Why The Rapture Is Not Christ's Second Coming

If you believe in a PREWRATH Rapture, you are LOOKING FOR THE ANTICHRIST!

by David J. Stewart | December 2019

Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

       There is a popular heresy today known as a “PreWrath Rapture.” Effectively, this doctrine DENIES THE RAPTURE altogether! Respectfully, Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, sarcastically refutes the idea of “a secret Rapture.” Sadly, Pastor Anderson DENIES THE RAPTURE DOCTRINE entirely, he states:

“The Bible's real clear on what the coming of the Lord Jesus is—It is the Rapture! It is the trumpet sounding; It is us being caught up together with Him in the clouds. There are people out there who will tell you, that the Rapture and the Second Coming are two different things. We'll, either those people can't count; or they're basically just repeating what man has taught them instead of reading the Bible and seeing what God has taught them.” —Pastor Steven Anderson; a quote from the YouTube video: “The Rapture = The Second Coming” (an excerpt from 1 Corinthians 1)

I humbly disagree! I love Brother Anderson and support his ministry, family and him personally. I love the guy, but I think he is very wrong on this vital doctrine! I love a guy who has fire in his soul while preaching! Brother Hyles used to say: I'd rather see a guy with wild fire than no fire! Amen!

Our text Bible verse from Titus 2:13 commands every saint to LOOK FOR OUR SAVIOR'S APPEARING! Well if the antichrist must appear first, then why would we look for our Savior? There's nothing to look for! Why would I hope, wait and look for Jesus, when I know He cannot come?

Pastor Anderson errantly believes that Christ's Second Coming IS THE RAPTURE, so he says:

The Rapture simply cannot happen at any moment!”
—Pastor Steven L. Anderson; After the Tribulation: The Pre-Tribulation Rapture Fraud Exposed (01:27:04 video)

If that be true, then what would be the purpose of LOOKING FOR THE GREAT GOD AND OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST? If Jesus cannot return until the Man of Sin (The Antichrist) first comes, then perhaps we should be looking for the Man of Sin instead! Does that make any sense? For Titus 2:13 to make sense, Christ must return FIRST, which is the PreTribulation Rapture.

May I say, kindly, it makes absolutely no sense for the Rapture and the Second Coming to be the SAME event. Why would the saints be “CAUGHT UP” (1st Thessalonians 4:17b) into the air by the Lord, at the same time “the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all” upon the earth (Jude 1:1415a). Those two events conflict with one another. If these events are one and the same, then where does the Judgment Seat Of Christ fit in? When does the Marriage Supper Of The Lamb happen? For an excellent education on Bible prophecy, I highly recommend the following books:

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow (Pastor Max D. Younce)

Revelation: God's Final Word To Man (Pastor Max D. Younce)

The Revelation Of Jesus Christ (Evangelist Oliver B. Greene)

Daniel And Revelation Made Plain (Dr. Mark G. Cambron)

What saith the Scripture? This is a famous passage about the Rapture...

1st Corinthians 15:51-53, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

This also is a famous Scripture passage about the Rapture...

1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

Dear reader, by careful examination of the Scriptures, we can identify numerous distinctions between the Rapture and the Second Coming. This is why the doctrine of the Rapture exists, not because men are as parrots who merely repeat what they have been taught, but because of these clear important distinctions...

32 Differences Between the Rapture & Second Coming

The following 32 distinctions help to grasp the differences between these two great future events. Keep in mind that the RAPTURE happens BEFORE the 7-year Tribulation period; and then after the 7-years the glorious SECOND COMING (glorious appearing) of our great Lord, King and Savior will happen, when the entire world beholds Him...

CLEARLY, although some of the previous contrasts are debatable, most of them plainly evidence that there is absolutely NO WAY that the Rapture and the Second Coming are the same event; and also these distinctions show that the Rapture cannot happen AFTER the Tribulation! The serious and diligent Bible student who considers all of the preceding 32 distinct differences between the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ can only conclude a Pre-Tribulation Rapture!!! Here is a helpful prophecy chart by Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) showing the timing of Biblical events.

