The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
Rapture and
Revelation, One And
The Same
By Timothy S. Adkins*
Jesus is Coming Again
The belief that the once-crucified and
now-resurrected Jesus
is coming again is essential to the Christian faith. The inspired
Apostle
wrote, “‘if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;
and if
Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in
your sins...’
if we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to
be
pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:16-17, 19 NASB) Every person who holds true
saving
faith in Christ is awaiting the return of Jesus Christ, who was raised
from the
dead, ascended into heaven, and is now exalted to the throne of His
Father and
ours. As the angelic messengers declared
at our Lord’s ascension, “This same Jesus, this same Jesus, which is
taken up
from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him
go into
heaven” (Acts 1:11).
Jesus’ coming again is
our
“blessed hope,” our very foundation for anticipating everlasting
joy. Without the hope of the future resurrection, we have no gospel
hope at
all. But God's people do indeed possess the good hope of the gospel
through
grace, with good reason. The Christ who died upon the accursed tree for
His own
was triumphantly raised from the dead by the power of God, by the same
quickening
power which we experienced in our new birth and will yet experience in
the
resurrection at “the last day.”
The Rage of the Age
All true Christians
await the
second coming of Jesus with great joy and expectation. However, no
other
segment of Bible scholarship has recently been more exposed to
confusion and
manipulation than this very important teaching of Jesus’ coming again.
Some
have taken a novel approach when it comes to this matter and have
fabricated a
sensational system of elaborate charts and graphs to explain their
complicated
views, largely constructed of little more than dreams, imaginings, and
thin
air. Here, we refer to the rage of the age, dispensational
premillennialism. This is the system taught by many who have
patterned their thinking after the editorial notes of the Scofield
Reference
Bible (1909), following the scheme previously developed by John Nelson
Darby of
the Plymouth Brethren assemblies. We should take note that nothing even
remotely akin to this system of thinking existed in all of church
history prior
to its development in the early to middle 1800's, when it seemed to
appear in
seed form at least in the ministry of Edward Irving and the church he
led. Despite
its having no basis in historic Christianity, dispensational
premillennialism has
become the predominant eschatological perspective of a large segment of
evangelical Christianity in the 21st century. It
remains a relative newcomer, being less
than 200 years old, but continues to enjoy a large and growing
following.
Along with the
Scofield Bible,
many have carefully studied the series of elaborate charts by Clarence
Larkin,
a once-prominent dispensational thinker, displaying a timeline from
eternity past
to eternity future, having seven dispensations (eras) of human history
from before
the beginning to the onset of the eternal state. The result of these
‘studies’
and an overactive imagination has been a delightful, horrifying,
sensational
confusion of the whole matter. After a while, the Scriptures themselves
fade
into fond memory while charts and editorial notes assume a life of
their own.
Other speculative charts exist which further muddy the waters,
including an
image depicting of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the Seventy Weeks
prophecy
of Daniel 9.
The fact remains: the
increasingly
popular view known as dispensationalism stands on a foundation of
speculation,
not on the clear teaching of the Bible.
While claiming to interpret the Bible literally, proponents of the
dispensational paradigm are required to selectively interpret Holy
Scripture. As
literal when certain phrases or verses are supportive of the system;
and then,
when figurative, spiritualizing interpretations best serve the scheme,
a literal
interpretation is, shall we say, ‘left behind;’ at least
momentarily. Dispensationalists hardly agree among
themselves; variations on the theme are virtually endless. Despite
“inside the
camp” incompatibility on certain important features, dispensational
premillennialism has still managed to, in many cases and in many
places, become
the most necessary test of fellowship.
Some churches define their very existence by this debatable set of
doctrines. Anyone who dares to disagree
with their views on eschatology is often regarded as a poor student of
Scripture. While possibly regarded as a
fellow-saint, in dispensationalist circles the principled
non-dispensationalist
is often regarded as one who handles the precious Word of God
deceitfully,
liberally, or incompetently.
Our Approach to This Matter
Setting straw men
ablaze may be a
delight from time to time, since almost everyone likes a harmless
bonfire at
someone else's expense. But, to the degree possible, let us approach
this
matter so as to get some profit to our souls. By advancing the truth of
God's
Word, we shall defeat error and the untruth which might otherwise
plague our
thinking and make us dull. Let us be willing to learn and to become
ever-sharper
instruments in God's hand. We must not cling to untruth for even one
second
after we learn better. Holding error after we learn truth is like
striking our
blade into the dirt over and again—the more we do this, the duller we
become. We
must determine something better for our souls. Let us go on the
offensive to
glorify God, buying the truth and selling it not; laying hold on God's
truth at
all costs, refusing to part with it at any price.
