Second Coming And The Rapture

Almost every Christian knows about the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it stands to reason that we should be excited at the thought that Jesus is coming back to earth. Because it is by His first coming that He saved us from the devil’s clutches and hell. The only problem is that most Christians confuse the second coming and the rapture.

Therefore, we start with a couple of definitions. The Rapture is the event in which all believers, whether dead or alive, will be caught up in the air. Jesus referred to this as a resurrection. And we are not in the air just for fun but to meet with the Lord Jesus and be with Him forever.

Some who like to mock Christians refer to it by saying we can fly. And they are more accurate than they know. At that point, we can fly and we shall fly to be with Jesus. As we saw in an earlier post, only God knows when He will give the signal for the Rapture.

And because it is a flying event, it starts and ends in the twinkling of an eye. All who have trusted Jesus with their lives will meet in Heaven and Jesus will welcome them home. You surely remember He promised that He was going away to prepare a home for us. At that time, Jesus also promised to come and get us so that where He is, we may be also.

That is what will happen at the Rapture. Anybody who does not participate in that flying event is referred to as left behind. Please do everything you can to ensure that you are not left behind to live under antichrist management.

What Is The Second Coming Of Jesus?

In any case, we must not confuse that event with the second coming of Jesus. And now that we know the full significance of the Rapture, we consider the second coming of Jesus. It is an event that takes place several years after the Rapture.

At the second coming, Jesus, after spending time in Heaven with Christians, comes back to earth for a final battle. The battle is against the Antichrist. And the beauty of this all is that we know the outcome of that battle of Armageddon. Jesus Christ wins and if you are with Him, you win. Hallelujah.

After the war, the devil will be sent to the bottomless pit for a period of one thousand years. During that time that satan is bound with chains in the pit, the earth will enjoy unprecedented peace. And Jesus will set up His millennial Kingdom right here on earth. You can say it is heaven on earth. It will certainly feel like it.

And Jesus will be King of that Kingdom and we, His thoroughly peaceful subjects. Because in Jesus’ Kingdom, the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb. The leopard shall lie down with the young goat. And The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

It is so wonderful that it should serve to motivate us to cleanse our ways. Once you participate in the Rapture, you will also return with Christ at His second coming.

Don’t Confuse The Second Coming And The Rapture

Once we understand what it represents, it will surprise us that we ever conflated the second coming and the rapture. After we fly to meet Jesus in the air and arrive in Heaven, there is a period of settling in. But before you can settle in, you must appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

Please observe that this is the judgment seat of the Christ who redeemed us with His blood. Therefore, you need not fear to appear before Christ’s judgment seat. He will not judge you guilty since He already paid for your guilt when He died on the cross.

At the judgment seat of Christ, you only receive rewards for your spiritual works while on earth. After that, you can settle into the full-time worship of God for seven years. Meanwhile, the left-behind ones would be suffering under the great anger of the devil, who would no longer be restrained.

This would lead to great affliction for nonchalant believers who had joked with their Christianity. before the Rapture. The bible refers to this horrible affliction as first, the tribulation, and as it becomes worse, as the great tribulation. In that sense, you see that the Rapture represents a form of deliverance from the earth.

Confusing The Second Coming And The Rapture Encourages Careless Living

Several Christians live carelessly because they don’t know the difference between the rapture and the second coming. Some Christians even postulate that they will be here for the great tribulation. They thus conclude there is no reason to live holy.

In the preceding section, we observed that the Rapture is a form of deliverance. At the rescue operation which God performed with Noah and his family, He saved them all. That is, all those who believed and obeyed His word escaped the flood.

Similarly, when it was time to punish Egypt, God rescued all His people. That is why you can be sure God will not leave you here at the Rapture. He will not punish the just with the unjust. Do not let anyone deceive you by conflating the second coming and the rapture.

Our previous post revealed you have the power to choose your destination – heaven or hell. If you are unsure what needs to happen to ensure you make it to Heaven at last, please refer to that post.

Because only those who have Jesus will make it to Heaven at the Rapture. And only those who participate in the Rapture will return with Jesus to set up His Millennial Kingdom. You will be among the number, in Jesus’ name.

Maranatha!