2nd Coming of Christ and Rapture by Fred Bachand

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST*
*AND*
*THE "RAPTURE" OF THE CHRIST*
*PART FOUR **--CONCLUSION*
*By Fred Bachand*

*
Again let us "test things that differ" in connection with Christ's
Second Coming to earth and the "Rapture" of the Church into heaven:

THE SECOND COMING
Christ's reign on the earth
Israel and Nations
The visible manifestation of our Lord to all
That which was prophesied.

THE RAPTURE
Christ's reign in the heavens
The Body of Christ
The secret appearing of our Lord to the saints only
That which was kept secret.

Seeing, therefore, that there are so many distinctions between these two
passages of scripture, John 14:1-3, and I Thess. 4:16-18 (and there are
many more), is it any wonder that there is so much confusion among our
brothers in Christ as to the Second Corning of Christ and the "Rapture"
of the Church? Is it any wonder that most Christians do not really know
whether they are actually going to be in heaven or if heaven will be
merely a renewed earth when Christ returns to it? Some believe that
Christ will not literally return to the earth to reign for a thousand
years. They believe that He is reigning today in the hearts of men. This
they believe in spite of scriptures such as Heb. 2:8, which says, " ...
We see not yet all things put under him," and Jer. 17: 9, which says,
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who
can know it?" Some go on blindly claiming that the world is getting
better and better through the work of the many missionaries all over the
world. But the scriptures claim the world is getting worse and worse,
and will continue to do so until Christ returns and assumes ALL POWER
and rules the world with a rod of iron (Psalm 2).

Why is it that many of us who claim the Bible to be the Word of God can
not see that to deny that Christ will literally come again to earth to
reign is to deny that He literally came to earth the first time to
literally suffer and literally die on a literal cross for our sins, and
that He literally rose again from the dead in order to make all these
other things literally possible? For if we claim that God's Word does
not mean what it says in one part, how can we depend on it meaning what
it says in any part?

Let us resolve from this moment on, never to doubt the words of our
Lord. If there seems to be confusion between any passages of scripture,
let us "test things that differ" and "rightly divide" these passages and
acknowledge that the confusion is in our understanding, NOT in God's
Word. And let us who are in Christ acknowledge the fact that we are
justified by faith, and that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by
the word of God" (Rom. 10:17) .

Therefore let us have faith in God's word. Let us study our Bibles so
that we may know God's Word. And let us meditate on His Word in order to
have a better understanding of our wonderful Lord and thereby learn to
love Him more, knowing that whatever He has promised He is also able to
perform. As it is written in II Pet. 3:18, " ... Grow in grace, and in
the knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both
now and for ever. Amen. "

* * * * * * *
We pray that this has been helpful in establishing you in the faith, and
that in all things Christ may receive the glory, knowing that when He
Who is our life shall appear, then we also shall appear with Him in
glory (Col. 3:4).

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST*
*AND*
*THE "RAPTURE" OF THE CHRIST*
*PART THREE *
*By Fred Bachand*


*THE FIRST RESURRECTION*
*
The apostle John, one of the twelve apostles to the nation Israel,
writes by revelation in the book of The Revelation concerning Christ's
second coming to earth after the tribulation: Rev. 20:4 "And I saw
thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I
saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and
for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his
image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their
hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."

Now let us pay particular attention to the next two verses: Rev. 20: 5,6
-"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were
finished. This is the first resurrection. "Blessed and holy is he that
hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign
with him a thousand years."

Let us not forget, beloved, that we who are members of Christ's Body,
the Church, will have been in heaven with the Lord for at least seven
years before this "first resurrection" takes place on the earth. The
first and second comings of our Lord and the first and second
resurrections are the subject of prophecy, which deals with God's
earthly purpose for Israel and the nations. But Christ's coming in the
air and the catching away ("Rapture") of the Church which is His Body
before the tribulation is the subject of the Mystery, God's Secret,
Heavenly purpose, which concerns us; the members of the Church, His Body.

