The second coming of Jesus and the rapture of the church.
1. The taking of the church to Christ and the second coming of Jesus are two events that will happen several years apart.
2. Of these two events, the first will be the rapture of the church, during which Jesus will not be on earth. He takes the sky from the clouds.
1 Thessalonians 4:17
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.
3. In the first coming of Jesus, He was born into the world as a man and sacrificed His life for our sins. That is, He was born into the world as a baby in the stable of Bethlehem that day for a special act, that is, to be a peace offering for our sins.
The second coming of Jesus will be the same. Just like His first coming, in His second coming He will come to this world to perform special tasks.
– He rides a white horse with great power and glory.
Revelation 19:11-13
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
– The beast and the kings of the earth gather to fight against Him and His army, but He defeats them.
Revelation 19:19
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
– One of His powerful angels will bind Satan for a thousand years, cast him into the underworld, and seal him up.
Revelation 20:1-3
And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4. When the church is taken up, Jesus takes the saints to the throne of God in heaven and presents them to Him.
The congregation will participate in the feast of refuge of the Lamb which is going to happen in heaven.
Revelation 19:7-9
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has prepared herself.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
5. The church taken up to heaven will come to this earth with Jesus at the second coming and reign for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
6. The time between the rapture and the second coming of Jesus.
There will be seven years of tribulation on earth before the second coming of Jesus.
Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Matthew 24:15,21
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,'[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How terrible it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
Meanwhile, commentators have three opinions about taking to the sky. that is,
– Rapture of the church before the tribulation period.
– The rapture of the church in the midst of the tribulation
– The rapture of the church at the end of the tribulation period
There are three opinions.