We are told to “COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS” in 1st Thessalonians 4:18b. What words? The encouraging words of truth in verses 13-18, which tell us our loved ones who are saved will meet us in the air when Christ returns at the Rapture. 1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” The events of the Second Coming are so drastically different than the circumstances of the Rapture, that we can plainly determine they are NOT the same event. The Battle of Armageddon will take place when Christ returns at His Second Coming (Revelation 16:16). The inspired Word of God is as a puzzle, which to solve, must be cross-referenced, Scripture with Scripture.

ABOVE: My Son-in-Law, Daughter and Grandson at Vitali's Italian Restaurant 2019

One of the “PROOFS” we have that the Rapture is a separate event from the Second Coming, is simply that the Lord said NO ONE (not even He nor the angels) knows THE TIME of His return, but only the Father (Mark 13:32-37). Mark 13:32, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” If theoretically, the Rapture and Second Coming were THE SAME event, then we could easily know WHEN, by simply counting down the time from the Abomination of Desolation (the future event when the Antichrist claims to be God) to Christ's Second Coming (1,290 days). Only a PreTribulation Rapture position makes NOT KNOWING the time of Christ's return possible!

Dear reader, if all you do is listen to Pastor Steven Anderson preach, then you will not see the truth of a Rapture in the Scriptures; but if you STUDY, by searching and comparing Scriptures, praying for God to teach you His Word, then you will only be able to CONCLUDE A PRETRIB RAPTURE! I personally heard Pastor Lee Roberson (1909-2007) say that same thing, at First Baptist Church of Hammond, during a college graduation commencement ceremony. Dr. Lee Roberson was a wise man, who believed and taught a PreTribulation Rapture. You can read his awesome helpful book titled: “SOME GOLDEN DAYBREAK.” Was Dr. Roberson a parrot (as Pastor Steven Anderson claims) merely going along with the crowd? I mean, do you really expect me to believe that Billy Sunday, Dwight L. Moody, Harry A. Ironside, J. Frank Norris, John R. Rice, Oliver B. Greene, Bob Jones Sr., Jack Hyles, and thousands more fundamentalist Bible-preachers, were all deceived?
 

The “Days” of Daniel Prove a Church Rapture

One of my favorite preachers and mentors is Pastor Max D. Younce. I really love this guy! We've been friends for over 15 years, and he is truly the Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) of our generation. I wish the whole world could know about Pastor Younce and his helpful books (there are dozens freely available on his church website). I remember hearing Pastor Jack Hyles talk about his first pastor, J.C. Sizemore, how he was a small man of stature, and would come out of his Pastor's study each Sunday morning, to expound the church with what he had learned from the Word of God. Dr. Hyles said he wants the whole world to know the things that his pastor taught him! I feel the same when I listen to Pastor Younce, I want the whole world to know the truths he has taught me. I am not flattering when I say he is the Dr. John R. Rice of our time, read his works and you will see what I mean. Here Dr. Younce well explains the “Days” of Daniel 12:11-12...

The “Days” of Daniel Teach a 7 Year Tribulation Period

Pastor Anderson's denial of the Rapture, in my humble opinion, comes from the influence of Pastor Roland Rasmussen, who led his parents to the Lord. Pastor Rasmussen used to preach at Hyles-Anderson College (HAC) but when Dr. Jack Hyles learned that Mr. Rasmussen didn't believe in a PreTribulation Rapture, he was no longer allowed to speak at the college, lest he confuse the students. That meant war! When Neo-Evangelicals declared war (MP3 sermon by Dr. Hyles called: Weathering The Storm) on Brother Hyles in 1989, a disgruntled group of staff members at the church and college turned against Pastor Hyles (I know because I was there enrolled as a student at HAC); all of the Rasmussen family on staff at HAC (several of them) turned against Brother Hyles. So this battle of the PreTribulation Rapture versus no Rapture has some deep roots to it! I stand 100% with Pastor Jack Hyles and the PreTribulation Rapture, because that is what the Bible teaches.