*
*"THAT WHERE I AM"*
*
Looking back now at John 14:3, Jesus told His disciples, " ... I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may
be also." In our Lord's prayer to the Father concerning His disciples,
He said, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be
with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given
me: for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24).
Notice the glory spoken of here. This glory was given to Him by the
Father. It is not His essential glory which He had with the Father
"before the world was" (John 17:5), nor is it His inherited glory which
He acquired through His sacrificial work on Calvary (Heb. 1:3,4). This
glory has a direct reference to the Melchisedec priesthood spoken of in
the book of Hebrews. The only way the Lord Jesus Christ could be made a
high priest was by the gift of grace given Him in resurrection, since,
being of the tribe of Judah according to the flesh, He had no part in
the Levitical priesthood (see Hebrews, chapter 7).

Back again now to John 14:3. Our Lord said to His disciples, " ... that
where I am, there ye may be also." Where is Christ going to be at this
time? An accurate study of God's Word will show that He will be seated
on David's throne reigning over the Nations on the earth. Where will we
be at this time? An accurate study of God's Word will show that we who
are in Christ, members of His Church today, will be seated in the
heavens reigning over Principalities and Powers in the heavenly places
(Ephesians).

*
*GOD'S SECRET*
*
As we have seen, the "Rapture" of the Church was a secret until it was
revealed to and through the apostle Paul. The Second Coming of Christ,
on the other hand, was NOT a secret. The Old Testament prophets spoke
often of both the first coming and the second coming of Christ, both the
sufferings and the glory that should follow. One such passage is found
in Isa. 53:10-12. This was no mystery or secret to the Jews, it was
misunderstood by them. They could not see that the suffering saviour was
also their glorious king. They looked only for the restoration of the
Kingdom to Israel. They were concerned only with the blessings promised
them in the flesh and did not learn the lesson of John 3:1-8, that they
must first receive the spiritual blessing before they could realize
their fleshly blessings. This lesson is that they, as a Nation, must be
born again (from above) before they could enjoy the blessings of the
earthly kingdom which were promised to them in their Messiah.

What basically is the gospel which we find being proclaimed in the books
of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Basically it is " ... Repent ... for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2) .

The Kingdom of Heaven was:
1. PROMISED in the Old Testament,
2. PREACHED in Matt. through John,
3. PRESENTED in the book of Acts.

Israel rejected the Kingdom because of pride. They would not, as a
nation, repent of having crucified Jesus of Nazareth, and admit that He
was their Messiah. Therefore God rejected Israel, nationally, and the
Kingdom of Heaven, which was promised to them, was thereby postponed and
was replaced by the Dispensation of the Grace of God, God's Secret
Purpose, the Mystery (Eph. 3).

It was in this present dispensation, the Dispensation of the Grace of
God, that Christ revealed to Paul the truth concerning the Church which
is called the Body of Christ; with its Heavenly Hope and Spiritual
blessings. The doctrine concerning this Church; its calling, its proper
walk in this age, and its Blessed Hope, which is Christ's coming in the
air to catch away His Body (the "Rapture"), can be found only in the
Church Epistles, those written to us by the apostle Paul.

This Church is NOT "Spiritual Israel." This Church is NOT going to reign
on the earth. This Church is NOT the subject of prophecy. Israel is a
nation, both physically and spiritually, a political organization,
called by God to manifest His glory on the earth. But the Church is a
Body, both physically and spiritually, a living organism, called by God
to manifest His glory throughout all the heavens. In Phil. 3:20, we find
that our "conversation" (Greek -- Homeland) is in the heavens. In Eph.
1:3, we find that our blessings are all spiritual and in the heavens.

