Introduction

     The New Testament teaches much concerning the second coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This great event is mentioned in almost
all of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, not to
mention the Old Testament Prophets. Despite the abundance of
scriptures that teach the subject, Christians are divided on many
of the details concerning Christ's coming. One point of conten-
tion touches upon the time of His coming in relation to other
events prophesied in the Bible; namely, that great time of God's
wrath called the great tribulation.  
     Being brought up in an evangelical denomination, I have been
taught what is commonly called the "pretribulational" school of
thought. This view states that Christ's coming will occur before
the tribulation and can occur at any moment. It also teaches a
two-stage coming. The doctrine states that Christ will first come
back secretly to take the church away to heaven before the
tribulation period and come back with His saints to the earth
after the tribulation. These two stages are commonly called "the
rapture and the revelation", or "the appearing and the second
advent." Furthermore, the doctrine teaches that the resurrection
of the righteous will occur at different times. 
     After being exposed to other views on the subject and
studying the Bible in more detail, it became very difficult for
me to see this two-stage coming of Jesus and this multiple
resurrection of the saints. Moreover, I came across scriptures
that seemed to clearly discount the doctrine. I found that all
the scriptures that mentioned Christ's coming seemed to describe
the same event, that there was one resurrection of the just
occurring at the end of the age, that Paul and the apostles where
looking for Jesus to come back in judgment and wrath upon the
wicked, and that certain things needed to happen before Christ
would come back. In this paper, I would like to explain some of
the major reasons why I do not accept the pretribulational
doctrine as being true. 

The Resurrection

     An understanding of the time of the resurrection will help
us understand when Christ comes back. The scriptures are clear
that when Christ returns, those that are Christ's will be
resurrected and those Christians who are alive will be gathered
together with Him (1 Corinthians 15:23, 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17,
Philippians 3:20,21, 1 John 3:2). This is called the first
resurrection in Revelation 20:4-6. Verse 5 says that the rest of
the dead (those who did not partake of the first resurrection)
lived not again until the thousand years (the millennium) was
over. This seems to indicate that there are two resurrections.
The first resurrection will occur when Christ returns and is
called the resurrection of the just, the resurrection of life,
and the awaking unto everlasting life. The second resurrection is
referred to as the resurrection of the unjust, the resurrection
of damnation, and the awaking unto everlasting contempt (Daniel
12:1-3, John 5:28,29, Acts 24:15). If the resurrection of the
church occurs at Christ's coming, then understanding when the
resurrection occurs will show us the time of Christ's coming.
Some pretribulationalists hold to the idea that there are two-
stages of the first resurrection which occur at the two-stages of
Christ's coming. However, this seems to be a simple way of making
the doctrine fit. The scriptures reveal one coming and one
resurrection of the just at His coming. The former idea has no
scriptural support.
     To begin with, 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 says that the resur-
rection will occur at the last trump. The last trump is the
seventh trumpet in Revelation 11:14,15. The seventh trumpet is
the last of the trumpets heralding God's judgment in the book of
Revelation. This trumpet is described as the "third woe that
cometh quickly" (Revelation 11:14). John describes the events
heralded at the seventh trumpet by saying, "And the seventh angel
sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and
of His Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. . . And the
nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the
dead that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give
reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and
them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy
them which destroy the earth" (Revelation 11:15,18). According to
this passage, the following things will occur at the seventh
trumpet:

          1. The kingdom of God and Christ will be manifested
          2. Christ shall reign forever and ever
          3. The nations will become angry
          4. His wrath will come 
          5. The time of the judgment of the dead will come
          6. He will give rewards to His prophets and saints
          7. He will destroy them that destroyed the earth
     
