Thought Questions about Jesus' second coming.
Isn’t the great tribulation yet to come?
It is true that a terrible tribulation will cover the earth just before Jesus returns to deliver His people. Daniel described it as “a time of trouble, such as never was” (Daniel 12:1).
Since the Lord is coming “as a thief in the night,” how can anyone know anything about it?
The answer is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4: “You yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” The emphasis of this passage is on the suddenness of the day of the Lord. It comes as a thief only for those who are unprepared, not for those who are prepared—those called “brethren.”
But wasn’t Jesus speaking of a secret rapture when He said in Luke 17:36, “One will be taken and the other left”?
No. There is no indication that the event is secret. Jesus was describing Noah’s flood and the destruction of Sodom. (Luke 17:26-37.) He told how God spared Noah and Lot and destroyed the wicked. He said specifically that the flood and fire “destroyed them all” (verses 27, 29). Plainly, in each case, a few were taken to safety and the rest were destroyed. Then He added, “Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (verse 30). To illustrate, Jesus continued, “Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left” (verse 36). There is nothing secret about His return. “Every eye will see Him” (Revelation 1:7). At His second coming, Christ publicly and openly takes the righteous up into the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), while His holy presence slays the wicked (Isaiah 11:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:8). That’s why Luke 17:37 speaks of the bodies of the wicked and mentions the eagles (or vultures) gathered around them. (Revelation 19:17-18.) The wicked who are left behind at Christ’s coming are left dead.
Why don’t we hear more preaching and teaching today regarding Christ’s second coming?
The devil is responsible. He well knows that the second coming is the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) of the Christian, and that once understood, it changes the lives of men and women and leads them to take a personal, active part in spreading that good news to others. This infuriates Satan, so he influences those who have “a form of godliness” (2 Timothy 3:5) to scoff, saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning” (2 Peter 3:3-4). Those who deny or make light of Christ’s second advent as a literal, soon coming event are fulfilling Bible prophecy—and doing the devil a service.
Isn’t the great tribulation yet to come?
It is true that a terrible tribulation will cover the earth just before Jesus returns to deliver His people. Daniel described it as “a time of trouble, such as never was” (Daniel 12:1).
Since the Lord is coming “as a thief in the night,” how can anyone know anything about it?
The answer is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4: “You yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” The emphasis of this passage is on the suddenness of the day of the Lord. It comes as a thief only for those who are unprepared, not for those who are prepared—those called “brethren.”
But wasn’t Jesus speaking of a secret rapture when He said in Luke 17:36, “One will be taken and the other left”?
No. There is no indication that the event is secret. Jesus was describing Noah’s flood and the destruction of Sodom. (Luke 17:26-37.) He told how God spared Noah and Lot and destroyed the wicked. He said specifically that the flood and fire “destroyed them all” (verses 27, 29). Plainly, in each case, a few were taken to safety and the rest were destroyed. Then He added, “Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (verse 30). To illustrate, Jesus continued, “Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left” (verse 36). There is nothing secret about His return. “Every eye will see Him” (Revelation 1:7). At His second coming, Christ publicly and openly takes the righteous up into the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), while His holy presence slays the wicked (Isaiah 11:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:8). That’s why Luke 17:37 speaks of the bodies of the wicked and mentions the eagles (or vultures) gathered around them. (Revelation 19:17-18.) The wicked who are left behind at Christ’s coming are left dead.
Why don’t we hear more preaching and teaching today regarding Christ’s second coming?
The devil is responsible. He well knows that the second coming is the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) of the Christian, and that once understood, it changes the lives of men and women and leads them to take a personal, active part in spreading that good news to others. This infuriates Satan, so he influences those who have “a form of godliness” (2 Timothy 3:5) to scoff, saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning” (2 Peter 3:3-4). Those who deny or make light of Christ’s second advent as a literal, soon coming event are fulfilling Bible prophecy—and doing the devil a service.
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