Pastor Leslie Chua

Jesus came about two thousand years ago. As the Bible clearly teaches, He will be coming back again at the end of this present age. It is an undeniable and indisputable truth.

Christ’s return is commonly known as His Second Coming. Many Christians have only a vague idea of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Some are even confused, largely because His return will occur in two phases.

The first phase is the rapture and the second phase is His glorious appearing. These two stages of Christ’s return are encapsulated in the passage that we have just read.

The apostle, Paul, told Titus that they should be keenly “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

The word, “and” in between the words, “blessed hope” and “glorious appearing” is a clear indication that these are two separate and distinct events.

However, that is not what you would read in many other Bible translations. The conjunction, “and,” is missing. It is ignored and excluded from the translated English texts. For example, the ESV (English Standard Version) translated the statement as “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The NIV (New International Version) reads – “we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

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The Second Coming of Jesus comprises two events – the rapture of the church and the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. These are two separate and distinct events that will accomplish different purposes in God’s redemptive plan.  
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If you look at the original Greek text, the Greek word, “kai,” which means “and” is there.

Without the conjunction, “and,” it gives the impression that the “blessed hope” and the “glorious appearing” are one and the same event, which is wrong. These translators conveniently ignored the word, “and” because of their flawed theology. They believe that there is only one single event of the Second Coming of Christ instead of two.

In doing so, they presented a distorted view of the all-important theology of Christ’s return. They had done a great disservice to the church by further complicating the already complex topic of eschatology.

Let me state categorically the teaching of the Bible. The Second Coming of Jesus comprises two events – the rapture of the church and the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. These are two separate and distinct events that will accomplish different purposes in God’s redemptive plan.

So, what are the differences between the rapture and the glorious appearing of Christ


Taken to Heaven & Returning with Jesus

For the rapture, Jesus will come to take His saints to be with Him in heaven whereas for the glorious appearing, Jesus will return to the earth together with the saints.

Paul described the event of the rapture in his first letter to the Thessalonians – For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

During the rapture, Jesus will come and snatch the saints to the clouds. After that, He will take us to heaven. Both the dead in Christ and those who are living will be given new and imperishable bodies that are fit for heavenly dwelling. All this will happen in a split second, in the twinkling of an eye as Paul put it (1 Corinthians 15:50-55).

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For the rapture, Jesus will come to take His saints to be with Him in heaven whereas for the glorious appearing, Jesus will return to the earth together with the saints.
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As for His glorious appearing, Jesus will return to the earth with His heavenly armies comprising of angels and the raptured saints.

As you can see, both the blessed hope and the glorious appearing are two separate and distinct events.


Hidden & Visible

The rapture of the church will be hidden from the world whereas the glorious appearing of Christ will be visible to the entire world.

Nobody will be able to see how the rapture happens. It will occur suddenly and mysteriously. Everyone on earth will be taken by surprise.

The world will be shocked by the sudden disappearance of millions of Christians. The followers of Christ just vanished into the thin air without any trace. People will have no idea what happens. They do not see it coming. They do not see it happening and they have no idea what is going to happen next.

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The rapture of the church will be hidden from the world whereas the glorious appearing of Christ will be visible to the entire world.
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As for the glorious appearing, the whole world will get to see Jesus’ majestic return. He will come bursting through the sky with a great number of heavenly hosts that are all dressed in pure white. It will be the most stunning sight ever witnessed by men.

The apostle, John, caught a glimpse of the glorious appearing of Christ in a vision. Here is how he describes it - Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:11-16).

All the inhabitants of the earth will stand in awe and be stricken with fear at the sight of the glorious appearing of Christ.


Before & After the Tribulation

The next difference lies in the timing of the two events.

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Jesus will come to rapture the saints before the Tribulation begins whereas His glorious appearing will happen at the end of the Tribulation.
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The rapture and the glorious appearing of Jesus will be separated by a 7-year period, which is commonly known as the Tribulation.

Jesus will come to rapture the saints before the Tribulation begins whereas His glorious appearing will happen at the end of the Tribulation.


Imminent & Known

Here is another difference.

The rapture is imminent whereas the timing of the glorious appearing of Christ is known.

Imminence means it can happen at any time. The rapture can happen anytime. There is no pre-condition for it to happen though Jesus spoke about certain signs pointing to the end of this present age.

The apostles and the saints in the early church lived with a keen sense of anticipation that Christ could return anytime soon. Throughout the centuries, the sense that Jesus would return at any time preoccupied the minds of faithful believers.

While most Christians expect the rapture, the timing remains a mystery. Jesus said, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36).

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The rapture is imminent whereas the timing of the glorious appearing of Christ is known.
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However, it is different for the glorious appearing of Christ. We know that it will take place at the end of the 7-year Tribulation. There are also several clear markers indicating various time points in the Tribulation. For example, the Antichrist will force people to take on the 666 mark at the midpoint of the Tribulation. Given that, the Tribulation saints can quite accurately estimate the timing of Christ’s return with His heavenly armies.


Rescue & Judgement

The rapture is a rescue operation whereas the glorious appearing of Christ marks the finale of God’s judgements of the wicked on earth.

The rapture is a rescue operation where Jesus will remove His faithful followers from the earth just before the Tribulation begins. Noah’s ark and the rescue of Lot prefigured the rapture.

The Tribulation is a 7-year period where God will judge the wicked, the nations, and the nation of Israel. During this time, God will unleash His fury and wrath on the sinful and unrepentant world.

The Tribulation is not meant for the faithful followers of Christ.

Believers of Jesus will be spared from God’s wrath and judgement during the Tribulation. The Scripture is clear about this matter. Consider these words from the apostle, Paul – “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

Paul said the same thing earlier in this same letter to the Thessalonians. Speaking about Jesus, he said Jesus “delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

Bear in mind the overarching context of the letter to the Thessalonians concerns the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, the wrath in both these instances refers specifically to Jesus’ wrath and terrifying judgments during the Tribulation.

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The rapture is a rescue operation whereas the glorious appearing of Christ marks the finale of God’s judgements of the wicked on earth.
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As for the glorious appearing of Christ, it will take place at the end of the Tribulation after three series of judgements, namely, the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgements.

Jesus’ immediate purpose in returning is to put an end to the Antichrist’s reign of terror. As soon as Jesus comes, He will completely destroy the Antichrist’s armies, capture the Antichrist and the False Prophet, and throw them into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:17-21).

After that, Jesus will establish the Kingdom of God on earth and reign for one thousand years.

So, you can see from the five differences between the rapture and the glorious appearing of Jesus that they are two separate and distinct events. These two important events will accomplish different purposes in the final phases of God’s redemptive plan.