The Biblical doctrine of the Rapture is a heated ongoing debate. I won't argue with anyone over it, but I will express what I believe to be THE TRUTH! It is the same with the Biblical doctrine of the place of Paradise in the Old Testament. Respectfully, Pastor Anderson denies that teaching too, but if you examine the Scriptures, a place of PARADISE is the only logical conclusion you can come to. Jesus told the repentant sinner on the cross, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Likewise, the Rapture is the only logical conclusion you can come to, if you study the Word of truth. Brother Anderson also believes that Jesus burned in Hell for three days. Kindly, I also disagree with him on that doctrine. As I just quoted to you from Luke 23:43, Jesus told the repentant man next to him that they were going to PARADISE that very day!!! I don't see how anyone could say Christ went to burn in Hell. I say that lovingly.

Folks, our text passage of Scripture says to LOOK FOR THAT BLESSED HOPE!!! That “BLESSED HOPE” is the appearing of the precious Lord Jesus Christ at the RAPTURE...

1st John 3:2-3, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

Our great HOPE of the Christian faith is the GLORIOUS APPEARING OF THE GREAT GOD AND OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST!!! Only a PreTribulation Rapture position upholds THAT BLESSED HOPE! If you believe in a PreWrath (i.e., MidTribulation) return of Christ, then you are LOOKING FOR THE MAN OF SIN, ANTICHRIST, because you think he must appear first! Bless God, I'm not looking for the MAN OF SIN, I am looking for the SON OF RIGHTEOUSNESS!! I'm not looking for the UNDERTAKER, I'm looking for the UPPERTAKER!!!

Pastor Jack Hyles Preaches Against “Mid-Tribulation Rapture Garbage”!

A Rainbow Photo I Took Out My Car Window While Driving to My Place

There are a couple dozen Biblical reasons why the only logical conclusion is a PreTribulation Rapture. That is, Jesus will return “FOR” His saints (the Church) BEFORE the 7 year Tribulation period begins. Only then (after the Rapture when the church is removed from the world) can the Antichrist appear (2nd Thessalonians 2:4). AFTER the 7 year Tribulation period, then Jesus Christ will return in power and glory at His SECOND COMING “WITH” the saints! Only born-again believers will see Jesus at the Rapture (1st Thessalonians 4:17), but the whole world will see Him at His Second Coming (Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7).

Teaching On The Rapture by Baptist Pastor Clarence Larkin (1850-1924)

1. THE HEAVENLY DOOR.
Revelation 4:1.

“AFTER THIS I looked, and, behold, a DOOR WAS OPENED IN HEAVEN: and the first voice which I heard was as it were a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter” (after these).

       The scene now changes from earth (Patmos) to Heaven. John tells us that After This, after his Vision of Christ in the midst of the “Seven Candlesticks,” and his foreview of the history of the Christian Church, as reviewed in the Messages to the Seven Churches, which carried him down to the end of the Church Age, he looked, and behold a DOOR WAS OPENED IN HEAVEN, and the same voice that spoke to him from the midst of the “Seven Golden Candlesticks,” which was the voice of Christ (Rev. 1:10-13), said with the clearness and sweetness of a trumpet –

“COME UP HITHER AND I WILL SHOW THEE THINGS WHICH MUST BE HEREAFTER”

And John adds

“IMMEDIATELY I WAS IN THE SPIRIT:

and, behold, a Throne was set in Heaven, and ONE sat on the Throne.”

       The experience of John was similar to that of Paul, who was caught up into Paradise. Whether in the body or out of the body they are uncertain, at least Paul was. 2. Cor. 12:2-4. The difference between them however was, that, while Paul heard words that he was forbidden to speak, John was told to “WRITE IN A BOOK” the things he saw and heard, and send them to the Seven Churches in Asia.

In this “Rapture” of John we have a type of the

RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH,

and it is at this place in the Book that the “RAPTURE” of the Church takes place. After the confession of Peter at Caesarea Philippi, that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:13-28), and Jesus had said that upon the rock of that confession He would build His Church, He said to His Disciples’ – “Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they

THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE HEREAFTER

see the Son of Man COMING IN HIS KINGDOM.” And then we read in the next chapter (and there should be no chapter division), “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was TRANSFIGURED BEFORE THEM.” Matt. 17:1-9. Now this “Transfiguration Scene” is a type of the Second Coming of Christ, Moses being a type of the “Resurrected Saints,” and Elijah of the “Translated Saints.”

