Phases of the Lord's Second Coming--Definite Convictions Series

            Planning a vacation with your grown-up siblings or extended family can be an interesting process. You quickly find out that even though you’re family, you probably disagree about all kinds of vacation details.

            Some people want to hit all of the tourist hotspots. The larger the crowds, the better, because crowds mean energy and liveliness. Other people want to get away from it all. They’d rather find a cabin out in Montana and spend a week with no Internet and no cell phone reception.

            Some people like to pinch every penny when they’re on vacation. It’s like a personal challenge for them to beat the system! They want to take all their own food, and they know that if everyone gets 2 ½ pieces of bread each day, they can stretch three loaves over the entire trip. Other people like to live it up when they’re on vacation. They want to see what it feels like to be Warren Buffet, so their credit card never leaves their hand.

            But despite these differences, you realize that at the end of the day, you’re still family. You can live with differences like this because they’re not the core of what really makes you a family, anyway.

            Today, as we continue through our church’s Statement of Faith, we come to an issue on which there is some disagreement within the Christian family. It’s disagreement we can live with—we don’t need to denounce other churches over this issue, but there is value to taking a clear position within our own church.

            All Christians believe that Jesus is going to return to this world someday because he said he would. There is disagreement, though, about how he will return and when he will return. The specific question is this – will the events that we call the Rapture and the Second Coming happen at the same time in one event, or will they happen at different times and thus be two separate events?

            Our church believes and teaches that the Rapture and the Second Coming will be two separate events. Thus, our Statement of Faith refers to phases (plural) of the Lord’s Second Coming. It says:

We believe in the Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13), the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation and pre-millennial, bodily coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church; and in His subsequent return to Earth with His saints to establish His Millennial kingdom. (John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thess 1:10; 1 Thess 4:13-18; 2 Thess 1:7-9; Rev 3:10; 19:11-16; Zech 14:4-11)

You see a long list of verses there, and I’d like to read just a few of them – two of the main passages on the Rapture, and one of the main passages on the Second Coming [READ John 14:1-3; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Rev 19:11-16].

Why Do We Believe That The Rapture and The Second Coming Will Be Separate Events?

            All of these passages describe Jesus returning to this earth. Why do we believe that they refer to two separate events instead of just one? I’ll focus today on just three reasons.

1. The stated purpose for Christ’s return is different in different passages

            In John 14, Jesus said that he was leaving to prepare a place for his disciples and that he would come back for them so they could all live in that place together. That is a rather different purpose from Revelation 19, which describes Jesus coming to strike down the nations and to tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God.

            Now, this point all by itself does not make a slam-dunk case for the idea of separate events. After all, one event can certainly serve several purposes. Think of a wedding, for example. A wedding serves as a time for celebration, an opportunity for spiritual dedication as a couple takes vows before the Lord, and it marks the beginning of a legal contract between a husband and wife that is acknowledged by the government. So one event can fulfill several purposes, but recognizing different purposes in different passages at least opens the door to the idea that there could be different phases to Christ’s return.

2. Christ’s return is said to be imminent, yet many events are described that must happen before Christ returns

            Passages like James 5:7-9 teach us that Christ’s return could take place at any moment [READ James 5:7-9]. This passage pictures Jesus as being ready to step into our world right now. And yet, the Book of Revelation describes seven years’ worth of events that must take place before Christ can return. How can both of these ideas be true?

            That question is a real conundrum for Christians who believe that the Rapture and Second Coming are one event. The tension is resolved, however, when we view these happenings as two separate events. In this point of view, the Rapture is imminent, with the Second Coming then taking place seven years later.

            So the Rapture could happen at any moment, wherein the Lord will descend into the skies to take us out of the world to live with him in heaven. Then, seven years later, Jesus will return to the world with all of us in tow in order to establish his kingdom of peace on this planet.

3. The Apostle Paul calls the transformation of living Christians a “mystery”

            1 Thessalonians 4 spoke of living Christians being caught up into the clouds to meet the Lord and thus being instantly transformed in that moment. In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul referred to that truth as a “mystery” [READ 1 Cor 15:51-52].

            Paul uses that word “mystery” a few times in his writings, and when he does, he uses it to refer to truths that had not previously been revealed to mankind. In other words, he’s saying, “I’m going to let you in on a secret,” or “I’m going to tell you something you’ve never heard before.”

