What Can We Know About The Second Coming

WHAT CAN WEKNOW ABOUTTHE SECONDCOMING?

WWhere do we stand after2,000 years of false

alarms and the current“future fatigue”? Should we jointhose who have thrown in thetowel on prophetic study in favorof “more practical, life-relatedissues”? Or, if we are convincedthat nothing is more practical thanto look for our Lord’s return, howshould we do that? Should we beexpecting an any-moment return?Or should we be more concernedabout preparing for the comingyears of unparalleled trouble thatthe prophets predicted?

In an effort to answer some ofthese questions, Herb Vander Lugtand Dave Branon have written thisbooklet. It is our prayer that theirwork will lead you to an increasedawareness of what the Bible has tosay about our Lord’s promisedreturn. Martin R. De Haan II

Managing Editor: David Sper Cover Photo & Design:Terry BidgoodScripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by ThomasNelson, Inc. Used by permission.All rights reserved.© 1988,1999,2003 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

CONTENTS

Christians Divided On The Rapture Question . . 2

Why Would He ReturnAgain . . .And Again? . . . . 4

Some Don’t Agree . . . . 13

Now You See Them,Now You Don’t . . . . . . 18

World Of Joy;World Of Terror . . . . . . . . . . . 21

The King Is Back—To Stay! . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Helping You Help Others. . . . . . . . . 29

Christ’s Return And You . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

© RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.

CHRISTIANSDIVIDED ON THE RAPTUREQUESTION

MILLIONS

REPORTED MISSING

News reports arriving fromcities around the globe tell ofa mysterious disappearanceof thousands and thousandsof people. In some instancesentire families have vanished

without a trace . . . .

CCould this headline andlead paragraph appearin your newspaper

tomorrow? Is it possible thatChrist could return today and suddenly remove Hischildren from this earth,leaving an unbelieving world to wonder where allthe Christians have gone?

This is an extremelypractical issue. If Christcould return today, we needto be ready. We cannotafford to take the future for

granted. Just as a child findsthe inner strength to pull hisact together when he thinkshis dad is coming throughthe front door, so those wholive in the expectation thatChrist could return at anymoment have reason to livea different and better life. It gives husbands reason tolove their wives and to spendtime with their children. Itgives managers incentive to be considerate of theirworkers and to treat themthe way they would want tobe treated. It gives everyonewho knows the way toheaven urgent reason tointroduce others to Christ—before it is too late.

But, having said that,could Christ return today?Church people do not all agree. While all trueChristians believe in thereturn of Christ, manydisagree about the details of when it will occur.

Some think that Christwill come back at the end

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of the age just prior todestroying and recreating theheavens and the earth. Thisis termed amillennialismbecause it does not recognizea literal millennium (1,000-year reign of Christ on earth).

Others believe that Christ will return only after a predicted period of unparalleled trouble. This view is calledposttribulationalism becauseit sees Christ coming for Hispeople after the tribulation.

Still others, however,believe that our Lord willreturn in two phases—oncefor the salvation of Hischurch and once for the

rescue of the nation ofIsrael. This view includesthose who hold to either a pretribulational or amidtribulational approach to the Lord’s return.

But with these optionsbefore us, what do we reallyknow about the secondcoming of Christ? To begin,we know that everyone wholooks for Christ’s return hasreason to live the kind of lifethat will please the Lord atHis coming. The apostle Johnrecognized this when hewrote, “When He is revealed,we shall be like Him, for weshall see Him as He is. Andeveryone who has this hopein Him purifies himself, justas He is pure” (1 Jn. 3:2-3).

Beyond that incentive forright living, we believe it isvery important for us to beready for a two-part return of Christ, the first phase ofwhich could occur at anymoment—maybe even today.

But what is the evidencefor such a position?

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The return of Christrepresents not onlythe ultimate sense

of accountability butthe ultimate senseof hope as well.


WHY WOULDCHRIST RETURNAGAIN . . . ANDAGAIN?

TThe main evidence fora two-part return ofChrist revolves around

(1) God’s distinct plans forIsrael and the church and(2) prophecies that describethe time of Christ’s return asbeing both knowable andunknowable. The reasoningmight seem to be a littleinvolved at points, but themain point to keep in mindis that Scripture teaches usto be always ready for theLord’s return. The following

pages will explain why thatseems to signal a two-partreturn of Christ—one for thechurch and one for Israel.

THE DISTINCTIONBETWEEN ISRAELAND THE CHURCH Basic to this discussion isour belief that the first ofthese two returns is for therescue and removal of thechurch (1 Cor. 15:51-53; 1 Th. 4:13-18; 5:9). Thesecond relates to God’s planfor Israel (Ezek. 36:16-38;Jer. 23:5-6; Rev. 19:11-21).Both have different places in God’s prophetic program.Even though both share acommon spiritual ancestrythat can be traced back tothe faith of Abraham (Gal.3:7), they have differentplaces in God’s world plan.Israel represents a nationwith whom God has madevery earth-centered andgeographically relatedpromises (Isa. 2:1-6; Ezek.36–37). But the church is a

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multinational organismmade up of all true believersin Christ—Jew or Gentile.The church is at the centerof God’s program until “thefullness of the Gentiles” isfulfilled (Rom. 11:25) andhas been given a hope that is to be realized more in heaven than on earth (1 Th. 4:13-18).

