Titus 2:11-13 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

The Rapture and Second Coming are similar but separate events.

Both involve Jesus returning. Both are end-times events. However, it is crucially important to recognize the differences.

What is the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming?

• The Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ are often confused.
• Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a scripture verse is referring to the Rapture or the Second Coming.
• However, in studying end-times Bible prophecy, it is very important to differentiate between the two.

The Rapture is when Jesus Christ returns to remove the church (all believers in Christ) from the earth.

• The Rapture is described in *1 Thess. 4:13-18 and *1 Corinthians 15:50-54.
• Believers who have died will have their bodies resurrected and, along with believers who are still living, will meet the Lord in the air.
• This will all occur in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.

The Rapture is a message of hope and comfort.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

1 John 3:2-3 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Our Final Victory

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

The Second Coming is when Jesus returns to defeat the Antichrist, destroy evil, and establish His millennial kingdom.

• The Second Coming is described in *Revelation 19:11-16.

Revelation 19:11-14, 16 “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns… His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses… And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

There are some very important differences between the Rapture and Second Coming:

• At the Rapture, believers meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
• At the Second Coming, believers return with the Lord to the earth (Rev. 19:14).
• The Rapture occurs before the tribulation (i.e., wrath/judgments of God) takes place (*1 Thessalonians 5:9; *Revelation 3:10; 6:17; 11:18).
• The Second Coming occurs after the tribulation (i.e., wrath/judgments of God) takes place. (Revelation chapters 6–19)

1 Thessalonians 5:9 “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Revelation 3:10 “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

• The Rapture is the removal of believers from the earth as an act of deliverance (1 Thess. 4:13-17, 5:9; cf. *Luke 21:36).
• The Second Coming involves the removal of unbelievers as an act of judgment (*Matthew 24:38-39).

Luke 21:36 “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Matthew 24:38-39 “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

https://perspectiveinprophecy.com

The way things are going, you would think we were living in the place and time of Isaiah 13. Today is Friday the 15^th, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will be meeting with President Trump in Alaska, where the people are still wearing jackets in the August summer. Everyone else in the USA is sweltering in the unusual heat blanket that presently covers most of the Americas. Meanwhile, the poor, misguided Palestinians are already there – with nowhere to go and nothing to eat. People in other places, like Sudan and Ethiopia, India, and Pakistan, face the same dilemma.

Trump is trying to broker a peace deal and has already made peace among some of the warring nations. But let us remember what the Bible says- When they cry peace – all of a sudden destruction. Peace will not come until the Prince of Peace comes to rule and reign.

Putin is adamant about keeping the already conquered Eastern part of Ukraine and wants to expand his Russian territory even further. Zelinsky is resolute in keeping the rest of that breakaway country from falling into Russian hands, so they are killing one another by the thousands. Since this is essentially a two-man fight by two headstrong individuals, maybe they should go at it mano a mano in a boxing ring, winner take all. In so doing, they would save a lot of lives but only lose self-respect if they lose.

Nevertheless, this and the other calamities we are presently facing can and should be attributed to our God, who has seen enough to make him angry – very angry. And so it is that things are really heating up around the world, literally and figuratively. Could this be an omen of things to come? Let us consider this warning of things to come from Isaiah 13:11-16).

“I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,
A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the Lord of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.
It shall be as the hunted gazelle,
And as a sheep that no man takes up;
Every man will turn to his own people,
And everyone will flee to his own land.
Everyone who is found will be thrust through,
And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives ravished.”

Book report

The book titled The Awe of God by John Bevere is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I’ve read hundreds of non-fiction “Christian” books over the years and have even had to have book sales every so often to make room for others. (I average about one a week.) Nevertheless, this book is spot-on in everything the writer espouses. In fact, the writer is saying the same things I’ve been writing about over the past few years as I draw ever closer to my Creator. In fact, my second book, Encountering God Outside the Box, deals with the same issues that face Christians today and touches on other issues facing us in these present and perilous times.

I like Dr. David Jeremiah’s books; he is someone you can learn from, whereas some “Christian” writers are in it only for recognition and acclaim. One such writer, whom I won’t name, writes about hidden esoteric things (only he knows). Indeed, he is very learned, but that doesn’t mean his speculative writings are true; in fact, they can be very confusing at times.

Others like to pontificate as if they were the only expositors of truth. Yet I would be remiss if I told you that such men are only sinners saved by grace, just like you and me. Yes, they may know more about history and geography, but that’s of no help to you nor I who only want to know God more intimately and how to please Him – things like going out into all the world and proclaiming the good news of the Gospel, which is a direct commandment to each and every one of us.

In this extraordinary book, you will read how, above all, God demands obedience. He doesn’t really need your offerings since He is our provider and sustainer, even of our very existence.

Then, of course, there are interlopers who write from their fevered and twisted imaginations, which only serve to confuse and deflect. Most of those are “fiction writers,” claiming to know deep dark secrets, thus leading others to fanciful imaginings.

“There is a way known to man, but the end thereof is the way of death.”

Someone once said, If you can’t convince them with the facts, baffle them with B.S. While a fictional book may be logical in humanistic terms, we must remember that God isn’t always logical and can’t be constrained to a humanistic way of thinking. He is demanding – but at the same time, full of forgiving grace, love, and mercy. Not only that, but He can change things in an instant with provision, miracles, peace, and power, like the Bible promises.

In conclusion, I would like for you to experience God in this way for yourself. My gift (and we all have them) is to share my faith with others face to face without fear or trepidation. So far, of all the people I’ve spoken to, only one has rejected me – a self-righteous Christian, no less. I suspect he is a self-absorbed deacon or “teacher” in a local “Laodicean” church.

Everyone is a writer these days, and indeed everyone has a story to tell, but we need to test their writings against the Word of God – the Holy Bible.

YBIC

Jim Towers

You can write me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com or visit me at www.dropzonedelta.com. You can also find me on my newly restructured website www.propheticsignsandwonders.com, which now features the Gospel and videos of worldwide events taking place in the present time, as well as proof of God’s existence and the reality of Biblical places, and Moses himself.