If you have followed through these series of studies of the Book of Revelation, you would have heard this ministry proclaim numerous times over the years, that there’s two events described in the Holy Bible; of the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds (what we call):

In this study, we will really get into the meat and potatoes of the difference between the rapture and the second coming of Christ, because there is truly a difference according to the Holy Bible. This will also reveal the misconceptions people commonly have when lumping the two events together as one event that people think will happen after the “Great Tribulation Period.”

This is a very important doctrine to explore because both events are Biblical and we need to address it now so that “Christian” doubters, scoffers and mockers can repent, believe and get ready. And it is also to encourage those in the future who may have missed the rapture, that all is not lost YET.

You maybe asking yourself, What is the difference between the rapture of the church and the second advent of Christ? Aren’t they both the same event? The short answer to the question is: The rapture is when Jesus Christ appears with the clouds of Heaven and send His angels to gather His elect. Where as the second coming of Christ is when He literally steps foot on earth.

In both events, the earth shall quake, the heavens tremble. The sun and moon will be darkened. Heaven opens and then the Son of God, Jesus Christ appears and every eye shall see Him. But that’s as far as both events are comparable.

In the Holy Bible, it reveals to us the specific details of signs of both events, And they seem to be similar… almost identical. This is why people get confused with the two separate events as one. And make the mistake that this will occur at the end of the great tribulation period. Or many new converts make the mistake of reading one verse or one chapter of Scripture and draw up a swift conclusion without taking consideration of the whole matter found in many other passages of Scripture.

This is why we as Christians, needs to learn how to study the Holy Bible in the Holy Ghost (The Spirit of God). And rightfully divide the word of truth in order to have understanding in all Scriptures that are spiritually discerned and have the Holy Ghost perspective on all truth.

The Rapture

Like I’ve said before, when you read Matthew 24:29-31 comparing with Revelation 6:12-14, you can’t help but notice that the Scriptures is telling us the last sign pointing to the rapture immediately after the tribulation. (Now remember what “tribulation” means according to Jesus Christ’s use of this specific word: ‘a time of distress and trouble as the Lord calls the “beginning of sorrows”). Of apostasy, the workings of the four horsemen of deception, war, inflation and Death, famines, pestilence and earthquakes in diverse places, while persecution of Christians and Jews are happening. That’s what He calls tribulation:

And when Jesus Christ appears, immediately after that, at the sound of a trumpet, Jesus Christ will send His angels to gather His elect from all direction of all the earth (Matthew 24:31). The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain (continually abide in Christ) 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. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18). But not entirely so with the second advent of Christ. So how does it differ from the rapture?

The Second Advent of Christ

The major sign of the second advent of Christ is Armageddon. That’s the first major difference. When you compare Zechariah 14 which ministers the second return of Christ, with Joel 2:1-9 also reveals the second advent of Christ. And with Revelation 16:13-16, giving us further details of how the God draws all nations to this battle called Armageddon. All these Scriptures reveal armies of the world come together as one, against Jerusalem first, before Jesus Christ appears in His second return.

But not so with the rapture! Events leading up to the rapture, there are wars and rumors of wars. Nations against nations; kingdom against kingdom, suggesting world wars will occur. Armageddon on the hand is not a normal world war. This particular war is when all nations military are drawn together to attack Israel; specifically targeting Jerusalem first in the Valley of Jehoshaphat according to Joel 3; which is pointing to the fulfillment of Revelation 17-18. and after that, further tells us the war of Armageddon will end by Jesus Christ Himself in the place called in the Hebrew tongue, “Har Mageddo.”

Zechariah 14:1-3 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 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. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.

And how is God Almighty going to gather together all nations against Jerusalem to battle? The Holy Bible reveals the answer to this question in,

Revelation 16:13-16 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

What is the Hebrew word for the Greek word Armageddon? Armageddon in Hebrew is Har Mageddo. Which translates, ‘Mountain of Mageddo.’ There is an actual place in Northern Israel called Megiddo. And its a huge wide open valley where many Bible Scholars believe can hold a vast number of armies. Geographically speaking, there is no mountain there but a Tel that is called a mount. Furthermore, there’s a two fold definition for the Greek word Armageddon:

And when you read Joel 3, it tells us specifically that God will draw all nations to a battle in the Valley of Jehoshaphat which is near Jerusalem. The Hebrew word Yehowshaphat means: “Yahowa-Judged,” and Armageddon will end by Jesus Christ in the Valley of Decision (Joel 3:14-21) which is… Megiddo.