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST*
*AND*
*THE "RAPTURE" OF THE CHRIST*
*PART TWO *
*By Fred Bachand*


*THE "RAPTURE" OF THE CHURCH*
*
Now let us look at I Thess. 4:16,17. Here our Lord is speaking to a
different group of believers, members of the Church which is "His Body"
(Eph.l:23), through Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13). In
verse 15, of I Thess. 4, Paul writes, "For this we say unto you by the
word of the Lord ... " These then are the words of "Him that speaketh
from heaven." And in verse 16, we find that " ... 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." Notice
these words: "the Lord himself," and "the voice of the archangel" (only
the voice of one angel, not "His angels" as in Matt. 24:31). In verse
17, Paul writes that we shall all, the raised dead in Christ and those
who are living and are in Christ, be caught up, or seized away by force,
from the earth to meet the Lord IN THE AIR. This will take place before
the tribulation for in the fifth chapter, verses 1-11, Paul is writing
about the coming tribulation and comparing it to a day of darkness, and
he says, in verse 5, "Ye are all the children of light, and the children
of the day: we are not of the night, nor of the darkness." Now notice
particularly verses 9-11: For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to
obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that,
whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore
comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."

In I Cor. 15:51, this same apostle Paul, writing to the same body of
believers, members of "The Church which is His (Christ's) Body," says,
"Behold, I show you a mystery (a secret)." Now if this was a secret that
Paul was telling, it certainly could not have been that which was
revealed before by our Lord when He was on earth. But what is this
secret that Paul is here revealing to the Corinthians? Let us find out
by reading verses 51 and 52: "Behold, I show 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. "

Paul is here referring to the same event as in I Thess. 4, the coming of
our Lord in the air to catch away His Body, the Church, before the wrath
of God is poured out upon the earth.

Now let us make a quick summary of what we have found out thus far:

John 14:1-3 --
1. Concerns Christ's Second Coming.
2. After the tribulation He will send His angels to gather His elect.
3. These elect He will receive unto Himself (Greek -- paralambano).
4. This gathering will take place ON THE EARTH.

I Thess. 4:16-18 --
1. Concerns Christ's Secret Coming.
2. Before the tribulation the trumpet shall sound, and we shall all
be changed.
3. He will seize away His Body from the earth (Greek -- harpazo).
4. This gathering will take place IN THE AIR.

This is our Blessed Hope! This is what we should be looking forward to!
We should be patiently waiting, and anxiously looking for our Lord's
coming IN THE AIR to catch away ("Rapture") His Body, " ... and so shall
we ever be with the Lord" (I Thess. 4:17).

*
*"MY FATHER'S HOUSE"*
*
But what about John l4:l-3? For a better understanding of this passage
let us examine our Lord's words more closely. First we shall notice the
words, "In my Father's house." In Matt. 21:12,13, we find our Lord in
the temple casting out the merchandisers, and we read, "And Jesus went
into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in
the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats
of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house
shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of
thieves." Here our Lord uses a compound quotation from two scriptures in
the Old Testament:

Isa. 56:7, " ... For my house shall be called an house of prayer for all
people," and

Jer. 7:11, "Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of
robbers in your eyes?"

So we see that the temple is called by Jehovah, "My House." In John 14,
Jesus, speaking of His corning again to earth, tells His disciples about
His Father's house. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, can only be referring
to Jehovah's house, His Father's house, which is the temple. Not the
temple then standing, which was to be destroyed, but that future temple
which will be established in connection with His Second Coming. In the
book of Ezekiel, chapters 40 through 48, there is a vivid description of
the temple that will stand during the one thousand years of our Lord's
reign on this earth.

*
*"MANY MANSIONS "*
*
The next words we come to are the "many mansions" that are to be found
in Jehovah's house. These are not to be "mansions" according to our
present meaning of the English word. This word is a translation of the
Greek word mone, which means nothing more nor less than abodes: living
quarters. The priests who minister the duties of the temple reside on
the premises. Therefore we see that John 14:1-3 refers to the Second
Coming of Christ to earth to reign for one thousand years, and that it
is particularly connected with the Priesthood of the Nation Israel.

In Exodus 19:5,6, after the Lord had led Israel out of Egypt He tells
them, "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my
covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people:
for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests,
and an holy nation ... " When Christ returns to establish His kingdom,
and Israel becomes a kingdom of priests, then they who minister the
duties of the priesthood will abide in the Father's house, the temple.

