Two Aspects of Christ's Coming

The Olivet discourse does not mention the secret rapture of the living members of Christ’s assembly. Therefore, many students of eschatology think the absence of this teaching gives support to their refusal and condemnation of the rapture. Instead of lending support, it is a testimony against those who deny the secret rapture. Those who misuse Matthew 24:40-41 to teach the rapture fail to see that the one taken will be taken in judgment, and the one left will enter the kingdom that Christ will come to establish (II Tim. 4:1). According to the context of Matthew 24, the reference is to saved Jews—a remnant according to God’s gracious choice (Rom. 11:5; Rev. 7:4-8)—and a great multitude from every nation (Rev. 7:9) who will enter the kingdom. Those who oppose the secret rapture fail to make the proper distinction between Israel and the assembly Christ is building. People who ignore any Scripture will soon manifest internally and externally who and what they are.

The two aspects of Christ’s second advent—His coming for the assembly and His coming with the assembly—are dependent on the Biblical distinction between Israel and the assembly. The context of the Olivet discourse proves that the predictions apply to Israel and not the assembly (Matt. 23:36-25:46). There is no reference to the assembly in this important passage concerning Israel. One of the classic passages in the New Testament to prove this is Romans 9-11. Israel’s past is portrayed in chapter 9, setting forth God’s sovereignty. Israel’s present is presented in chapter 10, setting forth God’s righteousness. God’s faithfulness to His promise to Israel is declared in chapter 11.

Neither resurrection nor rapture is connected with Noah: “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them away; so shall the coming [parousia] of the Son of Man be. Then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left” (Matt. 24:37-41 NASB). Noah and his family were preserved in the ark through the flood. All the rest of the human family perished in judgment.

Enoch who was translated before the judgment of God came on the earth best describes the rapture: “Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Gen. 5:22-24 NASB). Walking with God is an enriching experience. Before the fall, God walked with man (Gen. 3:8). Subsequent to the fall, man walked with God. Three statements are made about Enoch in the Scriptures: (1) He walked with God (Gen. 5:22). (2) He prophesied for God (Jude 14). (3) He was pleasing to God (Heb. 11:5).

Enoch fathered Methuselah, whose name became a prophetical warning. Methuselah’s name means it [the flood] will be sent when he is dead, and so it came to pass. Shortly after Methuselah’s death the flood destroyed the ungodly. (Read Gen. 5-8.)

The case of Enoch and the flood favors the pre-tribulation rapture: “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God” (Heb. 11:5 NASB). The Greek verb metatithemi is a compound verb, which means to remove. It means to transport (Acts 7:16) or translate out of the world (Heb. 11:5). In Hebrews 11:5, this verb is used two times: “was taken up [aorist passive indicative]” and “being taken up [aorist active indicative].”

The last reference to Enoch is Jude 14—“And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 14, 15 NASB). The truth that Enoch possessed the spirit of prophecy is evident. That gift is revealed by the name he gave his son, Methuselah. Jesus Christ is ordained the Judge of the living and the dead. As Enoch warned the wicked before the flood, Jude warns the apostates before the supreme Judge judges them.

The common view that the resurrection will be a public affair is untenable in the light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection (I Cor. 15:23). Since the Head of the saints was resurrected in strict privacy, the members of Christ’s body (the saints) will be raised in like manner. No mortal eye of unbelief will behold the resurrection of the just. Who witnessed the translation of Enoch (Heb. 11:5, 6)? Who witnessed Elijah’s ascension to heaven by a whirlwind (II Kings 2)? Who will witness the resurrection of the just (I Thess. 4:17)?

The coming of Christ is not to be regarded as simply one act. Like His first advent, it will embrace a series of acts. Christ’s first advent covered thirty-three years. He fulfilled numerous acts during that period of time. The major things connected with His first coming were His virgin birth, baptism, trial in the wilderness, public ministry to the Jews, turning from the Jews to the Gentiles, betrayal, death, resurrection, and ascension. Christ’s leaving the world and going back to the Father cannot be regarded as one single act. It included His death, resurrection, and ascension. The second coming of Christ cannot mean one single act without a violation of order, which will include a number of events resultant of His advent. Hence, He will come for His own and then with His own at which time He will judge the wicked and establish the kingdom. Furthermore, there will not be a simultaneous resurrection of all the dead when Christ comes for His own, but every man will be raised in his own order (I Cor. 15:23, 24).

Both the “morning star” (Rev. 22:16) and the “sun of righteousness” (Mal. 4:2) refer to Christ. As the morning star, few will see Christ. However, as the Son of righteousness, all will see Him. The day of the Lord Jesus is preceded by a morning, which begins in the night. This represents Christ’s coming when it is yet night. However, as the morning star, He will usher in the morning of the glorious day. This shows that dispensations may overlap to some extent, but that is common in Scripture. John the Baptist who was an Old Testament prophet and a New Testament preacher is an example. He stood as the connecting link between the two Testaments. As there are two major stages to Christ’s departure from the earth—Calvary and Olivet, there will be two stages to His second advent—in the air and to the earth.

Both distinct parts of Christ’s second advent are clearly revealed:

1. The coming of Christ for His own will be—

(1) In the air (I Thess. 4:17),

(2) As He went away (Acts 1:11),

(3) To take His own to heaven (John 14:2, 3),

(4) Before the day of wrath (I Thess. 1:10; 5:9),

(5) Before the Antichrist and the kingdom (II Thess. 2:1-3; Matt. 25:34),

(6) A comfort to the saints (I Thess. 4:18),

(7) The fulfillment of the saints’ hope (Titus 2:13).

2. The coming of Jesus Christ with His own will be—

(1) To the earth (Acts 1:11; Rev. 5:10),

(2) After God’s wrath is poured out on the earth (Rev. 19:14),

(3) To be admired in all the saints before the world (II Thess. 1:10),

(4) After the defeat of the Antichrist (II Thess. 2:8),

(5) To judge the world (I Cor. 6:2),

(6) To experience the wedding feast (Rev. 19:7-10),

(7) To reign with Christ in the kingdom (Rev. 5:10).