A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): Hello again, and welcome to A Daily Walk, where you never have to walk alone. With all that's been going on in our world, there is an increased interest in Bible prophecy. And so, we thought this would be a great time to go through Revelation with you. Maybe you've been wondering, could Jesus come back for His church very soon? And what is the Second Coming of Christ? What will it entail? Well, we're about to find out. Pastor John Randall will also explain the difference between the Second Coming and the Rapture.

John Randall: Revelation chapter one, verse seven: "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

It was during a time of great persecution that the Apostle John, who was the last living apostle, now in his nineties, was sentenced to the desolate island of Patmos. Yet while he was confined there, he received a revelation of Jesus Christ. And included within that divine disclosure was a glorious announcement of one of the themes that is presented in the book of Revelation, which is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

In verse seven, we find that John emphasizes the certainty of the Second Coming of Christ. He opens with the word that is used 25 times in the book of Revelation; it’s the word "behold." Behold, He is coming. Not He might or it’s a possibility or let’s keep our fingers crossed. He is coming with the clouds. It is certain. The first thing that John calls to our attention is the fact that Jesus is coming. And he writes it in the present tense, which suggests that Christ is already on the way and thus His coming is certain.

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is mentioned more than 500 verses throughout the Bible. It has been estimated that one out of every 25 verses in the New Testament refers to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The Second Coming will be the climactic moment in the redemptive history of mankind and the culmination of all the hopes and prayers of God's people throughout the ages who have prayed, "Thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

John reveals the certainty of Jesus’ Second Coming, but he also reveals the conditions of Jesus’ Second Coming. For he writes, "He is coming with the clouds." It was in the book of Acts, chapter one, following His death, resurrection, and right before His ascension, that Jesus gathered His disciples together on the Mount of Olives. And it was there that He commanded His disciples to go back into Jerusalem and to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon them.

And then the Bible says that after He had spoken these things, while they watched, that Jesus was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, it says behold, two men stood there in white apparel. and in Acts chapter one, this is what they said in verse 11: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

John declared this is the condition of His Second Coming. He is coming with the clouds. The clouds in Scripture commonly symbolize God’s presence. In Exodus chapter 13, the Lord led the nation of Israel through the wilderness wanderings as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When Moses went up onto Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from God, the Bible says that the Lord descended upon the mountain like a cloud. When the Tabernacle and the Temple were constructed and completed, it says that the Lord filled those structures with the presence of His glory in the form of a cloud.

Therefore, when Jesus comes again in His Second Coming, He will be coming with the clouds. And when He comes, John says this will be the concern at His Second Coming: every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. In His first coming, Jesus came to the earth as a baby, humble, born in Bethlehem, placed in a manger. But the Bible says that in His first coming, He came to His own, that is the Jewish people, and they did not receive Him as their Savior.

The Bible says that He was despised, He was rejected and pierced, that is crucified. He suffered and He died for the sins of the world. The Old Testament prophets foretold of both a suffering Messiah as well as a conquering King. And what they failed to understand at that time was that there is only one Messiah. He would fulfill both roles. In His first coming, He would come to suffer and die, be resurrected, and then in His second coming, He would return and rule and reign and establish His kingdom upon the earth. Jesus fulfilled the role of the suffering servant and the conquering King of Glory.

When Jesus comes again in His Second Coming, every eye will see Him, even those who crucified Him, which is a reference to the nation of Israel. They will understand in His Second Coming what they failed to recognize in His first coming: that He’s the Savior, that He’s the Christ, that He’s the Messiah. And when they see Him, they will come to the realization of what they have done, and they will mourn and they will be grieved.

In fact, Zechariah prophesied concerning this in Zechariah chapter 12 and verse 10, when he writes, "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication. Then they will look on Me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and they will grieve for Him as one grieves for his firstborn." Zechariah goes on to say yet again concerning the Second Coming of Christ in chapter 13, verse six, "And one will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your arms?' And then he will answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'"

In other words, when He comes back in His Second Coming, His own people, the nation of Israel, will recognize. They’ll say, "What happened to You? Where did You get those scars?" And He’ll say, "I got them in the house of My friends." They will understand and recognize Him as their Messiah.

The concerns at the Second Coming not only will affect the Jewish people, but I want you to secondly see that all the tribes of the earth, which is a reference to unbelieving Gentiles, to those who rejected Christ, turned against Him, resisted Him, they will mourn at His Second Coming. But they won’t be mourning with tears of repentance. The word that is used here describes tears of terror and despair because of the judgment that is coming upon them because now they recognize this Messiah whom they had rejected.

