Is there A Difference Between
The Rapture and Revelation
of Christ?
Intro: Some folks imagine a gap of seven years between the rapture and revelation of Jesus Christ as two separate events. This is because of an inability to properly interpret scriptures and the need to read into the scriptures what is simply not there.
A. The Coming “with” the Saints – “…even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God
bring WITH him.” – v. 14
B. The Coming “for” the saints – “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air..” – v. 17
C. The NON-Secret Rapture - “dead…shall rise first” – grave yards opening and bodies going up
“with a shout…voice of the archangel”
“the trump of God”
“we which are alive…caught up”
Conclusion: There is no “with” versus a “for” coming at all. At one and the same coming He comes “with” the DEPARTED saints FOR the living saints. The only way to keep the above coming secret is if the rest of the world is both deaf and blind and God uses a dog whistle for a trump!!!!!
A. Judgement and rewards of
saints happen after 7th trump – Rev. 11:18
“And the seventh trump sounded….the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou
shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy
name, small and great…” – Rev. 11:15,28
B. The marriage and marriage supper
after the 7th trump when the kingdoms become the kingdoms
of God and His Christ:
“the Lord omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to Him: for the marriage of
the Lamb is come…” – Rev. 19:6-9
C. The placement of the marriage is found in chapter 19 after the 70th week is finished and after it is said the Lord is reigning. Each vision in the book of Revelation arranges its internal content matters in chronological order. There are no exceptions. Pretribbers are faced with the Posttrib placement of the Marriage at chapter 19 instead of between chapters 4-18 and they are faced with the internal arrangements of 19:1-10 in chronological order that teaches a Post-trib wedding. Every event in chapter 19:1-10 is found in the historical Aorist tense. TheWedding Psalm 45 places the battle of Armageddon BEFORE the wedding. The Typology of David (battle king) and Solomon (bride King) teaches the same truth. The Pretrib position is absolutely bankrupt scripturally.
“And to you who are troubled rest with us, WHEN the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with
his mighty angels IN FLAMING FIRE….” – vv. 7,8
“WHEN the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, IN FLAMING FIRE taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
C. The precise point of the rapture is when the Lord is revealed in heaven just before He descends and
takes vengeance at the battle of Armageddon. The inspired grammar in verse 7 above places the
deliverance of the churches from tribulation “WHEN” at His “revelation” in flaming fire.
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming our our Lord Jesus Christ EVEN by our gathering together unto him. That be ye not soon shaken in mind….as that the day of Christ is imminent. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come THE APOSTASY first AND that man of sin be revealed…” (More literal translation)
Note: The inspired Grammar in verse 1 demands that the “coming” and “gathering” are one and the same event. Some had claimed the resurrection to be already past. Paul had taught that the day of resurrection and rapture were the same day. Here he confirms that such a day has not yet come and won’t until THE APOSTASY and revelation of the man of sin occur first.
“rest with us WHEN the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven WITH HIS MIGHTY ANGELS.”
- Note: No rest from tribulation (v. 6) for the churches until “when” Christ is revealed with His mighty angels
“BEHOLD (lit. “look”) he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also WHICH PIERCED HIM…EVEN SO. Amen”
13 occurs before verse 14.
“immediately after the tribulation….they shall see the Son of man coming IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN…and He shall SEND (from heaven) his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together HIS ELECT from the four winds, from ONE END OF HEAVEN to the other.”
NOTE: The angels are SENT while He is in the clouds. The elect are gathered to Him into the “heaven” one end of it from the other end.
The term translated “meet” in I Thessalonians 4:17 is used
consistently throughout Biblical and secular history for those who go out to
meet someone and then turn right around and escort that honored person back to
their home. In Acts 28:15 the Romans come out to “meet” Paul and then escort
him back to Rome. When conquering
Generals would return to Rome, they would camp about a mile outside of Rome.
When the city had all the celebrations ready, the people would march out to
“meet” the conquering General and escort him back into Rome as a sign of honor
and respect. When Alexander the Great came to Jerusalem, the High Priest and
leaders of the city went out to “meet” him in order to escort him back into
Jerusalem. The saints will be gathered
together in the air to “meet” the Lord and then escort Him back to claim the
kingdoms of this world.
CONCLUSION: The Bible never
uses a PLURAL to describe any word used for the Lord’s return – NEVER. The
ridiculous notion that there is a two-phase single coming separated by seven
years is the wild imagination of desperate people. Imagine, leaving your home
and coming to your church door and picking up the deacon and then returning
home. Then seven days later bring you deacon with you back to the church door
and go in. How can any sane person imagine that this was a SINGLE COMING to the
church in two phases???????????
When the Scriptures are not being forced and mishandled, there is nothing found to support the pretrib myth.