Does the Bible Teach "A Secret Rapture?"
"For the Lord himself
shall
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the
trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which
are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet
the
Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
(1Thessalonians
Some suggest that the
event
described by these words is a secret rapture, a catching away, in which
only
believers are resurrected, with the rest of surviving humanity left to
face
tribulation and great tribulation. Several years later, it is taught
that Jesus
will actually come again in the promised Second Coming. During the
interval
between stage one and stage two of the Second Coming, the secretly
raptured church
would be with Jesus in heaven where they would undergo judgment, etc.
It is often
pointed out that this portion of Scripture does not mention the
unbelieving or
Christ actually setting His feet on the earth.
It is therefore said that this could not be the second coming of Christ
in His glory, for at His second coming Jesus will come to the earth,
setting
His feet on earth. Sound interesting? Is the point of distinction valid
or
merely imaginative? Is it true? Is this a fair treatment of this
passage? Does
the passage intend to say anything about a stealthy, quiet coming of
Jesus?
Look again at the passage.
In order to inform the
Thessalonian
believers, Paul set forth this teaching: “the dead in Christ shall rise
first:
then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up with them...” It
is
apparent that some believers were uninformed as to the future state of
the
believing dead. What would become of those who had trusted Christ, but
who had
died prior to Jesus' second coming? It is clear from the tenor of
Paul's words
that some had begun to mourn the loss of their brethren to death. Their
mourning may have been with an overwhelming grief, like the grieving of
those
who bury their dead with no hope of ever seeing them again.
Paul's purpose in
writing was to
comfort, strengthen, the Lord's people concerning their dead and dying
brethren. There is no mention of the unbelieving since Paul was writing
to
living believers about their fellow-believers who had fallen “asleep in
Jesus.”
This portion speaks of Christ’s coming from a Christian’s point of view
and
what Jesus’ Second Coming will mean to believers, whether physically
living or
dead. Paul wrote as an apostle to establish a basis in revealed truth
for the
Christian's comfort. Now that these words have been transmitted to us,
no
gospel-believing person has right or reason to grieve over their dead
loved
ones who have trusted Jesus as the hopeless world grieves over its
dead. When
we grieve over a brother or sister who has died, our grief is greatly
eased by
our certain hope of future resurrection at the Second Coming of our
Lord. We shall meet again when Christ gathers all
of His people unto Himself at His appearing.
The concept of a
secret rapture is
not well-founded upon Holy Scripture. Legend has it that this whole
idea sprang
from a British woman’s dream, a vision which was considered to bear the
authority of inspired revelation (might this be an early precursor of
the
modern charismatic movement?). The secret coming vision was regarded by
Minister
Edward Irving, then was more fully developed by John Nelson Darby of
the Plymouth
Brethren, and later by the American, C. I. Scofield. Dispensationalists
often
appeal to this Thessalonians passage to advance the secret rapture
theory, but
the passage is not very cooperative with their purpose.
There is nothing
secret about the “parousia,”
the presence, appearing, coming of Christ, described here. Look closely
and you
will see for yourself. If we hoped to keep something as a secret, why
would we
go shouting, speaking with a loud voice, and blowing a trumpet? Well,
these are
the very things Paul associates with Christ’s Parousia, the coming of
the Lord
described in I Thessalonians 4:15-17. “For the Lord himself shall
descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of God...”
May we reasonably imagine that this Savior’s shout, archangel voice,
and God’s trumpet
will be heard only by Christians? To make the passage say that would be
to
import something into the text which is simply not present. The Apostle
indicates that Christ’s parousia will be no secret anything—it will be
attended
by shout, angel voice, and trumpet. Despite what we may not know, we
may be
assured that the Parousia will be a noisy event, incapable of being
ignored by
the entire world, according to this passage.
No secret rapture is
taught here
or elsewhere in Scripture. This passage speaks of Christ's Second
Coming and
what it will mean for God's believing people, living and dead. When
will it
take place? When do we who are believers expect to be raised unto
glory? What
will occur in earthly history after this Second Coming, this parousia,
of
Jesus? These good questions are met with simple answers, if only we can
believe
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ on the subject. Look to the Gospel
according
to John.
A Mathematician's Dream Come True
Math problems are
sometimes hard
to solve. Add this, divide that, take the square root of something,
multiply by
fourteen and a half, and then enjoy a slice of pi. But some
equations are so simple. Two plus two equals four. As
good Bible students, we can add two plus two. Sometimes we must realize
that
the Lord has given us the answer in the Book, no calculator needed.
This is one
of those times.
In His teaching, Jesus
told
believers when to expect to be raised up in glory. Here is the
mathematical
portion of this study.