The distinction betweenIsrael and the church isbasic to understandingprophecy. Many have calledit the key to unlocking whatthe Bible says about thefuture. When the two arekept distinct, many propheticdetails fall into place. Then it

becomes evident that somepredictions refer to the Lord’sreturn for the church, whileothers relate to His return as the King and Deliverer of Israel.

This provides anexplanation for why thechurch is not specificallyreferred to in most of thebook of Revelation.Revelation 6–18 (whichdescribes the “greattribulation” to which Jesusalluded in Matthew 24:15-28) never mentions thechurch. While an argumentfrom silence is not thestrongest, it does seemsignificant. It gives credenceto the idea that Christ willhave returned to remove thechurch prior to all of thoseendtime events related tothe restoration and salvationof the nation of Israel, calledthe “time of Jacob’s trouble”(Jer. 30:7). The church willalready be with her Lordand will come with Himwhen He returns to save

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A two-phase returnwould explain whyIsrael but not the

church is mentionedin the endtime

events of Revelation.


Israel and set up Hispromised earthly kingdom.

That brings us to asecond important reason for being ready for a two-part return of Christ. The teaching of the Bibleincludes (a) prophecies ofdramatic events that willoccur just prior to the Lord’ssecond coming to earth and(b) predictions of anothercoming at a time that is not expected. It seemsreasonable to resolve thisapparent contradiction byseeing them as describingtwo different phases of theLord’s return.

Just keep in mind that if this discussion seemsunrelated to your real needsand problems, you’remissing something. Nothingis more practical than thereturn of Christ. When seenproperly, nothing providesmore hope. Nothing providesmore accountability. Nothingputs the pains and pleasuresof life in better perspective

than the promise of ourLord’s return.

If the Lord were to return today, all of yourworst problems and all ofyour deepest pleasures

would suddenly look entirelydifferent. For that reason,let’s take a closer look atwhat the Bible has to sayabout (1) the any-momentreturn for the church and (2)the final presignaled eventclimaxing the worst troublethe world has ever seen.

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A two-phase returnmakes sense if the

first phase (for the church) couldhappen at any time and the second phase

(for Israel) happensat a definite,

presignaled time.


THE DISTINCTIONBETWEEN AN ANY-MOMENT ANDA PRESIGNALEDRETURN In the Olivet Discourse,delivered only shortly before His crucifixion, Jesusanswered questions raisedby His disciples after He hadpredicted the destruction ofthe temple at Jerusalem.They asked, “Tell us, whenwill these things be? Andwhat will be the sign of Yourcoming, and of the end ofthe age?” (Mt. 24:3).

Notice that the disciples’question has three parts: (1)When? (2) What will be thesigns of Christ’s coming? (3)What will be the signs of theend of the age? As we readour Lord’s answer, we findthat He began with the signpart of the question. Hedealt with the signs of Hiscoming that will alert allgenerations (vv.3-14), thesigns of the end of the agerelated to Israel (vv.15-35),

and the “when” or timequestion related to Hisunannounced coming forthe church (vv.36-51).

The signs of Hiscoming—alerting allgenerations (vv.3-14).The Lord began bydescribing seven events that would occur before Hisreturn. They will be signs ofHis coming because theirpurpose will be to remindHis children throughout theage, saying, “Jesus is comingagain.” Our Lord talkedabout false christs (v.5), warsand rumors of wars (v.6),famines (v.7), pestilencesand earthquakes (v.7),persecution (v.9), defectionsfrom the faith (vv.10-13),and worldwide preaching of the gospel (v.14).

It is a fact of history that all seven of theseoccurrences took place tosome degree during the firstcentury. However, like mostprophecies, the near-at-handand far-off elements were

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blended together into onepicture. Therefore, Jesus’statements have differentapplications to differentgenerations. To believerswho lived and died underterrible persecution, “theend” in verse 13 is the endof life. But to those who live during the comingtribulation, it will be the end of the age. Similarly, the worldwide preaching ofthe gospel during the firstcentury was to the Romanworld (Col. 1:5-6), while for us today it is to the entire globe. These eventsportrayed by our Lord servedas signs to first-centurybelievers and to those of allsubsequent generations thatHe is coming again.

The signs of the endof the age—related toIsrael (vv.15-35). At verse 15, we suddenly findourselves with a very specificprediction about “anabomination of desolation.”This is followed by a detailed

description of a brief, terribletime of trouble that will endwhen the Lord returns. Wemight be puzzled by thestatement about the“abomination of desolation”in the “holy place.” But theJewish people to whom Jesusspoke understood it. Theyknew that according toDaniel 9:24-27 a hostileGentile ruler would somedaydesecrate their temple andinitiate horrendouspersecution. While Luke21:20-24 contains someelements that were partiallyfulfilled in the destruction ofJerusalem and the temple inAD 70, Matthew 24:15-31focuses on the endtime.There will be:

• Enough fear to drivethe Jews to the hills(vv.16-18).

