What is the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming?
Answered from the commentary of J. T. Mawson, F. B. Hole, Michael Hardt and 5 others
The Rapture and the Appearing are two stages of the one coming of Christ, though the coming is sometimes spoken of generally without distinguishing them. At the Rapture, Christ comes for His own: the dead in Christ are raised, living believers are changed, and all are caught up together to meet Him in the air and be with Him. At the Appearing, Christ comes with His saints in power and glory, publicly manifested to the world to judge His enemies and establish His kingdom. Thus the Rapture gathers believers to Christ; the Appearing brings judgment upon the world and the public reign of Christ.
Verses: 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 1 Thessalonians 4:17, 1 Corinthians 15:51, 1 Corinthians 15:52, Matthew 24:29, Matthew 24:30, Matthew 24:31, Matthew 24:36, Matthew 24:37, Matthew 24:38, Matthew 24:39, Matthew 24:40, Matthew 24:41, Matthew 24:42, Matthew 24:43, Matthew 24:44, 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2 Thessalonians 2:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 2 Thessalonians 2:4, 2 Thessalonians 2:5, 2 Thessalonians 2:6, 2 Thessalonians 2:7, 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Revelation 19:11, Revelation 19:12, Revelation 19:13, Revelation 19:14, Revelation 19:15, Revelation 19:16, Zechariah 14:3, Zechariah 14:4, Zechariah 14:5, Acts 1:9, Acts 1:10, Acts 1:11
The above is AI generated summary based on the writers below.
What the commentators say
The passages the answer is drawn from, the most direct first, with the words that bear on the question marked.
It would not be right to say that the coming again of the Lord Jesus will be two comings, yet it is clear from Scripture that it will be in two stages. The first will be His coming FOR His saints, the second His coming WITH them. The first is spoken of as THE RAPTURE, i.e., the catching up to the glory of those that are His; the second, as THE APPEARING, i.e., His manifestation to the world.
It would not be right to say that the Coming Again of the Lord Jesus will be two comings, yet it is clear from Scripture that it will be in two stages. The first will be His coming FOR His saints: they are to be "caught up" to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). This is spoken of as the Rapture. The second, His coming WITH them, is called the Appearing, i.e., His manifestation to the world. A good text for this is, "When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory" (Colossians 3:4).
It would not be right to say that the Coming Again of the Lord Jesus will be two comings, yet it is clear from Scripture that it will be in two stages. The first will be His coming FOR His saints: they are to be "caught up" to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-17). This is spoken of as the Rapture. The second, His coming WITH them, is called the Appearing, i.e., His manifestation to the world. A good text for this is, "When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3:4).
The coming of the Lord is made up of two parts, viz., the coming of the Lord to, His saints, commonly called for the sake of convenience THE RAPTURE; and the coming of the Lord with His saints to deliver His earthly saints, and bring them into the millennium—the kingdom of heaven set up in manifestation on the earth—commonly called THE APPEARING.
His second coming is in two phases. The first phase involves His coming to the air to take to heaven the Old Testament believers and the dead in Christ of the Church (and we who are alive at His coming). This is popularly called the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:16-17). Then just before the second phase of His second coming, His Appearing, the saved martyrs of the Tribulation are raised (Rev. 11:9-13; 20:4). They are the last dead believers. Therefore, the First Resurrection ends at that time.
A careful study of the various passages which speak of the second coming of Christ will reveal that His coming will be in two parts. First, He shall come for His bride, the true Church of His blood-washed believers, and bring them into His Father's house. Then later He will come with all his saints to earth and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. The Scripture previously quoted from John 14 definitely speaks of Christ's coming for the purpose of receiving His own unto Himself that they may be with Him in the prepared place of the Father's house.
There is therefore a moral distinction between the two successive stages or phases of Christ's coming (par.) The first stage is the gathering together of those that are His to Himself in the air: the ones then affected are “those that are Christ's at His coming (par.)” (1 Cor. 15:23), whether they are dead or alive (1 Thess. 4:15-17). The good only are “caught up” at this stage, but at the later stage of the coming, the evil are punished. The epiphany of Christ's coming is judicial in its character and universal in its aspect. “For as the lightning goes forth from the east and shines to the west, so shall be the coming (par.) of the Son of man” (Matt. 24:27).
There are two most important and different stages of the Lord's second coming. There is the coming of Christ to receive His people to Himself, and that is what the Church ought always to be waiting for; and there is Christ's coming to judge the world, when He has already taken up the heavenly saints, and wickedness thereafter comes to its head. Then, suddenly, the heavens will open, and the Lord Jesus Christ will come and the Church with Him, appearing together in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Is it asked, how? Israel was not told how they were to be delivered out of Egypt. The Lord was going to deliver them, but He did not explain it before it came to pass.
Christ is coming first for His people; He is coming afterwards with His people in power and glory, and there is a certain interval between these two events. When he comes for His saints, He will be, as far as scripture shows, unseen by the world, and He will not come actually to the earth, but into the air: when He appears with His saints, every eye shall see Him, and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him, for He is coming in judgment. Then He will come to the earth; His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4).
Verses 16 and 17 then speak of the coming of the Lord Jesus for His saints. They reveal to us just how He is going to gather them to Himself so that subsequently He may come with all of them as the last verse of chapter 3 stated. Unless the distinction between the coming for and the coming with is seen no clear view of the Lord's coming is possible.
How emphatic is that statement: — "The Lord Himself shall descend." In that supreme hour He will not act by proxy but come Himself! He will descend with an assembling shout. Myriads of angels will serve, for the archangel's voice will be heard. The hosts of God will be on the move, for the trumpets of God shall sound. Yet all these will be subsidiary to the mighty action of the Lord Himself. Verse 16 gives us His sudden descent from heaven into the air, and the exertion of His power, the utterance of the voice that wakes the dead.
Verses
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16–1716for the Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel's voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; 17then we, the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in [the] clouds, to meet the Lord in [the] air; and thus we shall be always with [the] Lord.
- 1 Corinthians 15:51–5251Behold, I tell you a mystery We shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed, 52in an instant, in [the] twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
- Matthew 24:29–3129But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the land lament, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from [the one] extremity of [the] heavens to [the other] extremity of them.
- Matthew 24:36–4436But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of the heavens, but [my] Father alone. 37But as the days of Noe, so also shall be the coming of the Son of man. 38For as they were in the days which were before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day on which Noe entered into the ark, 39and they knew not till the flood came and took all away; thus also shall be the coming of the Son of man. 40Then two shall be in the field, one is taken and one is left; 41two [women] grinding at the mill, one is taken and one is left. 42Watch therefore, for ye know not in what hour your Lord comes. 43But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be dug through [into]. 44Wherefore ye also, be ye ready, for in that hour that ye think not the Son of man comes.