Last Sunday, when I was in a worship service I was very surprised of what the topic is. The preacher said that Rapture and Second coming are different. In my whole life of attending a worship service, honestly I thought that Rapture and Second coming are the same and I was really curious, and said to myself that we had an interesting topic to discuss or talk about that day.
What is really the difference between the two?
Let me start, I am not really an expert and really familiar in the passage of The Bible, but I hope it can help us to understand the difference. According to the speaker the scripture speaks about two distinct events, the Rapture and the Second coming of Jesus Christ.
The Rapture will happen when Jesus Christ returns to his church. This is when all true believers in Christ will be taken from earth by God into heaven.( 1 Corinthians 15: 51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17).
The Second Coming will happen when Jesus Christ returns to his church to defeat antichrist overthrow evil and establish his thousand year reign on earth. ( Reavelation 19:11-16)
There might be some confusion between these events because both happen during end times and both describes the return of Christ but there are important differences to discern.
Let's compare and highlight the key distinction noted in the scripture.
1. Meeting in the Air vs. Returning with Him.
In Rapture, we will meet the Lord in the air.
* 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. 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. 1 Thessalonians 4:16– 17 (NIV)
In the Second Coming, believers will return to the Lord.
The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Revelation 19:14 (NIV)
2. Before Tribulation vs. After Tribulation
A tribulation is a future seven - year period when God will complete His discipline of Israel and fimal judgment upon unbelieving citizens of the world.
Rapture will happen before the tribulation:
- For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (NIV)
- Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. Revelation 3:10 (NIV)
Second Coming will happen at the end of tribulation:
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave,great and small.” Revelation 17-18 (NIV)
3. Deliverance vs. Judgment
In the Rapture, believers are taken from the earth by God as an act of deliverance:
- 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. 1 Thessalonians 4:13– 17
- For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (NIV)
4. Hidden vs. Seen by All
Rapture according to the scripture will be an instantaneous hidden event.
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 1 Corinthians 15:50-54
The Second coming according to the scripture will be seen by All.
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. Revelation 1:7
5. At any moment vs. Only after certain events
Rapture could happen at any moment
- ...While we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Titus 2:13 (NIV)
- 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. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 (NIV)
The Second coming won't happen until certain events take place
- He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called Godor is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 (NIV)
- 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." Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. Matthew 24:15-30 (NIV)
- Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” Revelation 6-18 (NIV)
There are conflicting views regarding The Rapture and the Second coming. If you're confused read Matthew Chapter 24. While talking about the end of the age, it's likely that this chapter references both the rapture and the second coming. It's important note that Christ's purpose is to prepare believers for the end.He wanted the believers to be watchful everyday until the day He returns to the earth. Be Ready.
Are you ready now to face Jesus?
Are you ready now to face the Lord?
