MANNER OF CHRIST’S SECOND COMING
REVELATION 1:7
A. I KNOW OF NO OTHER BIBLE SUBJECT ABOUT WHICH THERE IS MORE CONFUSION THAN ABOUT THE MANNER OF OUR LORD’S SECOND COMING
1. The secret rapture theory:
a. This theory would have us believe that the second coming of Christ will be secret to the world at large.
b. We are told that the saints will be raptured away, unknown to even some of their very close relatives.
2. There are, of course, different views held by different organizations, even about the secret rapture:
a. Russelism teaches that a certain selected group (144,000) will be removed secretly from this earth to the realm of the spirit.
b. Others have other concepts about the secret rapture of the saints.
B. BUT WE ARE PRIMARILY INTERESTED IN WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT THE MANNER OF THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
1. The Bible teaches that:
a. The second coming of Christ will be both personal and visible.
b. "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" - Acts 1:11
c. "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because
of him. Even so, Amen." - Rev. 1:7
2. Out of these Bible passages three facts stand out against the secret rapture theory:
a. It will be the same Jesus that ascended up into heaven in the presence of the disciples. They saw Him ascend!
b. He will come in like manner; He ascended in a cloud and He will come in clouds.
c. Every eye shall see Him; that excludes the secret rapture theory.
d. The effect of the second coming of our Lord is visible and universal - Rev. 6:15-17
e. "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced" -Zech. 12:10
3. Other facts about the manner of the second coming of Christ:
a. He will appear with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God - 1 Thess. 4:16
b. The dead in the graves will hear his voice - John 5:28, 29
c. He will come the second time with power and great glory - Matt. 16:27; 25:31
C. THE EFFECTS OF THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST ARE ALL AGAINST
THE SECRET RAPTURE THEORY
1. Upon the world:
a. They will pale when they see Him coming in the clouds. Compare Luke 21:34, 35 with Rev. 6:14-17; 1 Thess. 5:1-6
b. They will seek to hide beneath the rocks and the mountains - Rev. 6:14-17
2. Upon the children of God:
a. To them it will be the signal of their deliverance from all their enemies, including death.
b. That is what the prophet Isaiah foresaw - Isa. 25:9; 1 John 2:28; Rom. 8:18-23
3. Upon the earth:
a. The earth will reel to and fro like a drunkard, and it shall be removed like a cottage - Isa. 24:17-20
b. No, dear friends, there will be nothing secret about the second coming of the Lord - Heb. 12:26
c. There is nothing in the Bible that supports the secret rapture theory.
d. The living wicked will be slain by the breath of His mouth at His appearing. Compare 2 Thess. 1:7,8 with Rev. 19:11-19; Isa. 11:4; Jer. 25:31-34
e. The secret rapture theory is one of Satan’s master deceptions to deceive the people who have not heeded the instructions of the Bible about the second coming of the Lord - Matt. 24:4, 5, 24; 2
Thess. 2:9-11
f. These few facts should safeguard us against the deception of the so-called "Secret Rapture