• Unparalleled troubleand woe (vv.19-20).

• Great tribulation thatwould threaten all life if the days were notshortened (vv.21-22).

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• False christs andprophets (vv.23-26).

• Startling celestial signsand the visible descentof the Son of Man “withpower and great glory”(vv.29-31).

These will be the signsthat the end of the age isnear. Just as the appearingof buds on trees signals thesoon onset of the summerseason, so do these signsshow “that it is near, at thevery doors” (v.33). In fact,the generation that sees thebeginning of these signs (thedesecration of the Jewishtemple depicted in verse 15)will not pass off the scenebefore the Lord has returned(v.34).

The “when”question—related toHis unannouncedreturn for the church(vv.36-51). After remindingHis disciples that peoplewho see the signs He hadspoken of can be sure thatthe return will be near, Jesus

began to answer the “when”question. He didn’t set adate. He said His secondcoming would catch peopleby surprise (see Lk. 12:40).

First, Jesus explained thatthe coming of the Son ofMan would be “as the daysof Noah were.” In thosedays, despite Noah’swarnings of danger, thepeople went about their livesas usual. There was noconcern for an imminentflood, because the peopledidn’t believe it was coming.There were no heavenlysigns or unusual events—

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How can the Lord’ssecond comingcatch people by

surprise if it’s goingto be presignaled byall the spectacularevents described in

Matthew 24?


only the incessanthammering and sawing byNoah and his sons. Whenthe rains came, the peoplewere caught by surprise.

After giving a couple ofexamples of what will happenwhen His unexpected comingtakes place, our Lord makesthis sobering, yet excitingwarning:

Therefore you also beready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect(Mt. 24:44).How can the Lord’s

second coming catch peopleby surprise if it is going to be presignaled by all thestriking and spectacularevents described in Matthew24:15-31? That’s a keyquestion. The best answerseems to be found in seeingthe Lord’s second coming asoccurring in two stages. First He will come to catchup (or “rapture”) His ownpeople. This event will beunannounced. Then He will

return to establish Hiskingdom over the earth. This event will be clearlypresignaled.

Matthew 24 describesboth stages of Jesus’ return:the surprise, any-momentrapture of believers (vv.36-44) and the glorious returnof Jesus at the close of thetribulation to end thedestruction and establishHis kingdom (vv.15-35). He began with the gloriousreturn because that was the concern of the disciples

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Why didn’t the Lord spell out the

details of Hissecond coming soclearly that wecould put them

together and knowexactly how and

when it will occur?


when they asked thequestion. He introduced the unexpected element toprepare them for the truthsabout the church age andrapture—truths that wouldbe made clear after Hisascension.

PURPOSEFULAMBIGUITYIf you have read our Lord’sprophetic words recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13,and Luke 17 and 21, youprobably wish you couldfind somebody who wouldgive you a crystal-clearexplanation of all He said. If so, join the club! Manypeople have had the sameexperience and asked, “Why didn’t He spell out thedetails of His second comingso clearly that we could putthem together and knowexactly how and when it will occur?” The answer isquite simple: He didn’t setout to give us this kind ofinformation. His aim was to

teach us that we should livein continual readiness forour meeting with Him.

In blending together intoone picture references to thedestruction of Jerusalem inAD 70, the endtime sacrilegein the temple, the apostolicpersecution, the endtimegreat tribulation, the signs inthe heavenly bodies, and anunexpected coming, the Lordfollowed the pattern of theOld Testament prophets. Intheir prophecies they alsomerged, without explanationabout sequence, predictionsthat would occur at fourdifferent time periods: (1) intheir own lifetime, (2) in thenear future, (3) at Messiah’sfirst coming, and (4) at theend of time. For example, the prophecies of Jesus’ birth,exaltation, rule, suffering,and death (Isa. 7:14;52:13–54:17; Jer. 23:5; Mic.5:4) were written in such away that they could not beplaced in chronological orderuntil they were fulfilled.

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We can be thankful thatGod doesn’t tell each of usindividually the exact timeor manner of our death.Similarly, He didn’t give us aprecise answer to the what,when, and how questionsregarding our Lord’s return.It’s better for us to live in thetension produced by therealization, “Perhaps today,but maybe not in mylifetime.”

IMMINENCYPARABLESAt the conclusion of theOlivet Discourse, Jesus toldtwo parables that shout outthe message, “Be ready!”

In the first one (Mt.24:45-51), the servant is leftin charge while his master isaway on a trip. He beginsthinking that the owner willbe gone a long time, so heabuses the people underhim and lives it up. But themaster returns unexpectedlyand punishes him severely.

In the second parable

(Mt. 25:1-13), 10 virgins areinvited to attend a weddingreception, but they have towait for the arrival of thewedding procession. Theyknow it is coming, but theydon’t know just when. Theprocession in which eachperson carries a lightedtorch arrives, but five of thegirls can’t join the groupbecause they have no oil intheir torches. However, thefive who are preparedbecome part of the rejoicingcompany. The message isclear. “We don’t know whenJesus is coming back.Therefore, be ready!”

