There are two returns of the Lord Jesus Christ; one is for the Church and one is for the earth. The one for the earth can’t take place until the one for the Church takes place. The next prophetic event you and I are looking forward to is the rapture of the Church.
This is very controversial because it is going to happen. When someone says, “It is not going to happen,” you know it has to be the devil because he wants to convince you that the rapture is not going to happen. The devil is the father of lies and cannot tell the truth, so if the devil tells you something, you can count on exactly the opposite. We know Jesus is coming back because Scripture tells us.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:
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.
This event could happen at any moment. There are signs around us every day pointing to the fact that Jesus Christ is returning soon. Some argue that the word rapture isn’t in the Bible. There are many words that do not occur in the Word of God, but they accurately portray the meaning expressed in the Bible. The Bible uses such terms as caught up and gathering together. We use the term rapture.
The word rapture comes from the Latin word rapere, which means “to take from one location and transport to another location.” At the time of the rapture we are going to be translocated from the earth into the presence of God, all at once. The previously dead in Christ from the time of Pentecost until today, and those who are alive on the earth at the time will all be changed together. The dead in Christ will gain a resurrection body and we who are still alive will receive a resurrection body. There is going to be a mass disappearance on the earth.
The Bible says Jesus will descend from heaven with a shout, but only Christians will hear the shout. He’s going to appear, but only Christians will see His appearance. He will come with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God, but only the Christians will hear it. The unbeliever will only know that one minute we were there and the next minute we were gone.
There are two instances in the Word of God where people were raptured off this earth — Elijah and Enoch.
2 Kings 2:11, 16-18:
And it came to pass, as they [Elijah and Elisha] still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
And they said unto him [Elisha], Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
Elisha told the men, who had come to him after hearing that Elijah had been translated, not to go looking for Elijah; it would be pointless. These men thought that maybe the Spirit of God took Elijah high up and let go of him and he fell on a mountain or in a valley somewhere and needed help. The men continued urging Elisha until he finally gave in and let the fifty men go look for Elijah. After three days of looking, they finally realized Elisha was right. To look for Elijah was fruitless.
Hebrews 11:5:
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
According to the last four words of verse 5, someone looked for Enoch. Perhaps people at that time also thought God had dropped him on a mountain or in a valley somewhere and Enoch needed help.
Enoch and Elijah were both men of God. They were both taken off this earth and translated into heaven. That is the type of what is going to happen when the Church is translated into heaven. Many people will look for us when we’re gone, but we’re not going to be found.
The rapture of the Church is imminent and could happen at any moment. Following the rapture will be a time period on this earth called the tribulation, which will last for seven years. The tribulation will get so intense that if Jesus does not return after seven years, all flesh will be destroyed. However, Jesus will come back at the biggest battle that has ever occurred, the Battle of Armageddon. Just as it is reaching its highest point, to where all of Israel is about to be destroyed by the encompassing armies, Jesus Christ is going to return with the Church. He will come back for the Church at the rapture, then at the end of the tribulation, He will come back with the Church to execute righteousness on this earth.
Throughout the tribulation, millions will be born again. Although Christians will be removed and there will be nothing but wickedness on this earth, the biggest revival ever will occur ten minutes after the rapture. Many of those people you have been witnessing to, who continue to deny Christ, will get saved. Many who laughed at you and didn’t accept the plan of salvation will get born again.
The first group of people to get born again is the 144,000 Jews. Twelve thousand out of each of the twelve tribes will become sealed unto the Lord and become evangelists throughout the world to spread the Gospel that the kingdom of God is coming. At the end of the tribulation period, Jesus Christ is going to return to establish the millennial reign — one thousand years of peace on this earth. Heaven will come to this earth. Satan and all his demons will be banished for one thousand years while Jesus Christ rules and reigns in righteousness, and we will rule and reign with Him.
At the Second Advent, no one can be born again. It will be eternally too late for those who have not confessed Him before that day. Now is the time of salvation.
The Church will be taken out of this earth so we can all be brought before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
The words judgment seat is the Greek word bema, which means “a high, elevated seat.” The word bema actually refers back to the Olympic Games. The bema seat was a reward seat, not a judgment seat as in a court of law. Everyone who competed in the games stood before the bema, which is where the king sat. The king would hand out rewards after the races were over.
This is the analogy: We’re down here and when the race is over, Jesus comes back and transfers us to the bema — the reward seat. The King has been sitting there waiting for the race to be over so He can hand out rewards in heaven. None of the runners will be left down here while a few are transferred. We are all going to be taken up at one time into heaven to stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Romans 14:9-12:
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Notice the word all in verse 10. We will all be transferred before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:9-10:
Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Those present are those on the earth; those absent are those in heaven right now. But we’re all going to stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ at the same time. We’ll either receive rewards for doing good things or we’ll receive no rewards for doing bad things, but we still stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Some people believe there will not be a rapture. The more I study, the more I realize there has to be a rapture, or the Word cannot be fulfilled. According to the Word, there has to be a Judgment Seat of Christ, and we all have to stand before that Judgment Seat at the same time. If God waits for all of us to die, then how will we all be there at the same time? God has to have a way of getting us all together before the Throne of God.
