In this article, I wish to address the subject of the Lord’s return and the rapture of the Church. Many within the Church believe that we are living in the last days and that the Lord’s return is near. Yet there are differing views as to how these events will unfold.
Most who await the Lord’s return believe that one day He will appear in the clouds, as Scripture describes, and that believers will be taken up to meet Him — an event commonly referred to as the rapture of the Church.
However, there is disagreement among believers regarding the timing of the rapture.
The majority in the Church today hold that the rapture will occur before the Great Tribulation — the period when the Antichrist comes to power and followers of Jesus will face severe persecution. This position is known as the pre-tribulation rapture. [1]
Nevertheless, an increasing number of Christians recognise from Scripture that the Church will be raptured after or during the Great Tribulation. These perspectives are called the post-tribulation rapture and the pre-wrath rapture respectively. [2]
To keep matters simple, I will not focus on all the details distinguishing these views. It is sufficient to remember that the disagreement centres on whether or not the Church will experience the time of great tribulation.
A Question of Truth, Not Preference
This topic is challenging because it touches upon deep emotions. None of us would wish to endure persecution, yet the issue is not one of personal preference but of the truth of God’s Word.
Looking at current world events, it seems increasingly possible that the Lord’s coming is not far off. If that is the case, one of two possibilities could occur within our lifetime:
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We could be raptured before the tribulation, as some believe; or
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We could find ourselves living through the Great Tribulation, as others maintain.
It is worth asking ourselves: are we prepared for both possibilities — or only for the first?
What if we were mistaken? What if the rapture did not occur when we expected, and instead we found ourselves within the Great Tribulation? In such a moment, would we be able to hold fast to our faith and remain steadfast in God’s truth, or would doubt begin to creep in?
The Lesson of the Ten Virgins
Do you remember Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins? In this parable, the Lord comes at night. I believe that this night symbolises the Great Tribulation.
Notice that only half of the virgins were prepared for the Lord’s coming. The others were not ready because He did not arrive when they expected. He came much later — after their lamps had run out of oil.
If the Lord delays, will we have enough oil in our lamps to remain steadfast in faith until His return in the middle of the night?
I wish to encourage all of us to be wise virgins — always ready for the coming of the Lord, whether it be before, during, or after the Great Tribulation.
Whatever God has planned, He will not forsake us. He will be with us in every situation, even in the time of tribulation, for He is a God who loves and cares for His people.
To avoid prolonging this introduction, I will now move to the heart of the matter.
Why Two Comings Are Required in the Pre-Tribulation View
There are two reasons why the pre-tribulation view demands two distinct comings of Christ.
First, the rapture is not an isolated event. Those who teach that the rapture will occur first, followed later by the Lord’s return, are presenting believers with two separate phases of His coming that Scripture itself does not describe.
So what, then, is the rapture of the Church?
As already noted, for believers alive at that time, the rapture will be the moment when the Lord returns and they are caught up into the air to meet Him.
Paul describes it in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 (NIV):
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.
As we see in this passage, for the rapture to occur, the coming of the Lord must take place.
Second, the Gospels clearly teach that the Lord will come after the tribulation — or, more precisely, during the Great Tribulation.
Matthew 24:29–30 (NKJV)
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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.”
When the Lord says “Immediately after the tribulation of those days,” He refers to the persecution of believers by the Antichrist, described earlier in that chapter.
This does not necessarily mean that His return will occur after the entire three-and-a-half-year period of tribulation; rather, it will take place within that final period of history.
The Logical Problem for the Pre-Tribulation View
Taken together, these two truths —
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that the rapture occurs only at the Lord’s coming, and
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that the Lord’s coming is described in the Gospels as occurring during the tribulation —
create a significant difficulty for the pre-tribulation position.
To sustain their view, pre-tribulationists must posit an additional coming of the Lord.
Indeed, pre-tribulational teachers themselves make this distinction. John Walvoord, in The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation, differentiates between “the coming of Christ for His Church” and “the coming of Christ to establish His kingdom.” These, he says, are separated by a seven-year interval.
Chuck Missler, in The Rapture, writes that Christ’s Second Coming occurs in two phases: “In one case, He comes in secret for His own; in the other, every eye shall see Him” (Rev. 1:7). [3]
Thus, the two comings are not only separated in time but also differ in nature: the first is secret and invisible, the second public and glorious.
A Single Second Coming
As we can see, adopting the pre-tribulational stance introduces the notion of two distinct comings of Christ in the last days, following His first advent.
By contrast, the post-tribulation and pre-wrath views require only one future coming. According to these perspectives, at that one return during the Great Tribulation, the Church will be raptured to meet the Lord, after which God’s wrath will be poured out upon the unbelieving world.
In this context, several important questions arise:
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Does Scripture truly teach two separate comings of the Lord — one for the Church and another to establish His kingdom — or only one coming during the tribulation, at which both the rapture and the kingdom’s establishment occur?
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If we had never heard any teaching on this topic from preachers or online sources, would we come to believe in two comings simply by reading the Bible?
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Could we, from the text alone, identify two returns of the Lord after His first, separated by seven years?