            That’s significant for this discussion because Christ’s coming to defeat his enemies and establish his kingdom was clearly foretold in the Old Testament. What we read about in Revelation 19 had already been clearly predicted in passages like Zechariah 14.

            The point is that Paul could not have referred to the Second Coming as a mystery since it had already been revealed. So, when he talks about living believers being instantly transformed and meeting the Lord in the air, he must be referring to a different event than what had already been foretold in the Old Testament.

Monday Matters

            So what difference does it make for you in your daily life to know that there will be two phases to Christ’s return – the Rapture and then the Second Coming? It means that you can live with this confidence and assurance:

God has not destined you to taste his wrath.

            Why will Jesus rapture us out of this world seven years prior to his Second Coming? Because the period of time between those two events will be a time of anguish unlike anything this world has yet seen. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that it will be a time of great trouble and tribulation, and that if God did not limit that period to just a few years, no one at all would survive it.

            But God will take us out of the world prior to that time in order to spare us from it. God has a history of protecting his people in moments when he expresses his appropriate anger toward sin. He did it for Noah and his family when he flooded the earth; he did it for Lot when he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; he did it for the children of Israel when the plagues ravaged Egypt but left them unscathed. Apparently, he is going to do it for us before he sends judgments upon the world for our rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

            So God has not destined you to taste his wrath. I think that truth should also influence the way that we interpret the normal sufferings of life that we face here in a fallen world. When we face hard, painful times, it is very common for us to wonder, “Is God angry at me? Is that why this is happening? Am I facing his anger for something?”

            This truth about the Rapture should remind us of the glorious deliverance and salvation that we have through Jesus Christ. We are saved from the wrath of God through him, so when we face the trials of life, we don’t need to jump to the conclusion that God is angry with us. Since you are God’s child, his fundamental outlook toward you is one of acceptance and love and mercy. The gaze that looks down on you from heaven is always tender and compassionate, never angry and stern.

            We are saved from the wrath of God, both now and in the future when God will express his wrath toward mankind in the Tribulation. And so we look forward with great anticipation to the moment when Jesus will come to take his children out of the world to be with him in the place that he is preparing. And we will rejoice greatly on the day when we come back from heaven with him to enjoy the kingdom of peace that he will establish in this world.

When the Saints Go Marching In--Isaiah Series

            Over the last two weeks, the nations of the world have been battling in London for athletic supremacy. Countries take great pride in their success at the Olympics. I’ve even heard that some countries are planning to form commissions to investigate why they didn’t win more medals!

            This competitive spirit shouldn’t surprise us, because its characterized the history of our race. Ever since human beings were dispersed by God from the Tower of Babel, our history has been marked by competition and conflict. Sometimes that conflict has been waged on the ballfield, and sometimes it has been waged on the battlefield, but the goal has always been the same—supremacy.

            According to the Bible, history is moving toward a period of time in which the nation of Israel will be exalted over all the other nations of the world—not because there’s anything particularly special about Israel, but simply because God has chosen to stake His reputation upon her destiny.

            If we are to take God’s promises in the Old Testament at face value, then we must conclude that there are glorious days ahead for the nation of Israel—not because of anything they will accomplish, but because of the king who will one day reign over them: the Lord Jesus Christ!

            The final chapters of Isaiah describe the climax of human history in which Israel will play a leading role because of her coming King. This may seem like an odd step for studying Isaiah, but I’d like to direct your attention first of all to the last chapter of Zechariah. Zechariah 14 describes in very straightforward terms the same events that Isaiah describes in more poetic terms. Sometimes, with poetic language, its tricky to discern a precise sequence of events, so Zechariah will give us the framework that will help us understand the prophecies of Isaiah [READ Zechariah 14:1-19]. Let’s make sure we grasp the broad outline of these verses. They describe a time when the Lord will physically appear in Jerusalem to defeat some armies that are gathered there against the people of Israel. The Lord will then become king over all the earth, and all the nations will become subservient to Him. These are the events that we usually call the Second Coming and the Millennium, and you can read more about them in Revelation 19-20.

            So with this outline of events in mind, let’s look at Isaiah’s description of these events in chapters 59-62. Our main points this morning focus on the metaphor of a change of wardrobe that these chapters describe—first for the Lord, then for His people.