     According to many other scriptures in the New Testament,
these events take place when Jesus returns to the earth. When the
last trumpet sounds, the mystery of God will be finished.
Revelation 10:7 says, "But in the days of the voice of the
seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God
should be finished, as he declared to his servants the prophets."
It is no wonder that Paul knew about this trumpet when he penned
1 Corinthians. The last trump completes God's wrath and heralds
the third woe which are the 7 vials. The vials are also described
as "filling up" or completing the wrath of God (Revelation 15:1).
As I see it, the seals, trumpets, and vials come closer and
closer together like the birth pangs of a woman in travail (1
Thessalonians 5:3). Therefore, the seven vials are immediately
poured out at the seventh trump. In comparing scripture, Matthew
24:29-31 places Christ's coming immediately after the tribula-
tion. The passage reveals that He will come with clouds, a
trumpet will be sounded, and the elect (His chosen) will be
gathered together with Him.
     Another passage that speaks of the trumpet in accordance
with Christ's coming and the resurrection is found in 1 Thes-
salonians 4:16,17, where "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." This passage,
Matthew 24, and 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 are all describing the
same event, i.e., Christ's return and the resurrection unto life.
They all mention a trumpet and a gathering unto Christ (resurrec-
tion) at His coming. Matthew and 1 Thessalonians show that His
coming will be accompanied with clouds. It is interesting to
notice that none of these passages say that He will touch the
earth. However, through studying other passages we know that He
will. This attests to the fact that mere silence of a particular
aspect of Christ's coming in a passage does not mean that the
passage is describing a different stage of His coming. The
account of Peter's denial is a good example of this. Peter's
denial is recorded in all four gospels and appears to be almost
contradictory. The events are similar; however, some accounts are
silent on details that are mentioned in other accounts. On the
basis of silence, one could argue that all four accounts are
describing four separate and distinct occasions where Peter
denied Christ. However, this is not the case. Rather, each writer
is describing a different aspect of the same event. Peter denied
the Lord on one occasion. It is the same way with the Lord's
second coming. 
     In the book of John, Jesus said that He would raise those
who believed in Him on the last day (John 6:39,40,44,54). Even
Martha had this knowledge (John 11:24). In speaking of his
resurrection, Job declares that his Redeemer shall stand upon the
earth at the latter day (Job 19:25). He says that when this
happens, he will see God in his flesh (v.26). The last day is the
day when Christ comes back and stands upon the earth. Zechariah
14:1-4 says, "Behold the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil
shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all
nations against Jerusalem to battle . . . Then shall the Lord go
forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the
day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the
Mount of Olives . . ." This will happen at the end of the world
or age.
      In Matthew 13:37-43, the Lord teaches us that the harvest
of the wheat, which is the resurrection of the righteous, occurs
at the end of the world. In describing this harvest the Lord
says, "The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are
the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the
fire; so shall it be in the end of this world . . . Then shall
the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father" (compare with Daniel 12:1-3). When examining the parable
of the wheat and tares closely, it becomes clear that the
resurrection occurs after the tribulation period. In Matthew
13:30, Jesus teaches his disciples when the wheat will be
harvested saying, "Let both grow together until the harvest: and
in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye
together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them:
but gather the wheat into my barn." Here Jesus says the tares,
which are the children of the wicked one, must be gathered first,
before the wheat are harvested (the resurrection of the just).
The gathering of the tares is none other than the gathering of
the wicked to Armageddon.
      In speaking about the harvest of the earth, Revelation
14:18,19 says, "And another angel came from the alter which had
power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the
sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather the
clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
And the angel thrust in her sickle into the earth, and gathered
the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of
the wrath of God." The winepress described here is none other
than the battle of Armageddon. In Revelation 16:16, just after
the Lord announces His coming, we read that the Lord "gathered
them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armaged-
don." In speaking about the gathering to Armageddon Joel says,
"Assemble yourselves, and come, ye heathen, and gather yourselves
together round about . . . Let the heathen be wakened, and come
up to the valley of Jehoshaphat [Armageddon]: for there will I
sit to judge the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for
the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full,
the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great" (Joel 3:11-13).
In verses 14-17, Joel describes the coming of the Lord. This
passage, along with those in Revelation, show clearly that the
gathering of the tares at the harvest time in Matthew 13 is the
gathering to Armageddon which occurs at the end of the tribula-
tion period. According to the Lord's parable, this gathering
occurs before the harvest of the wheat, which is the resurrection
of the just.
      1 Corinthians 15:22-26 says, "For as in Adam all die, so
even in Christ shall all be made alive, but every man in his own
order; Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's
at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered
up the kingdom to God . . . the last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death." This passage seems to imply that the end
occurs when Christ raises up His saints at His coming. When this
resurrection takes place, the last enemy (death) will be
destroyed and Christ will deliver the kingdom to God having put
down all rule and authority and power. At that time, all things
will be subdued unto Him (1 Corinthians 15:24-28). In 1 Corin-
thians 15:54 Paul says, "So when this corruptible shall have put
on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death
is swallowed up in victory." According to this verse, death will
be overcome at the resurrection. Until that time, Christ is
reigning at the right hand of God. Psalms 110:1 says, "The Lord
said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine
enemies thy footstool." Furthermore, in Philippians 3:21, Paul
says that when Christ returns, He shall "change our vile body,
that it may be fashioned to His glorious body, according whereby
he is able even to subdue all things to Himself." All of these
passages seem to support the idea that death is destroyed at the
resurrection. If this is the case, then "the end" mentioned in 1
Corinthians 15:24 will occur at Christ's return. Other scriptures
that place the return of Christ at "the end" are 1 Corinthians
1:7,8, 2 Corinthians 1:13,14 and 1 Thessalonians 3:13.  
     Another passage that reveals when this resurrection will
take place is found in Romans 11:11-15. Here Paul describes the
good that came out of the fall of the Jews. He makes the point
that their fall became the riches of the world. In these verses,
Paul is describing how salvation was offered to all the world,
namely the Gentiles, through the fall of Israel. Then in verse 15
he says, "For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of
the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the
dead?" In other words, a great blessing came from the casting out
of the Jews, but when the fullness of the Jews comes back to
Christ, an even greater blessing will occur. This greater
blessing is the resurrection, which Paul terms, "life from the
dead." Paul is speaking to the Gentile Christians and is
declaring to them how Israel's salvation will effect them in a
practical way. Israel will be saved after the tribulation;
therefore, this is when the resurrection will occur.   
     In Romans 8:17-25, we can see that the resurrection of the
just must occur after the tribulation. The Apostle declares in
these verses, "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and
joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that
we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest
expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the
sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not
willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in
hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from
the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the
children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain together until now, and not only they, but
ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even
we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to
wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but
hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he
yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with
patience wait for it." In this passage, we find that the creation
(animal kingdom) is waiting in earnest expectation for the
manifestation of the sons of God. When this occurs, they will be
delivered from the bondage of corruption, or the curse that is
upon God's creation through original sin. The manifestation of
the sons of God is none other than the resurrection of the
believers.
      1 John 3:2 says, "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." Here John is stating that we are the sons of God now, but
when we are resurrected, it will be manifested for we will be
like Christ. In the same way, Jesus was the Son of God when He
was on the earth, but His sonship was manifested through His
resurrection. Romans 1:4 says, "And declared to be the Son of God
with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead" (see also
Acts 13:30-33). Other passages describe Jesus as being the
"firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18 & Revelation 1:5). For
this reason Paul calls the redemption of our bodies the adoption
(Romans 8:23). At the resurrection, the fact that we are adopted
as sons into God's family will be realized. Furthermore, in
verses 22-24 we see that the manifestation of the sons of God is
a reference to the resurrection. Paul says that the whole
creation groans and travails with us for the redemption of our
bodies. The redemption of our body is the resurrection in which
we are awaiting. Paul calls this the day of redemption in
Ephesians 4:30. In Luke 21:27,28, Jesus speaks of His coming and
says, "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up,
and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." When
Paul speaks about "the glory which shall be revealed in us", he
is referring to our resurrection. We will be glorified when
Christ returns just as He was glorified when He was resurrected
(Philippians 3:20,21, Romans 8:17, Colossians 3:4, 1 Peter 5:1,4,
1 Corinthians 15:43, John 7:39). The resurrection is also
referred to as the hope that we are awaiting mentioned in verses
24 and 25 (1 John 3:2,3, Acts 23:6, 24:15, 26:6-8, Titus 3:7). 
     This passage clearly reveals that the resurrection of the
church will occur after the tribulation because this is when the
animal kingdom will be delivered. It is after Christ comes and
destroys the wicked that the lion will lie with the lamb (Isaiah
11:4-10). To say that the resurrection occurs before the
tribulation would imply that the animals are delivered from the
curse during the tribulation period. This seems impossible due to
the fact that animals are seen killing men and feasting upon
carcasses during this period (Revelation 6:8, 19:17,18).      
     