Down through thecenturies Bible expositorshave applied these parablesto the church. The servantwho behaved wickedly andthe five girls who had no oilrepresent professingChristians who are not trulysaved. When Jesus comesunexpectedly for His own,He will punish them andexclude them from His

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banquet hall. What a call toreadiness! What a powerfulintimation of imminency!

SOME DON’TAGREE

WWhen the Lordappears in the air

unexpectedly totake His people to heaven,many Christians will be just as surprised as non-Christians. That is becausemany believers are notconvinced that the rapture of the church could occur at any moment. They knowthat Jesus is coming back,but they do not see Hisreturn in two stages. Theydon’t keep an eye on the sky.Let’s look at their objectionsto an imminent rapture.

OBJECTION:The Any-MomentRapture Is A RecentIdea In ChurchHistory. A commonobjection to the any-

moment, pretribulationaldoctrine of Christ’s returnrelates to its supposedrecent origin. Someposttribulationists attempt to show that it began in the1820s with an unstableScottish clergyman namedEdward Irving. They saythat he was the first personto develop the idea thatChrist’s return would occurin two stages, and that aneccentric named MargaretMacdonald picked up on histeaching during the 1830s.Then, a few years later, J. N. Darby and severalother Plymouth Brethrenteachers further developedthe idea of the two-stagereturn. Posttribulationiststell us to reject the any-moment rapture ideabecause it, like the teachings of the Mormonsand Jehovah’s Witnesses, isof recent and dubious origin.

Before we obey thesecritics and bid farewell toour belief in the rapture, let’s

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think through their charge.Was the any-momentteaching really new? Did thetwo-stage teaching originatewith evil, irresponsiblepeople as posttribulationistsclaim? Did the teaching ofthe second coming developdifferently from otherimportant doctrines? We’llfind that each of the abovequestions can be given a solid answer of no.

1. The any-momentidea was not new. Thewritings of the church fathersare filled with warnings tolive in continual readinessfor our Lord’s return. Thesemen applied the parable ofJesus about the wise andfoolish virgins to the peopleof their age, urging them tokeep their lamps burning so they would be ready forJesus at His return for them.They probably didn’t see theneed to develop a concept of two stages in the Lord’sreturn because they tendedto identify the Antichrist with

the Roman Empire andsometimes thought ofthemselves as already inthe great tribulation.

Christians down throughthe centuries, mindful of thewarning of Jesus that Hiscoming would catch theworld by surprise, never felt comfortable saying thatJesus Christ could not comeat any moment. ManyChristians expected Christ’sreturn during great naturaldisasters like earthquakes or tornadoes. When the dust storms during the early 1930s caused an eerie daytime darkness insome of our midwesternstates, many Christianspanicked, thinking that thesecond coming was at hand.

The idea that the Lordcould come at any momentcertainly did not originatewith Edward Irving. In fact,it didn’t even originate withDarby. He simply tried todevelop a biblical viewpointthat would explain how the

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imminent-return idea couldbe harmonized with theteaching of the Bible about atribulation prior to the return.

2. The PlymouthBrethren who developedthe two-stage teachingwere biblical scholars.The claim that Irving andMacdonald clearly taughtthe two-stage second comingdoctrine rests on flimsyevidence. In fact, theirwritings on this subject are confusing. While Darbyand his Plymouth Brethrenassociates may have pickedup some ideas from Irvingand Macdonald, theydeveloped their teachingthrough a careful andsystematic study of theScriptures in the originallanguages. They weresystematic in the applicationof the Scriptures. Theyrejected some elements of Irving’s teachings andproduced a sane andcoherent doctrine of lastthings. These men, like

Augustine, Luther, Calvin,and Wesley, had flaws andblind spots. But like them,they were also sincere men of God who madetremendous contributions to the church in bothleadership and doctrine.

3. The method ofdevelopment for this two-stage return idea is similarto that of other doctrines.The doctrines of justification,sanctification, and God’ssovereignty, though taughtby Christian leaders downthrough the centuries, werenever as fully developed asthey were by Luther, Calvin,and Wesley. Throughout theyears of church history, theHoly Spirit has led the Lord’s people into clearerunderstanding of God’sWord in every area ofChristian doctrine, includingthat of the second coming.

In summary, the claimthat we should abandon thepretribulation, any-momentdoctrine of Christ’s return

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because of a recent anddubious origin carries noweight. The logic that rejectsa teaching on this basisdemands that we also reject Luther’s teaching onjustification, Calvin’s insightsinto God’s sovereignty, andWesley’s contributionstoward an understanding of sanctification.

OBJECTION:The Rapture Is Not In Scripture. If we are toconsider ourselves peoplewho “go by the Book,” wehave to be careful that we

never support an argumentby adding to the Biblesomething that isn’t there.One of those “somethings”that isn’t found in God’sWord is the word rapture.

When we use this wordto designate the time ofJesus’ return in the air totake His followers toheaven, though, we are not violating Scripture. Forexample, the word Trinitydoesn’t appear in the Bible,but posttribulationists don’tdeny its truth.