Ephesians 3:14-15:
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.
Right now, the family is divided. Part of us are in heaven and part of us are on earth. When the rapture occurs, all believers will receive a resurrection body and be transferred before the Throne of God, where Jesus Christ will hand out rewards for the things done in the flesh.
Elijah and Enoch were both pleasing the Lord and living for the Lord when they were taken away. But what about those believers on earth at the time of the rapture who are not living for the Lord? They may be living in carnality, but because they are believers and have trusted their life to the Lord, He is obligated to protect them.
If you have four or five children and one of them is not quite living up to your expectations, don’t you still shelter and protect them? Are rewards in your house handed out because one is doing a really good job and the other one is not? There are certain things you do for all of your children.
Lot was living in Sodom and Gomorrah and not living for the Lord. He didn’t like the conditions of Sodom and Gomorrah, but he didn’t want to move out. The New Testament says that this perversion vexed Lot. Lot was living a compromising life. He was trying to live for the Lord and trying to please the people. The Lord sent angels to get Lot out of Sodom. At times, angels brought judgment. When the men of the city tried to attack the angels, the angels smote them blind. The angels executed judgment on those people. The angels were trying to get Lot out, but Lot didn’t want to leave. Lot was so carnal that even though God is going to rain down judgment, Lot didn’t want to leave the city. But it was necessary for Lot to leave Sodom or the city could not be destroyed by God.
Genesis 19:22-26:
Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;
And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Even though Lot’s wife looked back to that city, she was still a believer.
If we are born again, we will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ where rewards will be handed out for our deeds done in the flesh. How we live our life on earth as a believer does not affect whether or not we are raptured, but it does make a definite difference concerning the Judgment Seat of Christ.
I want to have plenty of rewards when I get to heaven. I want Him to say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful over a few things; I’m going to make you ruler over many.” Ruler over many is also going to apply for the millennium. How much we rule and reign with the Lord Jesus Christ during the millennium is going to be based on how much we live for the Lord now. Don’t wait to get to heaven to start living for God.
There are three main viewpoints of the tribulation:
According to what I see in Scripture, I maintain the pre-tribulation viewpoint. Jesus said we have not been appointed unto wrath, and the tribulation will be a time of wrath.
1 Corinthians 15:51
Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
All means all. Every one of us will be changed at the same time. As stated earlier, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we — not some of us — which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.
Those who believe this will all occur at the end of the tribulation do not see any difference between the two comings of the Lord Jesus Christ. They say the rapture and the Second Advent are synonymous, and at the end of the tribulation, we will rise to meet the Lord in the air, receive our resurrection bodies, then as Jesus returns to the earth, we will immediately return with Him. In other words, we take a big U-turn in the air! But the Word teaches of two separate comings: one will introduce the tribulation and the other will introduce the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 1 is still under the old dispensation. The second chapter of Acts is the beginning of the Church Age with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We became children of God, members of His family, priests unto God. All rights and privileges were given to us that were given to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus stated to Peter in Matthew 16:18, “I will build My Church.” That is future tense. He didn’t say He was building His Church. The Church began with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
In Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4, Jesus told His disciples to, “tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” Jesus knew how important it was for the disciples to be there and to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8-11:
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel:
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? 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.
As Jesus’ disciples were all standing around Him, suddenly His feet left the ground, and He went up through the air. Notice the words of verse 11: in like manner. Many mistake this as talking about the rapture. But because of those three words, in like manner, this indicates this is not the rapture, but rather the Second Advent. This becomes very significant because at that time, Jesus was standing on the Mount of Olives. As Jesus went up, He’s going to come back down. There is coming a time when Jesus will come back through the atmosphere, through the clouds, and His feet will literally touch the Mount of Olives, just where He left from. That is the Second Advent, which will take place after the tribulation.
The Mount of Olives is in Jerusalem where the Battle of Armageddon is going to be fought. Jesus will return to that particular city and stop the Battle of Armageddon. All the forces that have come against Israel will be destroyed, and Jesus will rule and reign from the city of Jerusalem for one thousand years. At the rapture, He comes back for us. At the Second Advent, He comes back with us. After our seven years in heaven where we have gone before the Judgment Seat of Christ and all of our old works will have been burned away, we will come back as the Bride of Christ, adorned with gold, silver, and precious stones, for a thousand-year honeymoon.
