End time signs: The Day of Christ vs. Day of the Lord

     The Christian's hope lies in the 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ, and without it there is no basis for Christianity. In the first book of Corinthians, the Apostle Paul states,

“Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not” (1Co 15:12-15).

       This event is portrayed in Scripture in two phases. The first phase of the Lord’s Coming will be for the gathering of His saints (believers, body of Christ, the Church), in which the dead in Christ shall rise first and those who are still alive on the earth will be caught up in the gathering with them to be joined to Christ (1 Thess. 1:4). In Scripture, this day is known as “The Day of Christ,” in which the following verses will demonstrate that the “Day of Christ” is significantly meant and addressed to the church of God.

Phi 1:10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

Phi 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.

2Th 2:1-2 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

       Very significant to our understanding of the “Day of Christ” is this latter verse. There were false teachings circulating among the Christians at Thessalonica, claiming that the Day of Christ had already occurred. These rumors understandably caused a disturbance among the congregants of the church and are expressed using the terms “shaken in mind” or “troubled.” Paul instructs them that the Day of Christ has not occurred unless two conditions are fulfilled, we read as follows:

2Th 2:3 -4 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except (unless) there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

First, I would like to note that in the above verse "that day shall not come" are words that are added to the text by the editors of the KJV. As we see in verse 2, and what is clear, is Paul's instruction that the day of Christ will not occur until we see a "falling away" or "departure," in which the man of sin will no longer be restrained. When these things happen, then we can know that the day of Christ is certainly at hand.

This man of sin is identified as the Antichrist spoken of in the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation. The Antichrist will not be revealed until God’s restraining power is removed (a departure of that restraining power, which is the Church or rather the body of Christ). The Church is presently restraining the revelation of the man of sin, but when the church is removed (rapture), then the Antichrist will be revealed and the 7-year Tribulation will ensue.

Paul reminds the church of his previous instruction that the man of sin is restrained,

2Th 2:5-6 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

The Greek word for “falling away” is apostasia and is equivalent to the Latin word discessio, the word used in the Latin Vulgate for falling away, this means a going away or departure; it does not mean a rebellion of some sort. It is interesting to note that the Greek and Latin equivalents that denote a rebellion or defection are not used in this context. As a matter of fact, the Greek word "apostasia" is the late form of the Greek word "apostasis" (Greek/ Eng. Lexicon Liddell & Scott).

apostasis means - a standing away from

It is used in the following contexts - rebellion, defection, departure or removal from, distance, interval.

The Day of Christ is clearly connected to the gathering of the saints as stated in Paul’s address in verse one,

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him . . . as that the day of Christ is at hand."

The Day of Christ is at hand in the gathering of the saints with Christ or the departure of the saints, in which the man of sin will no longer be restrained. The “Day of Christ” is in clear contrast to “The Day of the Lord” in which Christ will come to judge the world. The first part of His 2nd Coming will be for His saints and the second phase of His coming will be to judge the world.

Note the clear delineation of signs that accompany His Coming back to judge the world and described as “The Day of the Lord.”

The Day of the Lord (Judgment)

Isa 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

Joe 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

Joe 2:11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Amo 5:20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Act 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Judgment of Sinners

2Th 1:7 –8 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (Have rejected their only means of salvation, Christ).

Returns With His Saints

The Prophet Zechariah bears record that the saints will accompany the Lord during the 2nd phase of His Coming, we read,

Zec 14:4 And his [Jesus Christ] feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

Zec 14:5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

In summary, the conditions for the Day of Christ include the rapture or gathering of the saints 2Th 2:1-2, and the revealing of the Antichrist. The Day of the Lord is a day of judgment, vengeance on sinners, and not the resurrection and gathering of the saints to be with Christ, but the return of the saints with Christ to the earth.

Although the term "rapture" is not a biblical word but a word assigned to describe this event, Paul's reference to our gathering together unto him are biblical words and mean the same thing.

Most scholars hold to the belief that there are no other prophecies that need to be fulfilled before this gathering or rapture will occur, it remains a matter of God's timing. The end time event yet to occur between the Day of Christ and the Day of the Lord will be the 7 year Tribulation period.

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Mat 24:29 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:

Mar 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

Mar 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. (As stated above in Acts 2:20 this describes the Day of the Lord)

Act 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

The Millennium will not take place until after the Tribulation period.

Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Rev 20:6 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 (The Millennium ).

If you would like a more indepth understanding of why salvation is received through Jesus Christ alone, then just click below:

What is Salvation and How Do We Know if We Are Saved?

If you would like to read more on what will occur at the moment of the rapture as portrayed by Paul, just click the title below:

What Will Our Physical Bodies be Like in Heaven?

* Bible Refs. KJV - ASV

Orig. post 9/21/05 - Updated 04/02/2008