As the promise of Christ to His Disciples that some of them should not “taste of death” until they saw in vision a rehearsal of the manner of His Second Coming, was fulfilled in the “Transfiguration Scene,” so the statement made to Peter as to John, “If I will that he TARRY TILL I COME” (John 21:20-23), finds its fulfillment in John’s being caught up in vision and beholding before his death, what he would have witnessed and experienced if his life had been prolonged until Jesus came back. Thus John was permitted to live, until, in vision, he saw the Return of the Lord.

The “Rapture” of the Church is described in 1. Thess. 4:16-17. “For the Lord HIMSELF shall descend from Heaven with a SHOUT, with the VOICE OF THE ARCHANGEL, and with the TRUMP OF GOD; and the DEAD IN CHRIST shall rise first: then we WHICH ARE ALIVE and REMAIN 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.” Note how John’s taking up corresponds with this. He was summoned by the “VOICE OF CHRIST,” and it will be the “SHOUT of Christ” that shall summon the saints at the Rapture. It was with a “LOUD VOICE” that Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb. John 11:43. And as it was a Trumpet Like Voice that summoned John, so it will be a TRUMPET CALL that will summon the Saints at the Rapture.

As confirmatory proof that the Church is “caught out” at this time and place, we have in the description of the Throne, the statement that the Holy Spirit in the Seven-fold plentitude of His power, is BACK IN HEAVEN. In none of the Epistles is the Holy Spirit invoked along with the Father and the Son, except in 2. Cor. 13:14, because He is viewed as abiding on the earth with the Church, convicting of sin, comforting believers, and gathering out the elect, but here He is no longer on the earth but back in Heaven, and before the Throne.

This is the strongest kind of evidence that the Church at this time has been “caught out” and is no longer on the earth, for when the Holy Spirit goes back to Heaven He will take the Church WITH HIM. And the presence of the Holy Spirit in Heaven is conclusive evidence that the events that follow are to take place after the Church has been caught out, and therefore the Church is not to pass through the Tribulation.

SOURCE: Pastor Clarence Larkin (1850-1924), “THE BOOK OF REVELATION,” pages 25-26; written 1919
 

Regardless of What You Believe About the Rapture, Let's Keep Soulwinning

The timing of the Rapture does NOT affect one's salvation. Albeit, there is an entirely different proper MINDSET that the PreTrib Christian has, than someone who errantly thinks Christ couldn't possibly return at any time. I actually feel sorry for those believers who don't have “THAT BLESSED HOPE”! Respectfully, Pastor Anderson does not have THAT BLESSED HOPE! Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” The PreWrath crowd are instead looking for the Antichrist, literally. Since they don't believe Jesus can return until the Man of Sin first comes, why would they LOOK FOR THE APPEARING OF THE GREAT GOD AND OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST? This one point alone refutes that PreWrath Rapture GARBAGE!!!

Again, I love Brother Anderson (I sincerely hate refuting his teaching), and I fully respect our right to disagree; but I think the whole idea of a PreWrath Rapture is GARBAGE THEOLOGY!!!

Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

If you believe in a PREWRATH Rapture, you are LOOKING FOR THE ANTICHRIST!

END OF ARTICLE

The Dechristianization Of Our Nation (by Pastor Steven Anderson)

The Sins Of Christian America

The Destruction Of Jerusalem
(very needful MP3 sermons by Pastor Chuck Baldwin)

Psalms 3:5-6, “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. I will
not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.”

“Most of our unhappiness is caused by the distance between our wants and our haves! ...If we can somehow reconcile our wants with our haves, we can be happy!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, a helpful quote from the sermon: “The Expectation Is From Him” (1983)

“Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do!”
—Pastor Jack Hyles, a quote from the MP3 sermon titled: “God's Reversal Of Psalm 51”

1st Corinthians 16:24, “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”