When I came to the Lord at the age of twenty-five and began attending church, I first heard about the rapture. I did not fully understand what it was, and could not even find it in the Bible, but I accepted what I was taught. However, as I began to study Scripture more seriously, I found it difficult to reconcile what I had heard with what was actually written. That journey led me to where I stand today. [4]
The Synoptic Gospels and the Olivet Discourse
We must briefly consider the Lord Jesus’ own teaching concerning His return. Two days before His death, while on the Mount of Olives, Jesus explained to four of His disciples what would take place in the last days and what His return would be like. This teaching, known as the Olivet Discourse, is recorded in three Gospels — Matthew 24–25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. From this discourse, we derive the primary chronology of end-time events.
Jesus said that His return would be preceded by wars and ethnic conflicts. He declared:
“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places” (v. 7).
This, He explained, would only mark the beginning; greater trials would follow.
Jesus warned that believers would be handed over to persecution, put to death, and hated by all because of their faith in Him (v. 9). During that time, many would abandon the faith, betraying and even hating one another, so that “the love of most will grow cold” (vv. 10–12).
Yet this period of persecution will be interrupted by the Lord’s return. He will appear in the clouds, and all living believers will be gathered to Him.
This gathering of believers to the Lord is described in Matthew 24:30–31:
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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.
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
This gathering of believers to the lord is described in Gospel of Matthew:
Matthew 24:30-31
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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.
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
The Gathering and the Wrath
This gathering of believers at the Lord’s coming is profoundly significant, for the appearance of the Lord in the clouds marks the beginning of God’s wrath upon the world — yet believers are “not appointed to wrath” (1 Thess. 5:9).
However, proponents of the pre-tribulation rapture argue that this gathering is not the rapture of the Church, because Jesus speaks of His return and the gathering of believers during the tribulation, not before it.
This raises an important question:
If the rapture were to occur before the Great Tribulation, why would Jesus fail to mention such a monumental event and instead teach His disciples how to endure the tribulation?
In Matthew’s Gospel, just a few chapters earlier, Jesus had spoken of His Church, declaring that “the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matt. 16:18). Yet, when explaining the events of the end times, He says nothing about a pre-tribulation rapture. Instead of reassuring His disciples that they would escape those trials, He instructs them how to remain faithful through them.
Why did He not simply say, “You will be taken away before that time”?
Perhaps because the pre-tribulation rapture is not part of God’s plan.
The Early Church’s Understanding
The earliest Christians took Jesus’ words literally, and that understanding saved their lives. During the Jewish–Roman War (AD 66–70), when the Roman legions temporarily lifted the siege of Jerusalem, the believers fled the city. They remembered Jesus’ warning to flee when they saw “Jerusalem being surrounded by armies” (Luke 21:20–21). Soon afterwards, the Romans returned, destroyed the city, and slaughtered almost all who remained.
The ultimate fulfilment of this prophecy, however, still lies in the future — for it also contains the promise of the Lord’s return.
As mentioned, pre-tribulation rapture advocates insist that the gathering of believers at the Lord’s coming in the Olivet Discourse is not the rapture of the Church.
To sustain their argument, they must introduce a separate gathering of believers seven years earlier — something Jesus never mentioned.
Interestingly, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul describes the rapture as “our gathering together to Him.” [5]
Compare the two passages:
| Matthew 24:31
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together (episynaxousin) His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
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2 Thessalonians 2:1
1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together (episynagōgēs) to Him, …
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Both speak of a gathering and share a related Greek root — ἐπισυνάγω (episynagō), meaning “to assemble” or “to gather together.”
Given this, which interpretation seems more credible?
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That the gathering Jesus described refers to the rapture of the Church, or
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That there is another, entirely different gathering, occurring seven years earlier, for which there is no textual evidence?
Gospel of Matthew vs Gospel of John
Let us now turn to two major passages often cited by pre-tribulationists as evidence for a pre-tribulation rapture. We begin with the Gospel of John and then move to Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians.
John 14:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
According to proponents of the pre-tribulation rapture, this passage introduces the concept of the rapture — since it is absent from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
I agree that John refers here to the rapture of the Church. But does this text suggest a pre-tribulation rapture?
Is it even plausible that John describes a coming of the Lord not mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels — a coming Jesus Himself never referred to in the Olivet Discourse?
We must remember that John was one of the four apostles present with Jesus on the Mount of Olives. [6] He was thoroughly familiar with what the Lord had taught.
Even linguistically, John and Matthew use the same Greek verb — ἔρχομαι (érchomai, “I come”) — though in different forms. [7]
| John 14:3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come (erchomai) again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. |
Matthew 24:30
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming (erchomenon) on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. |
Whatever John meant, his words must ultimately be fulfilled at the Second Coming of Christ. For John — as for the other apostles — there was only one return of Christ, during the tribulation.
The Gospel of Matthew and Paul’s Letters to the Thessalonians
In 1 Thessalonians, we find the principal New Testament passage describing the rapture of the Church.
Pre-tribulationists claim that this text speaks of a secret coming of the Lord for the Church, occurring seven years before the visible Second Coming.