Every time we talk about the rapture, we use Scriptures from the epistles. The rapture was not prophesied about in the Old Testament, but the Second Advent of the Lord was prophesied about throughout the whole Bible. The rapture is told to us in the epistles because it is for the Church. The Bible calls the rapture a mystery. The mystery is what has been revealed to the Church which was hidden in ages past.
Zechariah 14:1-5:
Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
This is referring to the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
This is saying that many shall be taken captive, but just as it looks like the remnant, those who are born again, are about to be taken over, the Lord steps in.
Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
Glory to God! We are going to be those saints coming back with Him. Jesus will be coming back to execute righteousness in this earth and we will be with Him.
At the rapture, only believers will see Him, only believers will hear Him shout, only believers will hear the trumpet, and only believers will hear the voice of the archangel. But at the Second Advent, every eye will see Him, every knee will bow, all nations around the earth will see Jesus Christ return. His physical feet will touch the Mount of Olives and it will split wide open in the middle. At that time, every knee will bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (See Philippians 2:10-11.)
When Jesus Christ returns at this time, we will be coming back with Him as Enoch prophesied, “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all.” (See Jude 14-15.) All of heaven and an innumerable host of angels will be singing, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” But it doesn’t stop there. Not only will the angels and saints be singing God’s praise, so will Russia and China and America. It still doesn’t stop there because it says, “things under the earth,” so all the demons will be saying, “King of kings and Lord of lords,” not to the devil as they have for years, but now to Jesus Christ. Why? Because the strong man came back and bound the other one. Jesus Christ will come back as the One true God. Even Satan will be saying, “That’s Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” What a day that is going to be!
Aren’t you glad you’ve said it now? Although everyone will be crying it out on that day, it will be too late. God is going to know the right ones from the wrong ones, the wheat from the chaff, and the sheep from the goats. Because we have already accepted Him, we don’t have to fear that day. In fact, we can look forward to it with rejoicing.
Zechariah 14:8
And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea [the Dead Sea], and half of them toward the hinder sea [the Mediterranean Sea]: in summer and in winter shall it be.
This is when the Mount of Olives splits in the middle and out of it will come water, living water, half of it toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean Sea, and all year long. Living water will continually be running out of the Mount of Olives.
Zechariah 14:9:
And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
His name is Jesus.
Years ago, I read an article about Holiday Inn desiring to build a hotel on the Mount of Olives in Israel. However, after taking a soil sample and conducting some geological tests, they decided against this plan because they discovered that the Mount of Olives is sitting over a large fault and even a minor earthquake would cause the whole mountain to split right down the middle. What an earthquake that will be at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Mark 11:23:
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Jesus spoke this just a few days before His crucifixion. He and His disciples were staying in the city of Bethany, on top of the mountain. Jesus would walk two miles each day into Jerusalem. He would go through a city called Bethsaida, which meant, the city of the figs. Each day, He would stop at a fig tree and reach in and grab some figs for breakfast. One morning, He came down and as He reached in for some figs, there were no figs, just leaves. All He found were leaves where the figs should have been. Jesus then cursed the tree, which seemed very strange to the disciples. But the next day, when the disciples saw the withered fig tree, they were all surprised. Jesus probably thought, Well, what did you expect? In Mark 10:20, Jesus said the tree had dried up from the roots and the disciples could see the results through the leaves.
That’s what faith does. Jesus said in verse 22, “Have faith in God.” The Greek literally says, “Have the faith of God.” Jesus was telling His disciples they could operate in the same faith that God did. Jesus didn’t say all the faith was His and that the disciples couldn’t have any of it. No, He said they could have the same faith as God.
When Jesus said, “Whosoever shall say...,” He pointed out that faith is released through the mouth. You got born again by believing in your heart and speaking it with your mouth. Words have supernatural power. His words killed the roots that were in the unseen realm and the next day it became visible in the natural realm.
Your faith words attack your problems in the unseen spirit realm and will eventually manifest in the natural realm, because the problem was killed at the roots. Jesus didn’t cut the tree down, He attacked it at the roots.
When they were standing on the Mount of Olives and Jesus said, “Whosoever shall say unto this mountain be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea,” it was because it is going to happen. Jesus used that analogy because He knew one day the mountain will physically be removed at the Battle of Armageddon when natural circumstances look impossible. Someone is going to remember Zechariah 14, they will point to the Mount of Olives, and say, “Be removed and cast into the sea,” and Jesus’ feet will touch that mountain. It will split in the middle and out will come the sea. The Mount of Olives will literally fall into the ocean.
This will literally occur. God is not a man that He should lie. We’re going to have a birds-eye view as we come back with Jesus in the sky, and we will be singing, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
If you like this outline, check out End Time Prophecy and Pastor Bob's book, Understanding the End Times, at the BYM Store.
Copyright 2009 by Bob Yandian Ministries.
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