The first coming of Jesus Christ to the earth was displayed in stages of his birth, ministry, sacrifice, resurrection, and ascension. The Rapture is one of the events of the End Times, and the Great Tribulation, referred to as the Tribulation in the Gospels and New Testament, is another, but there are also other events. The Second Coming of Christ is one of them. The Rapture occurs before the beginning of the Tribulation, which will happen in the earth after God’s children have been raptured by Jesus Christ. The Tribulation is a period of unprecedented hardship before the end of the world and before the Second Coming of Christ. There are those that are of the opinion that the Tribulation will not occur, but the signs of current upheaval, hate, violence, and corruption prove otherwise.
The number of believers raptured will seem astonishingly small in the minds of those who believe that all people in the earth are God’s children. This simply is not the case. God’s children are those who are born again, have received His Holy Spirit, and have made the commitment to love Him with all that they are. They believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the One True Living God, and they have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. They believe that God resurrected His Son from the dead and because they’ve accepted the salvation that He offers, they will be with Him for eternity. Those who do not believe this and do not love God with all that they are may be the nicest people in the world, but they are not children of God and will not be raptured.
The Gospels tell us about people that were very religious and claimed to be God’s sons and daughters when Jesus Christ walked upon this earth. They were pious in all their practices, but they did not believe in Jesus Christ, and in truth, they hated him and plotted his murder. John 8:42-44(NLT) tells us, “42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Many people are offended by the truth that Jesus Christ spoke in John 8:42-44, and it is usually because they love the darkness more than they love the light. This is a reality that many will not acknowledge until their eyes are opened by the Rapture. The saints of God will have disappeared from the earth, and the Tribulation that follows during that time will be like nothing they’ve ever seen. It will be an extremely challenging environment to worship God through Jesus Christ, but some will have faith in Him and receive His salvation. Their hope will be in waiting for the Second Coming of Christ back to the earth.
Before the second coming, things will get progressively worse. After the Rapture, there will be seven years of tribulation, and the antichrist will come on the scene. He will rise to political power during the most severe confusion and troubles of the Great Tribulation period. This person is referred to in the scriptures as the antichrist, a leader seeded for satan. He will dominate the global stage and wreak utter terror on the earth. 1John 2:18,22-24(NLT) says, “18 Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. 22 And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. 23 Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father.”
There are many living in our present day that deny Christ, and they indeed have the spirit of the antichrist, but another charismatic and tremendously wicked son of satan will rise during the Tribulation to control the masses. Vehemently against Christ, he will oppose him and his followers, while setting himself up to be worshiped by the world. Everything the antichrist has, his fame, power, and authority, all come from satan.
Daniel, God’s prophet, describes the antichrist in Daniel 7:7, 25(NLT), “7 Then in my vision that night, I saw a fourth beast—terrifying, dreadful, and very strong. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled their remains beneath its feet. It was different from any of the other beasts, and it had ten horns. 25 He will defy the Most High and oppress the holy people of the Most High. He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws, and they will be placed under his control for a time, times, and half a time.” The antichrist will charm and bamboozle with words that are eloquent yet deadly, and those who will come to God by accepting Jesus Christ into their hearts during the Tribulation must guard against being manipulated and swindled out of their inheritance in Christ. They must not accept the mark of the beast and stand firm against it, because it has consequences that are eternal.
There can be no doubt that many that are saved during this time will be persecuted and executed for their faith in the Most High through Jesus Christ. However, rest assured that God is seeing everything and He is forever in control. It would be so much better if those that are living today would give their lives to Christ before the Rapture. If they would only let his love into their hearts, and be rescued from darkness, he would bring them into his glorious light, but he will not force anyone to come to him. He extends the invitation and it is up to every individual to accept it.
Romans 10:13 tells us that whoever calls on the name of Jesus Christ will be saved. That includes those that will live during the Tribulation. They must keep their hope in the reality that he will come again, but in the second coming, Jesus Christ will not meet people in the air as he does for the Rapture. He will come into the earth. He will bring judgment to his enemies and will begin to set up his Kingdom. He told his disciples in Matthew 24:27-30(ESV), “27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. 29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Jesus Christ affirmed his second coming, and he will return to the earth with great glory as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Romans 14:11 tells us that every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, at the name of our powerful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. ■
"The Second Coming of Christ”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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