The phrase ‘day of Christ’ appears exactly in your King James Bible 3 times, and all 3 times in connection with Paul’s doctrine of the Rapture of the Church given to him in the Arabian desert.
Without rightly dividing the scripture, it is well-nigh impossible to be able to see the overlapping dispensations that God has placed in the Bible. For example, non-dividers will place no difference between the Kingdom of Heaven, the literal, visible and physical earthly kingdom that Jesus promised to the Jews in Matthew, Mark and Luke, and the Kingdom of God which is a spiritual kingdom that all born again believers are placed into at the moment of salvation. For more on the two kingdoms, click here.
“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 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.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1,2,9,10 (KJV)
So just as the two kingdoms are not the same, neither is the Day of Christ (for the Church) and the Day of the Lord (for Israel) the same. When you understand that both DAYS overlap each other at the Rapture of the Church, the degree of difficulty in understanding the differences rises dramatically. Fortunately, by following the apostle Paul’s command to “rightly divide” the scripture, the answers we seek can readily be obtained.
“Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:14,15 (KJV)
So what exactly is the Day of Christ?
The phrase ‘day of Christ’ appears exactly in your King James Bible 3 times, and all 3 times in connection with Paul’s doctrine of the Rapture of the Church given to him in the Arabian desert. We know that Paul connects this term with the Rapture because he address the section to Christians who received a phony letter from him trying to convince them that the Rapture of the Church had happened…and they missed it!
“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.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1,2 (KJV)
Paul is writing to correct the heresy, and to reassure them it had not happened yet. In fact, Paul goes on to say that two things had to take place before the Rapture of the Church could happen.
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except 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.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 (KJV)
Paul never taught that the Rapture of the Church could happen “any time”, that is just Laodicean nonsense. Paul sets two conditions on it. First had to come the great falling away from doctrinal truth he warned Timothy would come in the last days, and second the ‘man of sin’, the Antichrist had to be revealed. In our day of 2018, certainly the “falling away’ from Bible truth has come to pass, so you can check that one off the list. These are the days of the end of Laodicea. Secondly, the man of sin, the Antichrist needs to be revealed to the Church prior to takeoff.
Since how that happens is as of this writing yet future, it remains to be seen how the Lord works it out. But I know He sent His angel to the shepherds on the hillside to announce the start of the Day of Christ, at the first Advent. So I have every confidence He will reveal the AC to us as only He can. But know this. The Antichrist is called the ‘son of perdition’, right? Who was the first son of perdition in the Bible? It was Judas Iscariot. Look for a reappearing of the same guy at some point. Like the last episode of Seinfeld, God is bringing back most of the main characters for one, last show. The Two Witnesses are who? Moses and Elijah. They bring with them the biblical plagues and calling down of fire from Heaven. So Judas coming back as the son of perdition is absolutely on the same page.
Paul taught that the Day of Christ, culminating in the Rapture of the Church, was something to be looked forward to, something to take true comfort from. Qualities sorely missing from the terrifying Day of the Lord.
- The Day Of Christ: “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.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (KJV)
- The Day Of The Lord: “Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?” Amos 5:18-20 (KJV)
Wrap your head around this image. Picture you are standing in ocean water up to your knees, as the strong wave is washing over you. At the same time that wave is coming in, you feel the outgoing force of the previous wave. The waves overlap each other as they travel. So it is with the Day of Christ as we have one wave going up and away, and the wave of the Day of the Lord coming in behind that and overlapping.
So what exactly is the Day of the Lord?
The Day of Christ catches away the Bride who is also the body of Jesus, and takes us up and into the clouds to be with Him. From there we go to Heaven, the Judgement Seat of Christ, and then we sit back starting in Revelation 6 and watch the time of Jacob’s trouble unfold on the inhabitants of the earth.
“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” Revelation 6:1,2 (KJV)
Keep in mind that this is the Day of the Lord, not the day of the Devil. Yes, the Devil is used by God to try Israel and all the gentiles, but the Devil is released like a dog from a cage. The dog can only do it’s master’s bidding. Make no mistake about it, the Day of the Lord is started by Jesus Christ Himself, not the Devil.
“Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Revelation 12:12 (KJV)
The Day of the Lord includes the following events:
- The Pretribulation Rapture of the Church as the end of the Day of Christ overlaps with the Day of the Lord.
- The Judgment Seat of Christ for the believer which takes place in Heaven. DAY OF CHRIST
- The rise of Antichrist and the beginning of the time of Jacob’s trouble.
- The ‘strong delusion‘ that the Antichrist is the real Messiah.
- The sealing of the 144,000.
- The Mark of the Beast.
- The Two Witnesses Moses & Elijah.
- The Desecration of the rebuilt Temple.
- All the nations of the world under Antichrist come against Israel.
- The Jews flee into the red rock city of Selah, Petra.
- The Marriage of the Lamb to His Bride the Church in Heaven. DAY OF CHRIST
- The Battle of Armageddon at the…
- Second Coming of Jesus Christ from Heaven. DAY OF CHRIST
- The binding of Satan.
- The Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ. DAY OF CHRIST & DAY OF THE LORD COMBINED
- The release of Satan leading to…
- The Battle of Gog and Magog.
- The final defeat of Satan and all the unsaved.
- The Great White Throne Judgement.
- The fiery destruction of everything.
- New Heavens and New Earth.
- Eternity.
- Happily ever after.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you. I think by now you see that the Day of Christ (for the Church) proceeds and kicks off the Day of the Lord (for Israel in the time of Jacob’s trouble). Look closely at the bullet point list and you will see events connected to the Day of Christ happening for the Church in Heaven, while at the same time, Day of the Lord happens on the earth below.
Perhaps now you can see why Paul uses the two phrases nearly interchangeably in Thessalonians, something that confused me early on my my studies. But by following Paul’s command to rightly divide the Day of Christ from the Day of the Lord – just like the waves coming in and out on top of each other – we have perfect harmony with not a contradiction to be found anywhere.
And oh, about that ‘I come quickly’ thing that the post toasties love to mention all the time
The Post Toasties, otherwise known as the Post Tribulationists, favorite canard is “well, Jesus said I come quickly” 2,000 years ago, and it hasn’t happened yet, so… Blah, blah, blah. A simple view of that verse, here:
“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Revelation 3:11 (KJV)
And what is the CONTEXT of Jesus ‘coming quickly’? Here:
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:” Revelation 1:1 (KJV).
So by RIGHTLY DIVIDING we see that the time element – coming quickly – is in the CONTEXT of the START of the Day of the Lord. It is NOT every day of the last 2,000 years as any first year Bible student can tell you! I mean, really….Once the Rapture at the Day of Christ (for the Church) triggers the start of the Day of the Lord (for Israel), Jesus is saying that in THAT time period, as of this writing yet future, He will certainly “come quickly”. In fact, everything during that time period will seem lightning fast.
In 26 years, I have never once met a Post Toastie who knew how to rightly divide, but everyone of them that someone taught how to rightly divide always became both Premillennial and Pretribulation.
Now you know the difference between the Day of Christ (for the Church), and the terrifying Day of the Lord, (for Israel in the time of Jacob’s’ trouble).
Flight #777 on Titus 2:13 Airlines now boarding at the Day of Christ Intergalactic Airport.
Are YOU ready for what comes next?