“And this is the
Father’s will
which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose
nothing,
but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of
him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may
have
everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
(John 6:39-40 KJV)
This is an important
passage for
those who profess to interpret the Bible literally. Jesus promised to
raise up
the entire body of the saved “at the last day.” Now, the question to be
answered is this: how many days will follow “the last day?” If our
resurrection
to be with Jesus occurs “at the last day,” then where is there room to
squeeze
in seven years of this and then another thousand years of that
afterwards? Now,
some tell us that Jesus’ words “at the last day” really mean something
other
than “at the last day,” as if He was speaking in religious code. It is
common
to hear dispensationalists say that phrases like “the day of the Lord,”
and
“the day of Christ,” and “the coming of the Lord,” all refer to
different times
and seasons. But not so. All those references speak of one and the same
event,
the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus, which He promised would occur “at
the last
day.”
Over and again, Jesus
promised to
raise up believers “at the last day.” So, how is it that some tell us
that only
a certain segment of God's people will be raised up a good while prior
to “the
last day?” Jesus declared that He will raise up all who believe in Him
"at
the last day.” We should believe His words, since He speaks truth and
simplicity to our minds.
The day when Jesus
comes again
will be “the last day” of earthly history as we have come to know it.
That day
will be followed only by an endless eternity, the new heavens and the
redeemed
earth. Tribulation and suffering will be past, the last enemy will have
been
defeated, and every elect sinner will have been effectually called into
saving
union with God through Jesus Christ. That Resurrection Day will
announce the Final
Judgment of all mankind. Please consider Jesus’ words from John 5.
Two Resurrections? Let's Talk About This
Indeed, there are two
resurrections in the context of John 5. But it is not as some have
suggested.
It is not one resurrection of the saved and another separate
resurrection of
the wicked. It is not one judgment seat of Christ and another separate
great
white throne judgment. Those designations refer to one and the same
judgment,
from differing perspectives, emphasizing different specifics relating
to
different classes: the saved and the wicked.
“Verily, verily, I say
unto you,
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death
unto life.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when
the dead
shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”
(John
5:24-25)
This first
resurrection here
mentioned is a spiritual resurrection of those who are spiritually dead
unto
eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus. The new birth, the birth
from
above, regeneration by the Spirit, is a real and genuine resurrection;
a
resurrection of a spiritually dead sinner to spiritual and eternal life
in
Christ. This is the first of two resurrections in the broader passage.
One down,
one to go! Now remember that Jesus is asserting His co-equal authority
with the
Father, to give life to the dead as He pleases.
Jesus then spoke of
another
resurrection which was future from the time when He was speaking. He
referred
to an hour when all who were dead would be summoned to come before Him.
Whereas
the “hour” mentioned before clearly referred to a very lengthy era
which had
already begun, an era during which many sinners would be saved, one by
one; much
like we might speak of the hour coming when computers are used in
almost every
aspect of life, and we would further say that that hour has already
come. By
this we mean that something is a present reality. Jesus indicated that
the
reality of spiritually dead sinners being raised to eternal life
through the
power of God was already a reality to be grasped. He would essentially
say “The
time of this happening is now!” But this next use of the word “hour” in
the
John 5 passage announces something which will, when that hour arrives,
involve
all who are in the graves, both the righteous and the wicked. This
latter hour
will obviously not be centuries long, but will, when it commences,
immediately involve
all who have died whether saved or unconverted. Note the words of Jesus
as He
announces a coming general resurrection of all who are in the graves:
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5:28-29)
This hour of which
Jesus spoke is
one hour, essentially one time, when all that are in the graves shall
hear His
voice. The “all” of this verse clearly includes the righteous and the
unrighteous, the saved and the unsaved. What is described here is a
general resurrection,
in which all mankind will be raised and
summoned to Judgment when that hour arrives. Distinctions are here made
between
the righteous and the wicked, with the righteous enjoying life eternal,
the
wicked facing everlasting condemnation. And please take note that all
of this
is to occur at once when that particular hour arrives.
The concept of
exclusive resurrections,
first of the saved and then of the wicked, or vice versa, is simply not
taught
in the Bible. The Day of Resurrection is biblically connected with the
Day of
Judgment, in that one follows the other. It is even likely that we
should
understand them to be synonymous and coterminous, one Day of
resurrection and
judgment, “the last day.” Further, the judgment of that Day is also
general in
nature, with the saved and the unsaved present, all individually
answering to
God.