1 Thessalonians 4
15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
However, when we analyse this passage in the broader context of Paul’s teaching, we find no hint that he refers to any other coming of the Lord apart from the one described by Jesus in the Gospels — the coming during the tribulation.
Could Paul, without explanation, have introduced an entirely new and secret coming of Christ, occurring seven years earlier?
Or is it far more likely that Paul refers to the same event Jesus foretold, simply expanding upon details the Lord did not elaborate on?
Paul’s Dependence on the Lord’s Teaching
Paul begins with the phrase “According to the Lord’s word,” making it clear that his teaching derives from Jesus’ own words — known through revelation and through the apostolic tradition passed down by the early Church.
We know that before his second missionary journey — during which he founded the church in Thessalonica — Paul had been in Jerusalem for the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), meeting with the apostles around AD 49. It is therefore reasonable to believe he was already familiar with the Olivet teaching.
When we compare Matthew 24 with 1 Thessalonians 4, the parallels are unmistakable:
| Matthew 24
27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming (parousia) of the Son of Man. 30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. |
1 Thessalonians 4
15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming (parousia) of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. |
The Same Event Described
Both Matthew and Paul use the same word for “coming”: παρουσία (parousia). [8]
In early Christian theology, parousia became a technical term for the Second Coming of Christ.
Both passages describe:
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The Lord appearing in the clouds;
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The sounding of the trumpet;
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The presence of angels;
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And the gathering of believers to meet Him.
Matthew emphasises the gathering; Paul elaborates, explaining that the dead will rise and the living will be transformed. Together, they describe a single, unified event — the Second Coming of Christ during the Great Tribulation.
Visible or Secret?
According to advocates of the pre-tribulation rapture:
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Matthew describes a visible coming of the Lord, while
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Paul describes an invisible, secret coming.
Let us weigh these options carefully. Which seems more credible?
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That Paul is simply expanding on what the Lord Jesus had already said to His disciples, giving further detail to the same event; or
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That Paul is describing a completely separate coming of the Lord, involving a different trumpet, a different gathering, and occurring seven years earlier — an event invisible to the world and never mentioned by Jesus Himself.
The second explanation demands far greater imagination and far less textual support.
The Witness of Hebrews
Hebrews 9:27–28
27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time (deuterou), not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. [9]
The writer to the Hebrews, in speaking of the Lord’s return, uses the Greek term δευτέρου (deuterou) — meaning “a second time.”
This unambiguously affirms that there will be only one more appearance of the Lord — not two, as the pre-tribulation theory requires.
Conclusion
In light of Scripture, there is only one Second Coming of Christ, not two.
There will be no secret, pre-tribulation rapture of the Church prior to His visible return in glory.
The rapture described in Scripture will occur during the Great Tribulation, at the Second Coming itself.
The Synoptic Gospels, the Apostle John, and the Apostle Paul all testify to this single event — the glorious return of Christ during the time of great tribulation.
There is no other.
As Jesus said in John 9:4,
“Night is coming, when no one can work.”
When that time comes, will we be ready? Will we be among the wise or the foolish virgins?
Will we have enough oil to endure the night if the Lord’s return appears delayed?
These are vital questions we must ask ourselves, especially in the light of the age in which we live.
Let us be watchful, prepared, and steadfast in faith — for our redemption draws near.
Notes
[1] The view that the Church will be raptured before the tribulation is called the pre-tribulation rapture. As some may know, this position is relatively recent. It first appeared in the early nineteenth century, primarily through the teachings of John Nelson Darby (1800–1882), leader of the Plymouth Brethren movement.
[2] The post-tribulation rapture view holds that the Church will be raptured after the Great Tribulation. This position was largely held by the early Church in the centuries following Jesus’ death.
The pre-wrath rapture view maintains that the rapture will occur during the Great Tribulation, but before God’s wrath is poured out upon the world. It emerged in the late twentieth century through the work of Robert Van Kampen (1938–1999) and Marvin Rosenthal (1939–2022).
[3] Chuck Missler, The Rapture: Christianity’s Most Preposterous Belief, p. 43.
[4] As a side note, the word rapture does not appear in the original Greek New Testament, as it is a Latin term. The Greek word harpazō — meaning “caught up” or “snatched away” — was translated into Latin as rapturo by Jerome in the Vulgate. From this translation, the English term rapture entered Christian vocabulary.
[5] The words ἐπισυνάξουσιν (episynaxousin) used by Matthew and ἐπισυναγωγῆς (episynagōgēs) used by Paul are related; both derive from the same Greek root ἐπισυνάγω (episynagō) — “to gather together.”
[6] According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus delivered the Olivet Discourse privately to Peter, James, John, and Andrew (Mark 13:3-4).
[7] ἔρχομαι (érchomai) is a Greek verb meaning “I come” or “I go.” ἐρχόμενον (erchomenon) in Matthew 24:30 is the present participle of the same verb, meaning “coming.”
[8] Παρουσία (parousia) and παρουσίαν (parousian) in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 are the same word in different grammatical cases — nominative and accusative singular respectively — both referring to the Second Coming.
[9] δευτέρου (deuterou) means “a second time.”
Author: Artur Pluta