Where, then, does theterm rapture come from? In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, Paulsaid that living believers willbe “caught up” with thedead in Christ to meet theLord in the air. The Greekword Paul used here isharpazo, which means “tosnatch away.” When theBible was translated intoLatin, the scholars renderedharpazo as rapturo. It is just a short step then fromrapturo to the English word

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The claim that weshould abandon thepretribulation, any-moment doctrine of Christ’s return

because of a recentand dubious origincarries no weight.


rapture. Therefore, althoughit is true that the word itselfdoes not appear in ourEnglish translation ofScripture, the sense of the word is surely there.Christians will be snatchedaway when the Lorddescends with a shout.

OBJECTION:Jesus’ Prophecy AboutPeter. Another objection tothe doctrine of imminencystems from what Jesus toldPeter, as recorded in John21. He said, “When youwere younger, you girdedyourself and walked whereyou wished; but when youare old, you will stretch outyour hands, and another will gird you and carry youwhere you do not wish”(v.18). This prophecy, whichwe know now indicated thatPeter would be arrested andmartyred, is used by some to refute the possibility ofimminency. The return ofChrist could not have been

imminent because Jesuswould have had to wait atleast until Peter had passedfrom the scene at an old age.

Age is such a relativeterm. Does this mean Peterwould have to be 75 beforeJesus’ words would befulfilled? In the NewTestament era, lifespanswere much shorter than theyare now. Paul, for example,called himself “aged” whenhe wrote to Philemon, andhe was probably in his fifties.Taking into account thatPeter was already in his mid-thirties when Jesus spokethose words, it would not bevery many years until he toocould consider himself old.

Granted, there wouldhave been a few years in thefirst century during whichanyone who knew of thisprediction would haveknown that Jesus’ comingwas not imminent, but thattime was brief. Besides,Peter was “old” by the timePaul wrote his epistles.

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NOW YOU SEETHEM, NOW YOU DON’T

SSeveral years ago, David Copperfieldastounded a national

television audience bymaking the Statue of Liberty“disappear.” Those whowatched the spectacle on TV confessed bewildermentand amazement at such agrand display of illusion. All the while, the audienceknew, and Copperfieldhimself agreed, it was all just a trick. The Lady never left her pedestal.

How that illusion by this

master magician pales incomparison with what willoccur when Jesus Christappears to end this age andusher in the day of the Lord!No mirrors, no stage hands,and no trickery will beneeded when the Saviorreaches out His arms andmakes millions of people—both living and dead—disappear from earth.

Here’s how Pauldescribed the disappearanceof millions into the heavens.

Behold, I tell you amystery: We shall not allsleep, but we shall all bechanged—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,and the dead will beraised incorruptible, andwe shall be changed (1 Cor. 15:51-52).And in 1 Thessalonians

4:16-17 he said:The Lord Himself willdescend from heaven witha shout, with the voice of

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an archangel, and with thetrumpet of God. And thedead in Christ will rise first.Then we who are alive andremain shall be caught uptogether with them in theclouds to meet the Lord inthe air. And thus we shallalways be with the Lord.From these two passages

we can learn several thingsabout the rapture.

Who will beraptured? Imagine thethrill of hearing the shout ofthe Lord, the voice of thearchangel, and the trumpetof God. Imagine looking upand seeing Jesus with Hisopen arms, ready to holdyou for an eternity. Imaginethese things, though, only ifyou are a Christian. In bothof these passages, Paul isaddressing brethren, a termthat denotes fellow believersin Jesus Christ. Also, inPaul’s letter to theThessalonians, hementioned that the “dead inChrist” would rise first. This

indicates that all people whotrusted in Jesus from the Dayof Pentecost (the first timeanyone was “in Christ”) untilthe moment of rapture—boththe living and the dead—would join Jesus. This is anevent solely for Christians.

Will this be a secretevent? Some Bible studentsrefer to this “catching up” ofthe church as a secretrapture. They claim that onlyChristians will hear theshouts and trumpet blasts.Whether or not this is true,this event will hardly besecret. When wholecongregations of peopledisappear, when employeessuddenly vanish, when vitalpublic services are disruptedby mass absenteeism, peoplewill notice. So no matter howblinded the unbelievingworld may be to the eventsin the sky, they’ll soon knowthat something extraordinaryhas occurred.

What happens tobelievers? A quick trip to

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heaven is just the beginningof the marvelous things thatwill happen at the rapture.Apparently, the momentliving believers are usheredinto Christ’s presence, theywill receive their new bodies.Paul wrote, “We shall all bechanged—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. . . . For this corruptible must put onincorruption, and this mortalmust put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:51-53).

Where will believersgo? Posttribulationists teachthat when Jesus appears inthe sky, Christians will riseto meet Him, make a U-turn, and descend to earth.Then Jesus will set up Hisearthly kingdom. Besides theobvious strangeness of thisup-and-down scenario, thistheory has another problem.It seems to contradict John14. After Jesus had made theUpper Room announcementthat He was departing, Hereassured His disciples by

telling them that Hisdeparture was related towhat He was doing forbelievers—preparing aneternal dwelling place forthem. Then He told them He would be coming back to take them to that place. IfJesus does not take us to be

with Him at the rapture,then what happened to Hispromise of a place in HisFather’s house?