It is perfectly
reasonable and entirely
biblical to believe in the general resurrection and general judgment of
mankind. This general resurrection and general judgment will come at
“the last
day.” There is no need whatsoever to refute the two-stage Second Coming
theory
of the dispensationalist. The dispensational theory of a two-stage
Second Coming
is unworthy of being believed in light of John 5. Now briefly consider
Matthew
25.
The General Judgment of Matthew 25
"When the Son of man
shall
come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit
upon the
throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and
he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from
the
goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on
the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed
of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world:
…Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed,
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” …And
these shall
go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal.”
(Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46)
Now, at the very
outset any
dispensationalist worth his salt would accuse us of failing to “rightly
divide
the word of truth,” with emphasis on “divide.” We will need the
Authorized
Dispensational Handbook to tell us precisely into which pigeon-hole
this
Scripture must be isolated. Dispensational thinkers refer to this
passage as
describing ‘The Judgment of the Nations,’ saying that this Scripture
has
nothing to do with the judgment of individuals. Rather, if only we
would
“rightly divided the word” here and had the first morsel of common
interpretive
sense, we would conclude that this Scripture speaks of a separate
judgment of
Gentile nations, based on how each of the various nations behaved
themselves in
relation to the ancient and modern nation Israel, “the least of these
my
brethren.” Please look to the passage itself.
First, observe that
the gathering
of all nations includes
Secondly, we should
quickly
acknowledge that there is no such thing as a “sheep nation” or “goat
nation.” Jesus
gave His life for men out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation.
Some of
all nations will be saved by God's grace. It would be impossible for
entire
nations to be cast into hell’s everlasting punishment without casting
in certain
ones who are redeemed, converted people. The word ‘nations’ must be
understood
to refer to all individuals of all the various nations of the earth,
and from
all the ages of human history. After all, that's what nations are,
citizens, people!
These, all, will be brought before the throne of the Lamb to be judged.
And this
judgment will be a righteous judgment of individuals, not a collective
judgment
based on appearances or on the political wrangling of the nation's
various
former leaders.
Neither
Each person from every
nation, existing
or extinct, will be judged by Jesus Christ in the day appointed by God.
But
that judgment will be intensely personal, not political or collective.
Sheep
are sheep and goats are goats, individually. Like a flock of beloved
sheep,
those who belong to Jesus Christ will enter the heaven for which they
have
longed. The wicked, likened unto goats, will be separated from the
Lord's sheep
and committed into that hell they cared not to escape, though they
heard the
glad tidings of the gospel often proclaimed. But sheep nations? Goat
nations? No.
Matthew 25 tells of
the general judgment
which is to occur in connection with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
He will
occupy His glorious throne, not an earthly Davidic throne, but the
Heavenly
throne, of which the Davidic throne was a typical foreshadowing. See
Acts
2:30-31, where Christ’s resurrection from the dead is declared to be
the
fulfillment of the prophecy that Christ would occupy David’s throne.
All people
of all nations from all times will be present, including Israelites of
all ages.
Men will be separated from men, as sheep are separated from goats. The
people
of God, who have lived under the gracious influences of His saving
mercies and
have believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, will be admitted to the
glorious
heavenly kingdom. The wicked who lived with little or no regard for law
or
gospel, refusing the mercies of God, spurning His Beloved Son who died
and rose
again, “these shall go away into everlasting punishment.”
The two categories of
sinners
present, believers and unbelievers, will be distinguished by their
works. The
righteous shall have borne good fruit, but the wicked shall have
remained true
to their dark hearts, producing evil fruit. And when did the righteous
and the
wicked treat Christ any way at all, or produce good or evil works which
displayed the respective states of their hearts? When they treated
their
fellowmen, and especially the believing people of God, as they did;
either good
or bad in the course of everyday life! Indeed, “by their fruits you
shall know
them!” “The last day” will declare the truth about us all, whether or
not we are
genuine believers or vain talkers.
There are numerous
other passages
which insist that the great Day will feature a general judgment of all
men. The
idea that “the judgment seat of Christ” and “the Great White Throne”
refer to
different judgments is biblically unfounded; the single hair finely
split
remains a single hair. These expressions speak of the same judgment and
of the
same Day. Fallen angels will also be judged and are even now “reserved
unto
judgment.” Simon Peter writes of “the day of judgment.” Paul also uses
the same
language, referring to “the day when God shall judge the secrets of men
by
Jesus Christ according to my gospel” (Romans
If we are willing to
grant any
weight at all to the words of Scripture, we will soon reject
dispensational premillennialism
for what it is, a fantasy, not a system of Bible doctrine. But let us
be
careful that we do not reject those who have embraced an unbiblical
system. No
one but the Adversary of souls succeeds when we are unloving toward
true
brethren, even though we may strongly differ with them. But we differ
for cause
and not for a desire to be different. It is not biblical scholarship
which advances
what God's Word does not teach. It is amazing to realize how many
otherwise-sound
Bible teachers have devoted themselves to an unbiblical doctrine of
last
things.