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
AND
THE "RAPTURE" OF THE CHRIST
PART ONE
By Fred Bachand
*
*

There is much confusion today, people concerning our Lord's return. This
confusion is largely the result seeing no distinction between the return
of our Lord to earth and His coming to catch away His Body, the Church,
into heaven. That is, very little distinction, if any, is being made
between COMING OF CHRIST AND THE "RAPTURE" OF THE CHURCH.

There are two passages of scripture which are generally linked together
as to the same event, and then we hear all kinds of "explanations" and
theories concerning the Second Coming of Christ and the "Rapture" of the
Church, the Tribulation, the "Millennium, " and the "end of the World."
The two passages of scripture are:

John 14:1-3, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe
also in me "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I
would told you. I go to prepare a place for you. "And if I go to
prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also."

and I Thess. 4:16-18, "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."

The truth is that these two passages of scripture refer to two entirely
different events and are related to each other only in that they both
mark the ending of one age and the beginning of another. Here again the
perfection and the precision which mark God's Word, the Bible, as being
distinct from all other writings is seen by applying the principles He
Himself has laid down for studying His Word. In Phil. 1:10, we read the
words, " ... approve things that are excellent ... " In the Greek, from
which this is translated, it means to prove, by testing, things
differing; or to test the things that differ. Then what are we to do? II
Tim. 2:15, says that we are to rightly divide the word of truth. With
these two principles in mind, and knowing that "All scripture is given
by inspiration of God ... " (II Tim. 3:16), let us examine the foregoing
scriptures and see what our Lord would have us to know about THE SECOND
COMING OF CHRIST AND THE "RAPTURE" OF THE CHURCH.

*
*THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST*
*
Let us first consider John 14:1-3. Here our Lord is NOT speaking about
the "Rapture" of the Church. In fact, He is NOT speaking here about "The
Church, which is His Body," at all. Any believer today who is looking
forward to this event as his Blessed Hope is living under a
misapprehension and is going to be surprised, pleasantly surprised, to
find that he has no direct connection with this event.

Let us compare two words. In John 14:3, we find the word "receive." This
word is translated from the Greek word paralabano, which means to
receive alongside of. Here our Lord, speaking to His disciples of that
time, said He would receive them alongside of, or unto, Himself. Now let
us look at the word used in I Thess. 4:17, translated "caught up." This
word in the Greek is harpazo, which means to seize by force. Turn in
your Bible to John 10:28, and see how this same Greek word is used where
it is translated "pluck." So we see that already we have a definite
distinction between these two passages, John 14:1-3, and I Thess.
4:16-18, in reference to our Lord's method in gathering His saints. We
could stop right here and say that these two passages could not be
referring to the same event because the gathering of the saints in each
passage is to be done in a different way. Now we know that God is not
the author of confusion and when we find things differing in His Word we
are exhorted to test them and rightly divide them in order to be
approved unto God, needing not to be ashamed (ll Tim. 2:15). Therefore
let us proceed further into God's Word.

There are some who claim that the most important words in the Bible are
those of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This is true! Yet those who make
this claim have limited His words to those spoken by Him during His
short stay on earth. Let us not forget, beloved, that Jesus Christ is
God personified, and that ALL scripture is "given by inspiration of
God," literally (in the Greek) God breathed. Therefore the whole Bible,
from "Genesis" through "The Revelation," is the Word or breath of God
and in it we find, from cover to cover, the words of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. In Heb.12:25, we read, "See that ye refuse not him
that speaketh. For if they escape not who refused him that spake on
earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that
speaketh from heaven."

In Matt. 24, our Lord is speaking to the same disciples as in John 14,
and concerning the same event, His Second Coming. And in verse 31, we
read, " ... He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
and they shall gather together his elect ... " He will receive unto
Himself those who are gathered by the angels. This will take place on
the EARTH, for the Lord must return to the earth to establish His
kingdom and reign for one thousand years ON THE EARTH. Notice also that
this Second Coming will be after the tribulation. In verses 29 and 30,
we read, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun
be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and
then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall
all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."