Appearance

Martha told Jesus that she knew her brother Lazarus, "'Will rise again in the resurrection on the last day'" (Jn 11:24). Jesus had earlier said, "'No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day'" (6:44). Revelation 20:5 cites this saying, "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection." The crux of the matter is that if there was a preliminary resurrection called the Rapture then scripture couldn't call a second resurrection the first. Therefore to iron this out you'd have to synchronize all the many scripture references to demonstrate that there is only one Second Coming. Jesus explained when this would occur saying that the "'harvest is the end of the age'" (Mt 13:39) and "'so it shall be at the end of the age'" (:40,49). It will be "'on the day that the Son of Man is revealed'" (Lk 17:30) at "the apprarance of His coming" (2Th 2:8). Jesus related, "'They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory'" (Mt 24:30). Daniel said, "'I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him'" (Da 7:13-14). "'The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels'" (16:27) and "'then He will sit on His glorious throne'" (25:31). In this harvest "'the reapers are angels'" (13:39) and Jesus explained, "'I will say to the reapers, 'First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn'" (:30). He will "'send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness'" (:41). They will "take out the wicked from among the righteous and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth'" (:49-50). "'All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats'" (25:32). "'Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father'" (13:43). Paul summarized the event to the Thessalonians "with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him" (2Th 2:1).

"'Just as it happened in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man'" (Lk 17:26). "'They did not understand until the flood came and took them all away, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be'" (Mt 24:39). "'Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all'" (Lk 17:27). "'Lot went out from Sodom [and] it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all'" (:29). "'Just as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be'" (Mt 24:27). "'He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other'" (:31). "'Be on the alert--for you do not know when the master is coming . . . --lest he come suddenly and find you asleep'" (Mk 13:35-36). "'There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken, and the other will be left'" (Lk 17:35). "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left'" (:36). The wicked are taken and the righteous live. "Where the [dead] body is, there also will the vultures be gathered'" (:37). "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed" (1Co 15:52). "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first" (1Th 4:16). "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" (:17).