The Witness of the Apostles

     Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17, and Luke 21 are commonly
referred to as the Olivet Discourse by many theologians. These
passages contain Jesus' lengthy reply to the disciples' question:
"What shall the sign of thy coming be and the end of the world?"
Christ tells his disciples that when certain signs occur, one
could know that His coming was near, "even at the doors" (Matthew
24:33). In Matthew 24:34, Jesus says that the generation that
sees all those signs will not pass away till all things be
fulfilled. In this discourse, Christ clearly states that he would
come immediately "after the tribulation of those days" (Matthew
24:29, Mark 13:44). We must keep in mind that the apostles were
first hand students of Christ's teaching on His second coming. It
seems to me that the apostles were not looking for Christ to come
and take them away secretly, but to come back with judgment
against the wicked. It also seems clear that they understood and
were awaiting the signs that would precede His coming.
     In Acts 3:19-21 we find Peter declaring that the Lord would
"send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the
heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all
things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy
prophets since the world began." In these verses, Peter says that
Christ will not leave heaven until the time of restitution.
According to 1 Thessalonians 4:16, when Christ returns He must
leave heaven, for He will "descend from heaven with a shout." The
restitution of all things occurs after the tribulation. Christ
will come and set up His kingdom and restore all things.
Moreover, as we mentioned before, when the fullness of the Jews
comes in, the resurrection will occur (Romans 11:15-27). The
salvation of the Jews is a part of the restitution of all things.
Not only does this passage discount a two-stage coming of
Christ, but it places His coming at the end of the world.
     In 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10, Paul comforts the believers at
Thessalonica by telling them that they will be relieved from
their persecutions when Jesus comes back to judge the wicked. In
verses 4-5 Paul comforts the persecuted believers by commending
them for their faith and endurance. He goes on to say that God
will recompense those that are troubling them (v.6). In verses 7-
10 he tells them that they will find rest and relief from these
afflictions when Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty
angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on the disobedient.
This will occur in the same day He will be glorified in His
saints (v.10). This does not sound at all like a secret catching
away. Rather, Paul was telling them that their relief from
persecution would come when Christ returns in flaming fire. Not
only will the believer receive rest when Christ comes, but he
will be avenged as well. Paul, Silas, and Timothy were all
looking for Christ to come back this way, for they said, "And to
you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking
vengeance upon them that know not God and that obey not the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." The word "rest" in the Greek
is anesis and it means a loosening, relaxing, relief from
affliction or persecution. Therefore, the meaning is clear. The
believer's rest from persecution comes when Jesus returns to
judge the wicked at the last day. The resurrection will occur on
that day. There are many other verses in scripture that attest
to the fact that the apostles were looking and waiting for the
revelation of Jesus Christ with His saints (1 Corinthians 4:5, 1
Thessalonians 3:13, 4:14, 2 Timothy 4:1,8 with 1 Timothy 6:14,15,
Colossians 3:4, 1 Peter 1:13).
     Concerning the signs that would precede Christ's coming, the
Apostle Paul makes mention of them in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8. To
begin with, the topic of Paul's discussion is the coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering unto him (v.1). The believers
at Thessalonica were deceived into thinking the day of Christ was
at hand. Paul told them plainly that that day would not come,
"except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition" (v.3). He explains when the son
of perdition is revealed by stating that he will exalt himself
above God, sit in the temple, and declare himself that he is God
(v.4). Paul goes on to say that the Lord will consume him with
the spirit of His mouth and destroy Him with the brightness of
His coming (v.8). Therefore, the son of perdition must be
revealed before Christ comes back if Christ is going to destroy
him at His coming. The interesting thing about this passage is
that Paul says that the day of Christ would not come until two
things happen: 1) the falling away occurs  2) the man of sin is
revealed. It seems obvious that the day that Paul is referring
to is the day when Christ comes back. There are many scriptures
that describe the day of Christ and the day of the Lord as the
time when Christ comes again (2 Thessalonians 2:10, Luke 17:24, 1
Corinthians 1:6-8, 2 Corinthians 1:13-15, Philippians 1:6,10,
2:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9, Zechariah 14:1-5). Furthermore, this
is the subject that Paul begins with in verse 1 and ends with in
verse 8.
     These two signs that the apostle gives were already
mentioned by Christ as signs that would precede His coming in
Matthew 24. In Matthew 24:9-13 Jesus describes the falling away.
He says, "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and
shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my
name's sake. And then shall many be offended [fall away], and
betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false
prophets shall arise, and deceive many. And because iniquity
shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall
endure until the end, the same shall be saved." In verse 15-22,
Jesus describes the son of perdition being revealed. He refers
to the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel as a sign
that would precede His coming and begin great tribulation. The
abomination of desolation refers to the time when the son of
perdition (also called the antichrist) sits in the temple of God
and abominates it and begins to make desolate (see Daniel 9:27).
These are all part of the signs that would precede Christ's
coming (v.33). The Apostle Paul tells the Thessalonians essen-
tially the same thing. According to 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, the
coming of Christ and our gathering to Him cannot take place
before a 7 year tribulation because the antichrist (son of
perdition) does not sit in the temple until three and a half
years into the tribulation (Daniel 9:27). 

Secretly or Unexpectedly?