The Bible gives us several events that will unfold during the Second Coming of Christ. For one thing, it says that Jesus will place His feet on the very location where He left in His ascension, the Mount of Olives. And the Bible says that the Mount of Olives will split in two. Zechariah chapter 14 foretells this. It says, "On that day," speaking of His Second Coming, "His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south."

There will also be a great victory when the Lord returns in His Second Coming over the Antichrist and his armies in the final battle the Bible refers to as the Battle of Armageddon, there in the Valley of Jezreel. Revelation 19 records in greater detail the decisive outcome and victory in that battle where Jesus Christ will open His mouth, He will speak a word, and with a word, the nations will be destroyed. Those who stand against Him, the Antichrist and the false prophet, thrown into the lake of fire.

The Apostle John indicates the certainty of Christ’s Second Coming when he says, "He is coming." He emphasizes the condition of the Second Coming when he says, "He will come with the clouds." And he also reveals the concern at the Second Coming, that is that every eye will see Him, even those who crucified Him, and the tribes of the earth will mourn who rejected Him. And then John adds, "Even so, Amen," or another way to say it, "This will certainly come to pass, Amen."

Now that we know what the Second Coming of Christ is and some of what it will entail, I want to make a very important distinction here this morning from Scripture as it relates to the difference between the Second Coming of Christ and the Rapture of the church. The Rapture of the church and the Second Coming of Christ are often confused. Sometimes it's difficult to determine whether a Scripture verse is referring to the Rapture or is it referring to the Second Coming.

However, in studying end-time biblical prophecy, it's important to differentiate between these two separate events. And make no mistake, they are two different events from one another. I want to preface my statements now by saying this, that there are other churches that have differing opinions concerning end-times biblical prophecy.

But for us here at Calvary, we hold to a pre-tribulation pre-millennial interpretation of biblical eschatology, that is the study of end times. And this view that we hold is based on the Bible, and it anticipates a literal fulfillment of yet unfulfilled prophecy just as previously fulfilled prophecies have been literally fulfilled. The pre-tribulation pre-millennial view encourages the most obvious and literal interpretation of the Scriptures and has proven to be the most reliable and historically accurate form of interpretation concerning prophetic events in Scripture.

It teaches that before the seven-year tribulation period that will come upon the earth, that Christ will remove His church before the tribulation takes place and the arrival of the Antichrist. The pre-tribulation pre-millennial view embraces the doctrine of immanency, which presents the difference between the sudden joyous Rapture of the church from the global and predictable Second Coming of Christ with the church in judgment.

Now let me begin by defining the Rapture of the church. We know what the Second Coming is. But what is the Rapture? The Rapture of the church is the translation of living believers to heaven without experiencing death in a moment of time. It's an event where God takes away all believers from the earth in order to make way for His righteous judgment to be poured out on a Christ-rejecting world during the seven years of tribulation.

Now, there are those who are quick to point out that the word "rapture" is not found in the Bible. However, that all depends upon the translation or the version of the Bible that you read. If you had, and probably you don't, but if you had the Latin Vulgate translation that was produced by Jerome in the early 400s, you would find the word there.

The Latin Vulgate was the main Bible of the medieval Western church until the Reformation. And in 1 Thessalonians chapter four, make a note of it, verses 16 through 18, here is a reference to the Rapture of the church, a separate and distinct event from the Second Coming. Listen to what Paul said: "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout and with a voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first, and 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 thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."

The word "caught up" is the Greek word "harpazo." It means to be taken away. And in the Latin Vulgate, the translation, the equivalent of "harpazo" was "rapio." That is where we get the English translation of the word "rapture." But there are clear and distinct differences between the Rapture of the church and the Second Coming of Christ. For one thing, at the Rapture, believers meet the Lord in the air. At the Second Coming, believers return with the Lord to the earth.

The Bible tells us of several events that will take place when the Rapture occurs. We read it. The Lord will descend. He will descend into the earth’s atmosphere. A trumpet will sound, and the Lord Jesus will descend from heaven into the earth’s atmosphere. And what will follow? The Bible tells us here, the dead in Christ will rise first.

Now when you read 1 Thessalonians chapter four, and that phrase "the dead in Christ rise first," I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked this question: What does that mean? Someone says, "Wait a minute, Pastor. I thought that the dead in Christ, those who die having faith in Jesus, are with the Lord. What do you mean the dead in Christ will rise first? I thought they were already with Christ. Aren’t they in heaven right now?" Yes, yes they are. As a Christian, when you take your last breath here on the earth, you take your first breath in heaven.