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The rapture willhardly be secret.

When wholecongregations ofpeople disappear,when employees

suddenly vanish, whenvital public servicesare disrupted by

mass absenteeism,people will notice.


WORLD OF JOY; WORLD OF TERROR

TThe rapture will change everything. In addition to calling

out the world’s population of Christians, it will create anew society of people withglorified bodies far removedfrom the limits of earth. Nolonger will this blue marblehave a monopoly on thepopulace. And just as earth and heaven will be composed of entirelyopposite groups of people,so they will represent totallyvariant events. The two

worlds will be as different asany two societies have everbeen. Let’s see what will be going on in these twodivergent worlds in the yearsthat separate the two stagesof Jesus’ return.

A TIME OF JOY:AN AWARDSCEREMONYFew scenes are as touchingand heartwarming as theawards presentations at theOlympic games. We can allrecall specific athletes andtheir reactions as theyreceived their medal andthen proudly turned to gazeupon their country’s flag asthe national anthem wasplayed.

In a small measure, thiscan help us see what willtranspire for the rapturedbelievers at the event calledthe judgment seat of Christ(2 Cor. 5:10). Soon afterJesus has called His people together with a shout and a trumpet blast,

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this presentation of rewards will begin inheaven. Christians will stand before Christ theJudge, either to be rewardedwith crowns (lit. a winner’swreath) for the good thingsthey have done for God, or to “suffer loss” for theirfailure or neglect.

To understand what itmeans to “suffer loss,” thinkagain of the Olympic athlete.The medalists earn the prize,while those who lose must step aside with therealization that they havenot gained the reward. Theyare still members of theirOlympic teams, of course,but they have suffered loss.

What, then, will be God’smeans of judging what wasworthy of honor and whatwasn’t? First Corinthians3:13-15 speaks of a trial by fire. Any works that were done with a selfishmotivation will perish in thefire just as wood, hay, andstubble are consumed. But

those things that were doneon earth with God’s glory inmind will live on. Like goldand silver, they cannot beburned. The key elements in testing these works will be their quality and the

motivation behind them.What kind of rewards canthe Christian work toward?At least five distinct crownsare mentioned in Scripture.

• An incorruptible crown 22

Christians will stand before

Christ the Judgeand either berewarded withcrowns for the

good things theyhave done for God

or “suffer loss”for their failure

or neglect.


for overcoming the oldnature (1 Cor. 9:25-27).

• A crown of rejoicing for being a soulwinner(1 Th. 2:19-20).

• A crown of life forenduring persecutionand trials (Jas. 1:12;Rev. 2:10).

• A crown of righteousnessfor eagerly lookingforward to Christ’s return (2 Tim. 4:8).

• A crown of glory forshepherding the flock of God (1 Pet. 5:4).

The glory of the event is only beginning when allthe crowns are handed out,for these rewards are notearned for personal gain.When Christians receivetheir crowns at the judgment seat of Christ, they will give honor to Jesusby casting them at His feet(Rev. 4:10). Imagine thescene as millions of glorifiedbelievers offer their heavenlyrewards to God for Hisglory!

A TIME OF TERROR:ANTICHRIST ANDJUDGMENTWhat a contrast there willbe between the best of timesin heaven and the worst oftimes on earth! Althoughthings may at first seem tobe tolerable, after Jesusremoves the Christians andthe restraining power of theHoly Spirit, the situation willdeteriorate quickly. Twoevents during this time willspell trouble, terror, andtragedy for those left behind.The first—the revealing ofAntichrist—will precipitatethe second—the tribulation.

Referred to as the “manof sin” in 2 Thessalonians2:3, Antichrist will gainpower as the final king ofthe restored Roman Empire.Of course, a man whoachieves the measure ofworldwide power that will go to Antichrist cannot do so without first conning hisfellowman into followinghim. How he will do this is

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not exactly known, but hewill probably show that hecan create an orderly societyout of one that has beenreeling in chaos. In addition,he will work miraculouswonders by the power of Satan. Yet hisbenevolence will soon turn to malevolence. He will fiercely persecute andattempt to slaughter all whoaccept Christ and woulddare refuse his demand that he be worshiped (Rev. 6:9-11).

Antichrist will not be the only source of sufferingduring this time oftribulation. In addition,these days will be markedby great calamity that willcome as a result of God’sjudgment and wrath (Joel1:15; Rev. 11:18; 16:9).Amid this devastation willbe the death of one quarterof the world’s population(Rev. 6:8), massiveearthquakes (Isa. 2:19),catastrophic fires (Isa.

24:1,3,6), and suddendestruction (1 Th. 5:3).

Near the last part of thegreat tribulation, Antichristwill unwittingly begin settingthe stage for an event onGod’s prophetic calendarthat will be the grandestevent of all time—therevelation of Jesus Christ at His glorious return.

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Antichrist will notbe the only sourceof suffering during

this time oftribulation.Thesedays will also bemarked by greatcalamity—the result of God’s

judgment and wrath.


THE KING ISBACK—TO STAY!

