The Rapture and the Second Coming

“Was that the Second Coming or just a really bad storm?” No one will have to wonder whether the Second Coming has taken place because everyone will know when the Lord comes back to Planet Earth to establish His kingdom.

John describes the Second Coming this way: “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. . . . He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses” (Revelation 19:11–14 NLT).

And Jesus said, “For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 24:27 NLT).

Sometimes, however, people confuse the Rapture and the Second Coming. It’s important that we understand the difference between the two.

In the Rapture, Jesus comes before judgment, and in the Second Coming, He returns with judgment. In the Rapture, He comes as a thief in the night, and in the Second Coming, every eye will see Him. In the Rapture, Jesus comes for His people, and in the Second Coming, He returns with His people.

The second coming of Jesus Christ will be a happy day for Heaven but a sad day for Earth. Specifically, Israel will mourn as they realize that Jesus was their Messiah all along (see Zechariah 12:10).

But first, Jesus is coming for His followers in the rapture of the Church. What if He were to come back today? Would you be ready? Or would you be left behind? It’s entirely up to you.

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