What Difference Does It Make?
It does matter what we
believe
about our Lord's Second Coming. Truth matters always. It is not
unreasonable to
want to know and teach the truth about this aspect of our faith, and we
are not
too dogmatic to assert what we know the Bible clearly sets forth. So,
we do no
wrong to seriously desire to learn and adopt the Scripture's teaching
on this
matter, and then to declare the truth as it is in Jesus.
It is not rare to hear
warnings
like, “You had better get saved. You don't want to be left behind
during the
reign of the Antichrist, do you?” In essence, men are told to dread the
devil
and his henchman, that they should come to Jesus in order to escape the
untold
sorrows that are coming on the earth. But is this approach to
evangelism
faithful to the commission we were given?! In a word, no!
That emphasis is not
harmonious
with the Bible's witness. And even worse, the lying impression is
created that a
sinner has the power to “get himself saved,” and we know from the Bible
that
sinners are spiritually “dead in sins.”
The Christian gospel
tells man
that he must obey the gospel through faith and repentance because he is
a
captive of sin and will finally face God in judgment. Unless one has
Jesus as
his Savior and Lord, he has no covering for his sins. Apart from
Christ, a
sinner is destined to remain captive to sin and condemnation. Prepare
to meet
God! Do not fear those who can destroy the body, but after that can do
nothing
more; rather, fear the living God who can destroy both body and soul in
hell! This is Jesus’ teaching. Fear God!
Dispensationalism
would have us to
warn sinners about an earthly bad time to come. The gospel would have
us to warn
sinners to flee the wrath of God that is coming upon the unbelieving
sinner's
soul at the last day. What a difference in emphasis, indeed!
Say What?
There is also the
matter of
confusion. Has anyone thus far met a card-carrying dispensationalist
who was
neither confused nor confusing? We all are undone if he should misplace
his
charts! Disputes about eschatology are most efficient at confusing
precious
believers, especially lambs young and tender in the gospel faith. The
young
believer sees his first dispensational chart and realizes that he will
never
understand all those complicated teachings without a great deal of
help. At
that point, he is adequately confused, but is terribly impressed with
the
fellow who can recite what is on the chart without looking.
The tender believer
may think it is
a giant intellect, an accomplished theologian who can read 1
Thessalonians
4:15-17 and come away believing in a secret rapture. The young convert
would
never have seen it. Why? Because he is inexperienced and unlearned? He
can find
no secret rapture in the text and is troubled by his inability. The
young
believer has not the confidence to believe his own eyes when he sees no
secret
rapture. No secret rapture, no judgment of sheep nations and goat
nations, no list
of other judgments, no handful of resurrections to decipher. In this
case, the
uncomplicated perspective of the inexperienced student provides a
clearer sight
of the truth.
Confusion and error
hold sway
where the Word of God is blatantly misused. Dear soul, our Lord will
come in
the appointed time and His coming will occur in an instant, like “a
thief in
the night.” When He comes, all men will be summoned to the judgment of
the
great Day. Earth as we know it will pass away, along with the present
heavens.
The saved will experience everlasting joy in the presence of the Lord,
while
the unbelieving will go away into the eternal punishment which awaits
them. And
since all these things, this whole earth and all it contains, are
destined to
be consumed in the fires of God's righteousness, what kind of people
should we
be (2 Peter 3)? We would do well to focus on being prepared to meet the
Lord
Jesus in peace, making our “calling and election sure,” being certain
we are truly
in Christ by faith and not false brethren, vain talkers who know not
the Lord.
Until He comes, our
Sovereign Lord
Christ Jesus is saving His people, one by one. “If any man is athirst,”
Jesus says
to that man, “let him come to Me and drink.” Thirsty soul, come to the
waters
and come today! Jesus the Lord will satisfy your soul. “The last day”
is surely
nearer than we think. It most certainly is.
Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ who is coming again?
Post Script: It is
almost certain that any who have thus far held to dispensational
premillennialism
will have questions and objections not at all addressed by this sermon.
Only
consider the validity of what has been stated, fully consistent with
the
Bible's language; study the matters further. More light is needed by us
all; it
is the nature of growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
He gives light to His beloved and confounds the darkness. Call upon
Him, for He
grants wisdom. May the Lord bless as we search for abiding wealth from
His
Word!
Timothy S.
Adkins is
a Reformed Baptist pastor. His website is: www.hopefultoday.org. Article
used with permission.