TThe tensions thatheadline the nightlynews from the Middle

East in our day do notcompare with the eventsthat will mark the finalmonths of action during thetribulation. As the clockwinds down on the reign ofAntichrist, more and morecountries will align togetheragainst him and do battlewith him in Palestine.

At the climax of thosehostilities, armies of the “kingof the north” and the “king ofthe south” will attempt to

overrun Antichrist and histroops. Unfortunately forthem and for the people ofneighboring countries in theMiddle East, Antichrist willlead his army to victory. AsDaniel described it, “He shall enter the countries,overwhelm them, and passthrough. He shall also enterthe Glorious Land, and many countries shall beoverthrown” (Dan. 11:40-41).

Yet all will not be calm inAntichrist’s camp. Despite hisvictories, he will hear rumorsthat new armies from theOrient are ready to attack.Angrily, he will dispatch histroops to Jerusalem. Indeed,the Eastern armies willarrive, spelling trouble for theJewish people. These newarmies will stand against theJews in Jerusalem—just asAntichrist’s troops will. Here’show Zechariah described it:

I will gather all thenations to battle againstJerusalem; the city shall betaken, the houses rifled,

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IMMINENT

CHARAC

TERISTICS

KIN

GD

OM

SET

UP

YEARS

COMING

RAPTURE

GLORIOUSRETURN

SECOND

INTERVENING


and the women ravished.Half of the city shall gointo captivity, but theremnant of the peopleshall not be cut off fromthe city (Zech. 14:2).The scene seems

hopeless. The Jews have nowhere to turn as twoopposing armies sweep overthem. There appears to beno way out for this war-wracked people.

THE WARRIOR-KINGINTERVENESSuddenly, the scene willchange. The heavens willopen and Jesus will return.He is portrayed as clothed ina robe dipped in blood andriding on a white horse asHe appears in the air tosend his white-clothed armyagainst the armies ofAntichrist (Rev. 19:11-21).Victory will be swift andcomplete as the beast iscaptured and banished tothe lake of fire, and his armyis soundly defeated.

This, then, is the secondcoming of Jesus Christ. TheKing of the universe, whohad appeared in the air justa few years before, will have

come back to end thetribulation and to establishHis millennial kingdom onearth.

THE JUDGE-KINGHOLDS COURTAmong Jesus’ first duties asHe prepares to set up His1,000-year reign is to sit in

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The King of theuniverse, who hadappeared in the air

just a few yearsbefore, will comeback to end thetribulation and to establish His

millennial kingdomon earth.


judgment on several groupsof people. Remember thatHe will have already judgedmany when He distributedrewards to the rapturedsaints after they were takenup to heaven. But now thereare new people to examine.In the first days after ourLord’s return to earth, Hewill judge three groups:

1. Resurrected believersfrom before Pentecost, alongwith martyred tribulationsaints (Dan. 12:1-3).

2. Jews who had gonethrough the tribulation(Ezek. 20:33-44). Some willbe allowed to becomecitizens of the kingdom andsome will be cast intoHades. Their destination willdepend on whether theychose to accept Christ or tofollow Antichrist and hisrevolt.

3. Gentiles (Mt. 25).What Jesus will do withGentiles who endured thetribulation will depend onhow they treated Christ’s

“brethren” during thosedevastating years. Thosewho showed kindness tothem showed their love forJesus, so they will enter thekingdom. The rest will be“cast away” either becausethey worshiped Antichrist orbecause they mistreatedJews or both.

THE CREATOR-KINGRE-CREATESShortly after Jesus’ gloriousreturn, He will transformthis age-old earth, reversingsome of the fallout from thecurse in the Garden of Eden.These changes will allow theinhabitants of earth to enjoya time of prosperity andhappiness unparalleled in human history. His re-creation will be marked by:

IncreasedProductivity. Isaiah saidthat “the desert shall rejoiceand blossom as the rose; itshall blossom abundantly”(Isa. 35:1-2). Evidently, newareas of land will be made

27


fruitful, and this new sourceof usable land will lead to atime of great prosperity.Even the fishing willimprove (Ezek. 47:9).

Better Weather.Notice again the words ofIsaiah, who wrote, “Then Hewill give the rain for yourseed with which you sow theground, and bread of theincrease of the earth; it willbe fat and plentiful” (Isa.30:23). Jesus’ transformingwork will include changes inthe climate of earth. The sunwill be more radiant, andeven the moon will shinebrighter (v.26).

PeacefulCoexistence OfAnimals. “The wolf alsoshall dwell with the lamb,the leopard shall lie downwith the young goat, the calfand the young lion and thefatling together” (Isa. 11:6-7). Although we don’t knowhow this will affect suchthings as the food chainamong animals, we can be

assured that His plans forthis time will surely causeour lives to be moreenjoyable.

THE RULER-KINGREIGNSThe millennial kingdom ofour Lord Jesus Christ will notbe a democracy. Rather it willbe a benevolent dictatorship.Another way of describing it would be to call it atheocracy—a government led by God. As ruler of theearth during this time, Jesuswill be a king who will “reignand prosper, and executejudgment and righteousnessin the earth” (Jer. 23:5).