Greater details are given exactly what will happen on that day of battle of Armageddon before the Jesus Christ appears and steps foot on earth…

Joel 2:1-9 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:

Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

Then, Jesus Christ appears similarly in the heavens as when the rapture happened, and literally steps foot on earth to put an end to Armageddon. The Holy Bible paints the actual picture how that day will unfold in great detail when you piece several scriptures together,

Joel 2:10-11 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: And the Lord shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong that executeth His word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

And the Holy Spirit through Joel ministers another great detail about the battle in the Valley of Jehoshaphat which is near Jerusalem, and then, Jesus Christ will appear and put an end of Armageddon and establish His Kingdom and restore Israel in Joel 3:11-21; which is outlining the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ in Revelation 20:1-4). But before the Millennial reign of Christ occurs, The details of the appearance of Jesus Christ to put an end to Armageddon concurs in,

Revelation 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God.

And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.

And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

You see, this does not occur in the rapture, but in Jesus Christ’s second advent. In the rapture He gathers His elect…(Christians/the glorious church body without spot, wrinkle or any such thing, but that it is Holy and without blemish; who are ready to meet the Lord in the air). Here we see Jesus Christ steps foot on earth to put an end to Armageddon by a spoken word of authority.

Zachariah 14:3-4 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.

The Cedron Valley (or Kidron Valley) separates Mount Sion from the Mount of Olives. That’s where the split will occur. So when you put these Scriptures together, it paints us a bigger picture that Jesus Christ will step foot on Mount Sion at the moment that the 144,000 are awaiting for Him there (according to Revelation 14:1 & Romans 11:25-27). Then the Lord Jesus and the 144,000 will take over the Mount of Olives since it is right now in the possession of Palestine. Then both Mounts will split just as it is written. And then, the armies of the world gather to fight against Jesus Christ and His armies at Megiddo. Again… This does not occur in the rapture, but in the second advent of Christ.

Revelation 19:17-21 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Did you see the second major difference? In the rapture event, Jesus Christ never steps foot on earth ever. He sends His angels to gather His elect (Matthew 24:31). Where as in the second advent of Christ He sets foot on Mount Sion (Revelation 14:1). And then, moves through the Mount of Olives. Now there’s a small differences when you compare the events of the rapture with the second advent of Christ such as:

Sound of Trumpets

Although there are many trumpet blasts throughout the great tribulation period, none announces the actual appearance of Jesus Christ’s second advent. This is where many get confused, and insist on the rapture and the second advent of Christ as being one and the same event, all because they focus on one passage of Scripture found in,

1 Corinthians 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

But sadly this passage of Scripture is not talking about the rapture nor the second advent Christ at all. If anything, the context of this chapter is dealing with the Greeks unbelief of the resurrection of Christ. Because they believed at that time that the dead does not resurrect. This is why the Apostle Paul was ministering this by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost (as we have specifically dealt with in out last study).

And ultimately those who died in Christ will also resurrect into an incorruptible body since Jesus Christ had victory over death. So shall all those who believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Messiah, who loved the Lord, lived according to His standards and followed Him as Lord unto death.

The significance of the sounding of trumpets in the Holy Bible are used for announcements. Take for example: Exodus 19:10-20. God commanded Moses to tell the people the instructions to ready and sanctify themselves for the appearance of God on Mount Sinai. And touch not the mountain. The emphasis is in,

Verses 19-20 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

So, we clearly see, that the sound of a trumpet was used to announce the appearance of the Great and Awesome God, coming down from Heaven onto Mount Sinai. Trumpets were also used as an alarm. Alerting people of danger, to take cover and prepare for battle

Ezekiel 33:1-6 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.

But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.

And in the New Testament we read about, at the sound of a trumpet, Jesus Christ will send His angels to gather His elect from all direction of all the earth (Matthew 24:29-31) in the event what we call the rapture.

In Revelation chapters 8-11, we read about 7 holy angels sounding their trumpets, announcing each judgment of God right before it happens. And after this, trumpets were never mentioned again in the Book of Revelation, Not in Revelation 14, nor in Revelation 19. Neither in Revelation 20. All outlining the second advent of Jesus Christ.

So, the summation of all the Scripture is pointing out, that the sound of the trumpet only happens at the event we call the rapture (Matthew 24:31), not in the second return of Jesus Christ. This is how the two events differ. You see, as small as these differences are, they are the major differences between the rapture and the second return of Christ. That’s why these are not the same events. They are two separate events happening in two different stages of time.