chosen before the foundation of the earth as mentioned in Ephesians 1:4

4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

We are called to be the body of Christ, a group of people from all over having one faith and belief in Christ all working together for Him and to Him. 1 Corinthians 12:12,13,27,28;

12. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13. For by one spirit are we all baptised into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit.
27. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
28. And God hath set some in the Church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, and after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

We are all called to do different things and for one reason: the 'building up' of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13). It is this Church that Christ calls out not the 'chosen race', the Jews. God's plans for the Jew changed when they crucified Christ and He turned to the Gentiles and gave us a chance to become part, NOT a replacement, of the 'Church' which would serve Him in eternity (Revelation 20:6, 1 Thessalonians 4:17).

THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE

He will appear first into the region of our atmosphere, and the "dead in Christ," and the "living Saints" shall be "caught up" to meet Him "IN THE AIR." Then after the risen and translated saints have been judged and rewarded for their works, and they, as the Church, the Bride of Christ, have been married to Him, He will come with them to the earth and land on the Mount of Olives, the place from whence He ascended. Zechariah 14:4 says;

'And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.'

Some claim that "all" the Church is to pass through the Tribulation, others that "all" the Church is to be caught out before the Tribulation, while some claim that only the "Waiting" and "Watching" Saints shall be caught out before the Tribulation, and that the rest must pass through it. The latter base their claim on Hebrews 9:28 where it says;

Unto them that look for Him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

While this might apply to the living when He appears, it certainly cannot apply to the dead. There are millions who have "fell asleep in Jesus" (Christians who have died) who never heard of the Pre-millennial coming of the Lord, or never grasped its meaning and who therefore never "watched" and "waited" and "looked" for His Appearing.

They surely are "In Christ", and the "Dead in Christ" are to rise at the Rapture. Paul does not say in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, that it will be the "dead" who "watched" and "waited" and "looked," and those who are "alive" and "watch" and "wait" and "look" for" His Appearing that shall be "caught out," but the dead "In Christ," and we who "Are Alive And Remain"

Then there is another fact that we must not forget, and that is, the Unity of the Church. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 it tells us;

For as the Body Is One and hath many members, and all the Members of that one Body, Being Many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by One Spirit are we ALL Baptised Into One Body.

All then who have been born again (John 3:3-7) are part of Christ's Body. We cannot conceive of Christ's Body being divided; part of it remaining "asleep" in the grave and part of it "raised in glory;" part of it left to pass through the Tribulation, and part of it "changed" and caught up in the air.

The Tribulation is not for the perfecting of the Saints. It has nothing to do with the Church. It is the time of Jacob's Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), and is the Judgement of Israel ALSO THE WRATH OF God on man, and it is God's purpose to keep the Church out of it. Revelation 3:10. The Book of Revelations between chapter 4 and 19 is filled with appalling judgements that fall upon those that dwell on the earth.

The Church is not of the earth, but is supposed to sit together in Heavenly Places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6), she will not be among those who dwell on the earth in those days. These Chapters are primarily for the Jew.

The confusion is largely due to the fact that students of Prophetic Truth do not distinguish between Christ's coming FOR His Saints and WITH His Saints. The former is called the Rapture, the latter the Revelation or the Second Coming.

Numerous passages in scripture speak of Christ coming WITH His Saints (Zechariah 14: 5, Colossians 3: 4, 1 Thessalonians 3:13, 1 Thessalonians 4:14 & Jude 14), but it is evident that they could not come WITH Him, if they had not been previously caught out to Him. All such passages refer therefore to the Revelation and not the Rapture.

The typical teaching of the Scriptures demands that the Church be caught out before the Tribulation. Joseph was a type of Christ and he was espoused to and married Asenath, a Gentile bride during the time of his rejection by his brethren, and before the famine which typified the Tribulation, because it was the time of Judgement of his Brethren. This is the time of Christ's rejection by His Brethren the Jews, and to complete the type He must get His Bride the church, before the Tribulation.

Moses, who is also a type of Christ, got his bride and she a Gentile, after his rejection by his brethren, and before they passed through the Tribulation under Pharaoh. Exodus 2:23-25.

Enoch, a type of the Translation Saint, was caught out before the Flood, and the Flood is a type of the Tribulation, and Noah and his family of the Jewish Remnant and 144,000 sealed ones of Revelation 7:1-8, who will be preserved through the Tribulation.

It will certainly be a frightening day for those with the knowledge of Christ but are left behind, but a glorious day for those called out ones.

HOW DO WE KNOW WE ARE CALLED

It is Paul who has been commissioned to give God's revelation to the nations concerning His wondrous Grace. It can be found nowhere but in his writings (Ephesians 3:5). This present secret or mystery called the day of grace in which we now live cannot be found in the scriptures before the epistle of Ephesians and the message essentially consists of three separate items, all of which are marked by the prefix JOINT. Ephesians 3:6-8

6. That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs (JOINT-heirs), and of the same body (JOINT-body), and partakers (JOINT-partakers) of his promise in Christ by the gospel.
7. Wherefore I was made a minister, according to the gift of the Grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

It is of the utmost importance to note that only Paul, was given this stewardship and it is useless to seek it outside of his writings. It was concealed in God and the mystery of His Grace not in the scriptures. No trace of it can be found in the prophets or in the preceding books of the Greek scriptures.

Paul explained to the Corinthian Church of the resurrection, from among the dead. Then he said (original translation) of 1 Corinthians 15:51-58.

Lo, I am telling you a secret, we all indeed shall not be put to repose (death) yet we shall all be changed, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For He will be trumpeting and the dead will be roused incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The secret lies in the word CHANGED which has not been told before. The word changed means transformed, to make other than it is, and shows that the Church has another destiny than enduring to the end. It leads us one step closer to our celestial destiny revealed in the epistles to the Ephesians.

Where Israel was concerned with their bodies and occupying the earth, now this new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 6:15) has a different allotment. Our bodies at present are earthly, made from the soil of the earth (Genesis 2:7) and need to be radically changed before we can endure a celestial life. We will be transfigured to be conformed to this glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21.

20. For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
21. Who shall change (transfigure) our vile body, that it might be fashioned like unto his glorious body,

Paul encouraged the Thessalonian church to console one another with these words. We the Church the ecclesia are not going to inherit the earth, it was never promised us. Our hope and future is in God and an eternity with Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:17), it is the Jews who shall inherit the earth and a Kingdom ruled by the one true King, Christ.

CONCLUSION

The crowning glory of this blessed expectation was made known to the Corinthian, Philippian and Thessalonian Church epistles, to all of Christ's spiritual body down through the ages.

The emphasis is on being called and acting on that calling, not as the Jew is a Jew because of his blood-line and adherence to the Law (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). So when you are called, invited, you must repent and give your life into the Lord's hands, accepting that he died in your place, for your sins (Romans 10:9).