If the Coming of the Lord Jesus is not the Second Coming, then which Coming is it?
Most, if not all pre-Tribulation rapture advocates teach that the rapture is not the Second Coming but a separate event. Because of the wide acceptance of this idea by most Evangelical prophecy teachers, it is important to expose this false doctrine by carefully comparing it to what the Bible actually says, and doesn’t say.
“1:19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His COMING?
4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, 1 that we who are alive and remain until the COMING of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For THE LORD HIMSELF will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 2 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and 3 may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the COMING of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Thessalonians 1:19, 4:15, 5:23.
Yes, I Thessalonians 2 clearly states our gathering with the Lord in the clouds will certainly take place at His Coming.
“1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to 4 the COMING of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed...” II Thessalonians 2:1-3.
The Coming of Christ, the Rapture of the Church and the Day of the Lord will all be part of the same event and will happen on the same day.
“29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give it’s light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man COMING on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 "And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will 5 gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other." Matthew 24:29-31 (also Mark 13:26-27).
Christians are called “the elect” in the New Testament, no doubt here that our gathering up into the sky will happen with the coming of Jesus on the clouds.
“3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will COME again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:3.
It’s clear from the words of Jesus that the Church will be received to Him at His Coming, which can only mean the Rapture.
10 ...when He COMES to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed -for our testimony to you was believed.” II Thessalonians 1:7-10.
The Church will have relief from affliction when the Lord Comes with His mighty angels in flaming fire.
"...Ephesus: I am COMING to you... Pergamum: I am COMING to you quickly... Thyatira: hold fast until I COME... Sardis: I will COME to you... Philadelphia: I am COMING quickly." Revelation 2.
Again, the Church (the seven churches of the Last Days) is told they will be here when Jesus Comes.
“Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His COMING.
3:4 -You know that He appeared in order to take away sins.” I John 2:28, 3:4.
This verse also proves that His appearance and His coming are the same thing. The Greek word translated as “appears” is “phaneroó”, which means to make manifest, visible or seen. The same root word is used for both His first and second comings here, suggesting that at His second coming He will be manifested in the same way as His first coming: visible and bodily.
“...instructing us to deny godliness... looking for the blessed hope and the APPEARING of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” Titus 2:13.
Do the math: His Coming = His Appearing = the Church awaiting Him = The Second Time = the Second Coming = the Second Coming Rapture.
“Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.” Revelation 1:7.
This agrees with perfectly with I Thessalonians 4, which says we are going to meet the Lord in the clouds. The Bible never, anywhere, says or even hints that the return of Jesus will be invisible or that only believers will see Him, but only describes His Coming as visible, bodily, glorious and seen by ever person in the world.
"This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will COME in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." Acts 1:11.
Jesus will come again in exactly the same way as He left: visibly, bodily and in the clouds. He didn’t leave invisibly and so He certainly won’t come back invisibly.
“And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the FIRST resurrection.” Revelation 20:4-5.
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise FIRST.” I Thessalonians 4:16.
Since there can only be one First Resurrection, the resurrection at the Second Coming/Rapture must certainly be the same as the First Resurrection of the dead in Christ who have resisted the mark and image of the beast. This also proves that the Church will be here when the Antichrist rises to power and persecutes the Church.
You must throw out clearly stated Scriptures and simple logic to conclude that the Coming of Christ is not the Second Coming and the Rapture is not the same event as the Second Coming. True doctrine comes straight from the Bible, not filtered through Dispensationalism or any other man-made system of theology.
According to clearly written statements in the Bible, the Rapture occurs at the Coming of Christ which can only be one and the same as the Second Coming. Teaching that the Rapture and the Second Coming are two different events is a contradiction to the Word of God, a false doctrine and a disservice to the Church. It’s an attempt to downgrade the Rapture at the Lord’s visible, bodily, glorious Coming into an invisible, lesser event in order to explain away Biblical contradictions to the fallacious, pre-Tribulation rapture theory. It is also clear from Scripture that His Coming and the Rapture will certainly be seen by everyone in the world and the First Resurrection of Revelation 20 will immediately precede the Rapture.