But what does it mean then that the dead in Christ will rise first? Listen carefully. The dead in Christ do rise first. The Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, 2 Corinthians chapter five, verse eight. Those who have died believing in Jesus are presently with the Lord. That you can know for sure, for certain. Our loved ones who believed in Christ who have already gone on before us, they’re there in the presence of the Lord. They’re where we want to be right now. They’re more alive now than they were if they were here right now. And in that, you can take comfort.

But still, what does it mean the dead in Christ will rise first? Here are some things to consider. First of all, some suggest that our loved ones, as they are presently with the Lord in His presence, are there in perfected spirits. The body that you have is not who you really are. The Bible calls it a tent. Who you really are is who you are on the inside. This body is just the means whereby I communicate to you and we enter into relationship, but it's not who I really are. Who I am is inside. But there comes a point when God will release this spirit, this soul as it were, from this body.

And so there are those that suggest that those who have gone on before us and they are with the Lord, that they are perfected spirits. And at the Rapture of the church, they get their glorified body. It’s like we go up, they get their body right then and there, an absolute transformation. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter five, verses one and two, we know that if our earthly house, this tabernacle, this tent is dissolved, that we have a building from God not made with hands. It's eternal in the heavens. And the writer says, "In this we groan." The older you get, the more you groan. You groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.

So some people believe, hey listen, our loved ones, we know this for a fact, they’re with the Lord. They’re with Him. But when do they get their glorified body? Some say they get it at the Rapture of the church. When the trumpet sounds, their bodies are instantly meet right there in the air. We’re reunited with them, they get their glorified body, we get our gloried body. We get them all at the same time.

There’s a second thought. Others suggest that the dead in Christ receive their glorified bodies immediately. And the reason is because of the nature of timeless eternity, if you can understand that. Timeless eternity. And because they live in the eternal now, we live in time, they’re outside of time, they already have it. I tend to lean toward that direction myself. I’m not being dogmatic, but I’m saying that’s the way I lean.

And the reason is because Jesus was the firstfruits, the Bible says, of those who rise from the dead. And following His resurrection, we see Him in Scripture in a new body that is without limitation of time or space or matter for that reason. And He even passed through locked doors. He could disappear and appear from one moment to the next.

But here’s what I know for sure, 100%. When you die as a Christian, you immediately go to be with the Lord in heaven. I also know for sure that Jesus is coming and I know that we’re getting glorified bodies. That’s what I know for sure, and in that I rejoice.

But here’s the thing folks, at the Second Coming, nobody receives a glorified body. Because it’s a separate distinct event from the Rapture of the church. The Bible also tells us that the Rapture will be secret and instant in the sense that we are immediately caught up to be with the Lord. And not every eye will see Him, only those who are caught up to be with Him. But in the Second Coming, we just read it, every eye will see Him. Everyone will see it. But at the Rapture, only those that are caught up will see Him.

Guest (Male): We'll pause the message right here, but don't rush away. Pastor John Randall will be right back. This is A Daily Walk, and these studies in Revelation are archived for you at adailywalk.org. Listen when it's most convenient at adailywalk.org. It's also available on most podcast platforms. We'd love to connect with you, and we appreciate your prayers. Here is our email address where you can send your comments and your prayer requests: adailywalk@gmail.com. That's adailywalk@gmail.com.

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And speaking of devotionals, have you checked out the Daily Walk Devotional? These short videos are released each day at adailywalk.org and are both edifying and encouraging. Well, we have a little bit of time left, so let's draw one more distinction between the Rapture and Second Coming.

John Randall: Another important distinction is concerning the timing of the Second Coming versus the timing of the Rapture. And again, you will find many godly people who love Jesus, who are born again, but they have varying opinions. We know that the Second Coming takes place at the end of the tribulation. Both Old and New Testament books of the Bible verify that fact. It is certain.

However, when it comes to the Rapture of the church, there are three primary viewpoints. There is the post-tribulation view that states the Rapture occurs at the end of the tribulation period, which is very odd for several reasons. We're going to go up and then we're going to come back? Why? Why up, because we're going to caught and then we're going to come right back down? That seems unbiblical. And I believe it is. I don't think that's accurate.

Then there are those who have the pre-wrath or the mid-tribulation view, stating that the Rapture occurs at or near the midway point of the tribulation. Again, I would disagree with that. And then we have the view that we hold here, the pre-tribulation view, that the Rapture occurs before the tribulation period. As a family of churches, Calvary Chapels, we believe and teach this view. Well, much more could be said about this and we will next time on A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall. Join us as we continue to talk about the Second Coming of Jesus and the Rapture of the church.