As King, Jesus will dowhat no other leader inhistory has been able to do.He will govern with absoluteauthority, righteousness, and justice. Finally, after somany failures on the part ofmankind, a utopian worldwill have arrived. Jesus willrule as we have alwaysdesired leaders to rule.

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HELPING YOUHELP OTHERS

AAs you study the secondcoming with others,

try using thesequestions as discussionstarters. You’ll find thatdigging into the Word willcreate a hunger for clearteaching and analysis of the topic.

EVIDENCE FOR AN ANY-MOMENTRETURN1. What biblical evidence

suggests that Christ’sreturn will be in twophases?

2. Why is the distinctionbetween Israel and the church basic tounderstanding prophecy?

3. How can the followingconflict be resolved? The Bible teaches thatmany dramatic events will precede the Lord’ssecond coming, but it also predicts that Christ

will come unexpectedly.4. Why is it so important

for us to live with theexpectation that Christcould return at anymoment? (2 Pet. 3:10-14;1 Jn. 2:28–3:3).

CHARACTERISTICSOF THE RAPTURE1. List as many

characteristics as you can about the rapture of the church.

2. According to 1 Corinthians 15:51-53,what is in store forChristians who will beraptured?

3. How does Jesus’ promisein John 14:1-3 that Hewould go to prepare aplace for His followers fitinto the rapture picture?

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CHRIST’SRETURN ANDYOU

RRichard De Haan,fformer president and teacher of

RBC Ministries, used to tell a story on himself thatpictures the readinessChristians should havewhen they think of therapture. When Richard andhis brother Marvin were stillliving at home, their parents,Dr. and Mrs. M. R. De Haanwould often have to go outof town for speakingengagements. The boysenjoyed the independence of being left alone—exceptfor one thing. They detesteddoing the dishes.

On one such occasion,they put off sticking theirhands in soapy dishwater as long as possible. Theystacked the grimy plates,glasses, and silverware in theoven after each meal. Soonall the dishes were dirty and

all the spare space was filled.Then, on the night beforetheir parents were to return,Richard and Marvin rolledup their sleeves and had amarathon dishwashingsession. Although the youngDe Haans never got caughtwith their dishes dirty,Richard commented, “Howashamed we would havebeen if our parents hadcome back earlier than weexpected!”

The imminent return ofour Lord Jesus should leadus to a similar sentiment.How ashamed we would be if He came back and we weren’t expecting Him.Unlike our illustration, wedo not know exactly whenJesus will return in the air to take His people to be withHim. As a result, we shouldlive in a continual state ofexpectancy. We shouldn’t be stacking our “dirtydishes” all over; we shouldconstantly keep our livesclean and in line with what

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God expects from us. That’s not the only part

of our lives that should beaffected by the hope of anany-moment return of ourLord. In addition, we should

have a sense of urgencytoward those who don’tknow Jesus. All too often we live as if we have all thetime in the world to conveythe message of salvation,when in reality we don’teven know if we will havethe rest of the day to do so.The prospect of lostopportunities to share the

gospel should propel us intoa deeper concern for the lost.

Let’s look at it anotherway. Suppose you knewexactly when Jesus wouldcome back. You wouldprobably have a “To Do” list that would fill pages:

• Write letters. • Make phone calls.• Pay back money owed.• Apologize for

wrongs done.• Tell neighbors

about Jesus.• Pray for unsaved

family members.• Spend more time

reaching out to the lost.And on and on the list

could go. More than anythingelse, we would want to geteverything squared awaybefore the big day that wascoming closer every second.Although we would be securein our salvation, we wouldwant to do all we could tofurther the Lord’s work in thetime we had remaining.

The fact that we don’t 31

Temporal goals lose some of their

importance when werealize that we might

not have as muchtime as we thoughtto accomplish things

of eternal value.


know the day and time ofJesus’ return, though,shouldn’t deter us from doingexactly that. We may nothave the assurance that wecan accomplish everythingon that “To Do” list, but weshould have those kinds ofgoals—perhaps with moreurgency. Temporal goals losesome of their importancewhen we realize that wemight not have as much timeas we thought to accomplishthings of eternal value.

There is another, evenmore important,consideration. Everyone whoknows that Jesus Christ couldcome back at any momentmust do some seriousthinking. Beyond making listsof good things that need tobe done, each person mustmake sure that he knowsJesus Christ as personalSavior. That is the singlemost important commitmentany man, woman, or childcould ever make.

After Jesus returns for His

own, those who have neveraccepted Him will be leftbehind to face a time oftrouble and difficulty thisworld has never before seen.God’s wrath will be pouredout over the face of theearth. Death, destruction,deceit, and danger will reign.It’s a prospect that shouldcause every thinking personto consider seriously theclaims of Jesus Christ.

Yes, Jesus is coming back.Perhaps He will come today.Are you ready? If not, youcan be. Without anothersecond’s delay, praysomething like this: “LordJesus, I admit that I’m asinner. I believe the Bibleand what it says about You.Realizing that You gave Yourlife for me, that you died formy sins and arose from thedead, I am trusting You andYou alone for my salvation.”

That is the first and mostimportant step in gettingready for His return, a returnthat may be today!

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What Can We Know About The Second Coming