     There is no scripture to my knowledge that describes
Christ's coming as a secret event in which no soul will see Him
as He catches away the saints to heaven. The scriptures that
speak of Christ coming as a thief have been used to support this
idea. However, a close examination of these passages will reveal
that this is not what the Lord is saying. In Matthew 24:32-33,
Jesus makes it clear that His disciples could know the ap-
proximate time of His coming. He said that the generation that
saw certain signs would not pass away until He came. He even went
on to say that they could even know when it was "even at the
doors." However, Christ also said that the exact day and hour of
His coming was a mystery to all, even Himself at that time
(v.36). In verses 37-51, the Lord teaches that His coming will be
unexpected to those who are not watchful. To illustrate this
point Jesus says, "But know this, that if the goodman of the
house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would not
have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also
ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh
(Matthew 24:43-44)." Here Christ uses the illustration of a thief
to depict His unexpected coming. It is important to notice that
He uses the words "watch" and "hour" in this passage. This is
because the hour He comes is unknown to man, but not the general
time of His coming. In verses 36-39, He used the illustrations of
Noah and Lot to show that the exact day of His coming was unknown
also, especially to the unbelieving world. In verses 50 and 51,
the Lord shows that His coming is like a thief to the evil
servants and unbelievers, not to the faithful servants. In this
whole passage, there is no mention of a "secret" coming.
     Luke 21:34-36 reveals this same truth. The Lord's coming
will come unexpectedly, like a thief, to the evil servants and
unbelievers. In verses 34 and 35 He exhorts the believer to take
heed to himself that he does not become overcharged with
drunkenness, gluttony, and worry so that day shall not come upon
them unawares, or unexpectedly. He goes on to say that it will
come this way, like a snare, upon the whole world. In verse 36,
He encourages the believer to pray always and watch so that he
will be worthy to escape. This means that the believer who is
watching and praying will not be overtaken by the day of the Lord
like the rest of the world. Rather, through his knowledge and
pure walk, he will be ready and will be protected from the things
that will come to pass. Believers will not be judged with the
world, but will escape God's wrath if they judge themselves (1
Corinthians 11:31,32). Hence, a believer that is sober and pure
will be accounted worthy of deliverance.
       The Apostle Paul brings out these same truths in 1
Thessalonians 5:1-9. Paul tells them that they are not in
darkness concerning the times and the seasons. He points out that
they knew perfectly that the day of the Lord will come as a thief
in the night. Those who cry peace and safety, like those of
Noah's day, will be overtaken by the day of the Lord and they
will not escape. Paul makes it clear that the day of the Lord
comes as a thief to those who are in darkness, not to the
believer. In verse 4 he says, "But ye brethren, are not in
darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief."
Furthermore, he exhorts them to be sober, and watch, walking in
faith, love, and the hope of salvation. This is the same message
that Jesus proclaimed to the disciples in Matthew 24 and Luke 21.
1 Thessalonians 5 does not mention a secret coming, but it does
depict the day of Lord coming as a thief in the night, i.e., at
an unexpected time. Again, this is how it will come to the
unbelievers and the evil servants, not to us who believe, for we
are "the children of the light; we are not of the night, nor of
the darkness." 
     Lastly, in Revelation 16:14, just before the seventh vial is
poured out, Christ announces His coming with the words, "Behold,
I come as a thief, Blessed is he who watcheth and keepeth his
garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." Here
again the message of Christ is clear. The Lord will come as a
thief, unexpectedly, as a snare, and with judgment upon those who
do not walk uprightly. But unto those who are sober and watch,
who keep their garments, who have on the breastplate of faith and
love, who are worthy, His coming will be a blessed hope ful-
filled. In all these passages, the phrase "comes like a thief"
does not describe a secret coming but an unexpected coming.

Conclusion

     In conclusion, I have stated the major reasons why I do not
accept the pretribulational doctrine. The Bible places the
resurrection of the just at the end of the age, at the last day.
The witness of the apostles bear witness with the words of Christ
that His coming will not come until the restitution of all
things, until the falling away takes place, and the abomination
of desolation occurs. The apostles were looking for the revela-
tion of Christ in glory and He will come as a thief to the world
at the last trump. It is difficult for me to see a two-stage
coming and two-stage resurrection to begin with; however, when
other passages seem to clearly contradict the doctrine, it
becomes more difficult to accept it. The many scriptures that
speak of the day of Christ and His coming seem to describe
different aspects of the same event. 
     Many Christians hold to the pretribulational doctrine for
fear of going through tribulation. They equate God's wrath with
the tribulation period. This is erroneous. God's wrath will be
poured out during the tribulation period, but this does not mean
that a believer will be subject to it. For example, the children
of Israel being preserved during the ten plagues in Egypt is a
classic example of God's power to protect His children during a
time of wrath. Believers need not fear God's wrath for they are
not appointed to it. However, they must be prepared for persecu-
tion for the Bible promises this. Even so, the Lord Jesus Christ
will come again. "And the Lord direct your hearts into the love
of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ" (2 Thessalonians
3:5). 


  

                   THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST


















                         Frank A. Viola
                       5721 Ridgestone Dr.
                         Tampa, FL 33625

                           May 2, 1988
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                