2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as god sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is god.

In this passage of Scripture, it differentiates “the coming of our the Lord Jesus Christ” and “our gathering together unto Him” as two separate events. “The coming of our the Lord Jesus Christ” is His second advent. Meaning, His return where He will step foot on Mount Sion and put an end to Armageddon and establish His Government for a thousand years on earth known as the “Millennial Reign of Christ.”

“Our gathering together unto Him” is what the rapture is. The Holy angels sent to “gather His elect” and meet the Lord in the air. That’s called gathering! And The Holy Ghost through the Apostle Paul revealed the signs of each event:

Apostasy

We know from our past studies that there are many signs pointing to the rapture of the church age. And apostasy is one of the major signs that is continually mentioned throughout the New Testament, that is pointing to the rapture. Apostasy: means ‘to fall away from the faith, fall away from a strong stance/conviction in something.’ In the case of Christianity, it means to backslide into a spiritual state of apostate conditions. And Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost through various Apostles has outlined what the apostate conditions are throughout the New Testament:

These next series of Scriptures outline details of what is happening right now; in which Jesus Christ calls, “the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8) about the details of apostasy through the Apostle Paul, Peter and Jude, such as:

And then, Jesus Christ, after His ascension, tells us in further details about the apostate churches throughout the church age in:

And when you compare the spiritual state of the church age today with the New Testament, you can’t help but notice, we are living right now in this state of apostasy globally. Even Jesus Christ differentiates the rapture and His second advent by answering three questions His disciples had asked in Verse 3 (of Matthew 24). And notice the specific question His disciples had asked when they came to the Mount of Olives,

Matthew 24:3 Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and the end of the age?

Notice, the first question was answered not by Jesus Christ, but by world History. In fact, Jesus Christ ignores to answer the question of the destruction of the Holy Temple completely. And goes right into the signs of the rapture and the signs of His second advent.

So therefore, time answered their first question, because not far from the time Jesus Christ prophesied the destruction of the Holy Temple, it actually happened in 70 AD. by the hands of the Roman empire. And some of the original disciples would have either witnessed it happening or heard it happened when they were preaching the Gospel in other countries. So then, the Lord answers the last question first,

The End of The Age

The end of the age according to the King James Version of the Holy Bible could either be referring to the end of the world, or at the end of a specific period of time, and the beginning of a new era or age. This phrase is used synonymous in both ways. In this study, we will refer to “the end of the age” as ‘the end of a specific period of time, and the beginning of a new era or age.’ Because, as you examine Scriptures concerning the rapture, this is exactly what happens.

Today, the age we are living in right now since the ascension of Jesus Christ, is known spiritually as the “Church Age.” And when Jesus Christ appears in the clouds and sends His angels with a sound of a trumpet; and the dead in Christ rise first. Then those who remain will be caught up unto the clouds to meet the Lord in the air known as the rapture. Then, (according to the Holy Bible), the church age ends and the last era or age of humanity begins as a period of time of Great Tribulation (Revelation 8-18).

Then the second advent of Jesus Christ occurs (Revelation 19). The devils armies are destroyed, the beast (antichrist) and the false prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire for eternity. Then satan is bound for a thousand years into the bottomless pit. And after that, the Millennial Reign of Christ is then established for a thousand years.

When the thousand years have ended, a very brief moment of time occurs when satan is released from the bottomless pit and gathers an army against Jesus Christ, and then the end of the world will come (all found in Revelation 20:1-10). So the rapture really does end an era and dawns a new age. Jesus Christ answers the question with specific signs to look for in Matthew 24:4-9 pointing to the rapture of the church age, such as:

And these signs concurs with Revelation 6:1-11, which are signs pointing to apostasy in the church age. Which must happen first according to the Holy Ghost, preached through the Apostle Paul (2 Thessalonians 2:3) which are all pointing to the rapture. All these events happen first.

And What Shall Be The Sign of Thy Coming?

Next, Jesus Christ answers His disciples another question about the sign of Thy coming? Referring to His second return or second Advent in the “Great Tribulation” period, by giving specific instructions which are also signs of His second advent to the Jewish people in Israel according to, 

Matthew 24:14-28 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.

Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

The Gospel Preached In All The World

There’s another sign pointing to the second advent of Jesus Christ in the “Great Tribulation” period mentioned in Verse 14, “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preach in all the world.” This concurs with what is revealed in,

Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel flying in the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred, and tongue and people.

This passage of Scripture is telling us that the entire gospel message of Jesus Christ will be preached by a ministering angel of God. And every person of every nation, lineage, age and ethnicity of every dialect will hear it. There will be no person on the face of the entire earth or universe left out. The context of chapter 14 are events that will happen in the Great Tribulation period such as:

And the Great Tribulation period is after the rapture of the church age. This is why the Lord Jesus concludes Matthew 24:14 And then shall the end come. Meaning after all that will happen in the “Great Tribulation” period, which is revealed to us in Revelation chapters 8-20:10, will happen before the end of the world.

Verse 14, also reveals the Gospel will not be preached in all the world to every person on earth until that time when Jesus Christ establishes His Millennial Reign on earth. Because it’s going to take that much time between now and then with the saints of God in the Great Tribulation and with the help of a ministering angel and the two witnesses (Revelation 11) to preach the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. “For a witness unto all nations.”

Remember what the Lord said to His disciples when He was instructing them in evangelizing the mission field in Matthew 10:23? For verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. And His words still hold true today. None have preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people in Israel let alone the whole world yet! But this will be fulfilled entirely before the Millennial Reign of Christ be established!

That Man of Sin Be Revealed

Jesus Christ revealed another major sign, The most important sign that will occur after the rapture of the church age and before His second advent and that is the revealing of the antichrist; and what he is capable of doing when he is revealed and rules the world for a short time. This next sign of the second advent of Christ concurs in the “Great Tribulation” period of Revelation 13 and what 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 had already covered.

Revelation 13 is the revealing of the antichrist, the man of sin, the son of perdition which has not occured yet. And will not happen until the rapture of the church age happens first. And somewhere in the “Great Tribulation” when the temple in Jerusalem is built, will the man of sin, the son of perdition be revealed. And this occurs before Revelation 19:11-21 which is the second advent of Jesus Christ. Even Jesus Christ Himself reveals that the rapture and the second advent of Christ are two separate events which concur with Matthew 24:14-28 and 2 Thesalonians 2:3-4.

The Lord Jesus give specific instruction to Israelis, namely the 144,000, when the antichrist is revealed in Matthew 24:15-21 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

How do we know this is pertaining to 144,000? There’s a couple of clues in this passage of Scripture that tells us so. “The abomination of desolation, stand in the holy place,” and “let them which be in Judaea flee to the mountains.” These are very powerful words to pay close attention to.

The abomination of desolation that Daniel spoke of is found in Danial 9:24-27. In a nutshell, The One true God, The God of Israel shows Daniel that after the 70 years of captivity of Babylon and Medo-Persia, will the Hebrews return to Israel, to rebuild and restore till the Messiah (Jesus Christ) comes in His first advent (The virgin birth, His death on the cross for the redemption of mankind, remission of sins and reconciliation back to God. His resurrection and ascension).

Then after the Messiah comes and goes, there will come a “prince” (which is the antichrist) who will eventually destroy the city (Jerusalem/Babylon Revelation 17-18) with a war (Armageddon). He will also confirm the covenant with many, which is the mark of the beast (Revelation 13); causing many to worship the antichrist as God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9).

And that’s the abomination that causes desolation; standing in the holy place, (referring to Jerusalem and in a 3rd temple in Jerusalem. And all this occurs in the Great Tribulation period; after the rapture, but before the second advent or return of Jesus Christ.

So, the Lord is instructing the 144,000 Israelis, when you see all these things happening, flee into the mountains of Judaea, which is a mountainous wilderness full of caves. And without revealing too much of Revelation 12 yet (for the full revealing will be in another study) I can testify to you, that the 144,000 Israelis is mentioned in,

Revelation 12:14-17 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Once all these event are fulfilled and all the worlds army are drawn to Israel, known as Armageddon, then Jesus Christ comes down from Heaven with His army and His saints behind Him. And steps foot on Mount Sion with the 144,000. To put an end to Armageddon. To overthrow satan’s kingdom, establish His reign as King of the earth for a thousand years and save all Israel (Romans 11:25-27) known as the second advent of Christ. And that’s another major difference between the rapture and the second advent of Christ.