I. The Lord puts on His battle armor to come as a Savior to Jerusalem (59:14-21)

            The prophecy in Zechariah focused on the external threat to Jerusalem from foreign armies. Isaiah focuses on the internal spiritual condition of Israel, and we see that it will not be universally pleasing to the Lord [READ 59:14-20]. These verses describe the coming of the Lord that we read about in Zechariah, when the Lord will come with deliverance and protection for those who are in God’s family, and vengeance against those who are not.

            The Lord will then establish His kingdom in Jerusalem, as Isaiah had already prophesied in chapters 2, 9, and 11. Isaiah poetically describes this time as a change to garments of praise rather than garments of mourning.

II. The Lord gives His people garments of praise rather than mourning (60:1-62:12)

           

            A. The nations will be drawn to Israel with offerings and praise for her God (60:1-9)

            B. The children of Israel will be gathered to the homeland that God promised to their ancestor, Abraham (60:1-9)

            These first two points are both characteristics of this time that Isaiah describes in 60:1-9 [READ 60:1-9]. Verse 9 offers an important point of emphasis. This passage describes a parade of people coming to Israel with their wealth, but v. 9 emphasizes that these gifts are “for the name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel.”

            Israel will be blessed, however, because of their association with Jesus, their King. Think of the way that friends and relatives of famous people tend to get special treatment—that’s the basic idea.

            C. The children of Israel will enjoy peace, blessing, and security (60:10-12, 18)

            [READ 60:10-12, 18] Since the time that the Jewish people first settled in the Promised Land, it has hardly known a time of extended peace, but such is the Lord’s promise for the time of His kingdom.

            D. The children of Israel will all embrace righteousness (60:21)

            [READ 60:21] Notice again that all of this is for the Lord’s glory. This point highlights the reason that this kingdom on earth has been delayed for so long—the Jewish people as a whole have never embraced the righteousness of God; they have never embraced His plan of salvation. When Jesus first began to preach in the Gospels, His message was “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” The king was here, and I believe He was genuinely offering to establish His kingdom, but the people were not spiritually prepared for it, so He called them to repent. By and large, however, Jesus was rejected by the Jewish people, but this rejection only served to further God’s plan to provide forgiveness for sins by sending Jesus to the cross. But when Jesus returns, there will be Jewish believers waiting to greet Him, and they will be the foundation of a righteous remnant who will live in Christ’s kingdom.

            E. Mourning and oppression will give way to comfort, gladness, and praise (61:1-4)

            [READ 61:1-4]

            F. Jerusalem will be honored throughout the Earth (62:1-12)

            [READ 62:1-7]

            And so, in the kingdom of Christ, God will finally fulfill all of the promises that He made to the people of Israel—first to Abraham, then Isaac and Jacob, then to all the people through Moses, then to King David, then to all the people again through the prophecy of the New Covenant that Jesus referred to during the Last Supper. But how does all of this apply to you and me—children of God living in the here and now? Will we live in this kingdom on Earth? We certainly will!

            When Jesus returns to set up His kingdom, you and I will have already been taken out of the world at the Rapture, but we will accompany Christ when He comes back into this world. Zechariah 14:5 said that after the nations have gathered against Jerusalem to battle, “then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.” So a group referred to here as “the holy ones” will be coming with Christ.

            When we compare this verse to the description of Christ’s coming in Revelation 19, we can see that “the holy ones” are you and me! Turn with me to Revelation 19 [READ Rev. 19:11-14] Now these clothes of fine linen were just mentioned in vv. 7-8 [READ Rev. 19:7-8]. So the clothes of fine linen represent righteous deeds done by the saints who are part of the bride of Christ. And according to Ephesians 5, the bride of Christ consists of believers from today—those who are living in what we call “the church age.”

            So when Jesus returns to establish His kingdom, you and I will be in the cavalry right behind Him! What an honor—to join our Lord in His glorious return and triumph! We will be given a role to play in His kingdom based on our obedience to Him today, and we will enjoy the blessings of that time when Jesus—the head of the church—will be King and Lord over all things.

            If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior from your sins, welcome to your destiny!! Someday, we will see this world the way that God created it to be in almost every detail. Doesn’t it thrill your heart to think about it? It should, and thinking about this glorious destiny can keep your joy from eroding today as you face the temporary pressures of this world.