Correct there is only one Parousia/Epiphinea and His Coming and Appearance/Appearing are one in the same event. In 2 Thess 2:8 Paul has them as Synonymous terms happening at the same time.
Based on a review of multiple commentaries and journal articles, it is "safe to say" that the majority of conservative evangelical
scholars who interpret the Scripture in a literal, normative manner distinguish the Rapture, when Christ comes for His Bride, the
Church, from the Second Coming, when Christ comes with His Bride, the Church to earth to judge and wage war against His
enemies which is followed by the establishment of His 1000 year Millennial Kingdom.
If one accepts a pre-tribulation viewpoint,
this distinction would seem to be quite clear. However if one favors a post-tribulation rapture, then the identity of these events would
merge into one event. In addition, even among those who appear to accept a pre-tribulation rapture, the term Second Coming is
occasionally used without a specific designation to refer to both of these events. Strictly speaking since Christ has come a first time,
both of these events would represent a "second coming". And since both aspects of Christ's return hold forth glorious promises for
believers, it is not at all inappropriate to think of them both with great hope and eager anticipation (see Greek Verbs)
A number of the New Testament passages are somewhat ambiguous (see examples of these passages) as to which event is
intended and one can read diametrically opposite comments by respected scholars that make relatively dogmatic interpretations
regarding these ambiguous passages. While these ambiguous passages do at times tend to favor one event over the other event,
the distinction is not always sufficiently distinctive to allow one to make the dogmatic statements one encounters in the Christian
literature.
It is little wonder that this wonderful future event on the Christian's calendar can be a source of some confusion.
Furthermore, as I have studied this subject and the passages in question, it seems quite possible that in a number of passages the
intended meaning is purposely ambiguous so that believers might be stimulated to anticipate the occurrence of both great
eschatological events,
the Rapture and the Second Coming.
Today in the Word writes that…
Biblical prophecy provides some of the greatest encouragement and hope available to us today. Just as the
Old Testament is saturated with prophecies concerning Christ’s first advent, so both testaments are filled
with references to the Second Coming of Christ.
One scholar has estimated that there are 1,845 references to Christ’s Second Coming in the Old
Dr Walvoord echoes the New Testament emphasis of the return of the Lord writing that…
As noted in the preceding table other designations have been proposed for these two end time events including the division of
Christ's return into two phases or two stages. Another designation that has been offered is to refer to these events as Christ's
return for His saints (Rapture) or with His saints (Second Coming).
Dr Walvoord, who is without doubt the most influential and respected evangelical writer regarding Biblical study of future events
(eschatology) differentiates between the Rapture and the Second Coming writing…
Dr Walvoord adds that…
Dr S Lewis Johnson the late esteemed professor of Dallas Theological Seminary said that…
Testament, where 17 books give it prominence.
In the 260 chapters of the New Testament, there are 318 references to the second advent of Christ—an
amazing 1 out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event. For
every prophecy in the Bible concerning Christ’s first advent, there are 8 which look forward to His second!
Ed Comment: Some of these 318 references are specific and refer to the Rapture while others can be
identified as referring specifically to the Second Coming. As allude to above, a careful study of the majority of
these 318 passages cannot be specifically identified with one aspect or the other of the Lord's return.
The revelation of the second coming of Christ is one of the most important and most frequently mentioned
doctrines of the New Testament. One out of every twenty-five verses in the New Testament refers either to
the rapture of the church or to Christ’s coming to reign over the world (cf. Jesse Forrest Silver, The Lord’s
Return, p. 29). Though it is not always possible to distinguish references to Christ’s coming for the church from
references to His coming to establish His earthly kingdom, there are many passages which clearly present a
premillennial coming at the close of the great tribulation to judge the world and to bring in the righteous reign
of the King. Approximately twenty major references are found in the New Testament alone (Mt 19:28; 23:39;
24:3-25:46; Mark 13:24-37; Luke 12:35-48; 17:22-37; 18:8; 21:25-28; Acts 1:10-11; 15:16-18; Ro 11:25-27;
1Cor 11:26; 2Thess 1:7, 8, 9,10; 2:8 ; 2Pet 3:3, 4; Jude 1:14,15 ; Rev 1:7-8; 2:25, 26, 27, 28; 16:15; 19:11-21;
22:20). (The Prophetic Context of the Millennium — Part III: The Second Coming of Christ in the New
Testament) (Comment: Read the first sentence again. Do you notice how even Dr Walvoord uses "the second
coming" as a term to include the Rapture and the Second Coming.)
For the sake of brevity, the term rapture or translation is used for the coming of Christ for His church, while
the term Second Coming is uniformly used as a reference to His coming to the earth to establish His
millennial kingdom, an event which all consider post-tribulational. While the words rapture and translation are
not quite identical, they refer to the same event. By the term rapture reference is made to the fact that the
church is “caught up” from the earth and taken to heaven. By the term translation the thought is conveyed that
those who are thus raptured are transformed in their physical bodies from natural and corruptible bodies to
spiritual, incorruptible, and immortal bodies. Strictly speaking, the dead are raised while the living are
translated. In common usage, however, this distinction is not normally maintained.
Though the second coming may not be as important to the total program of God as thefirst coming, it
certainly is without precedent in manifestation of the glory and power of the Triune God. It constitutes the most
tremendous intervention of divine power in the entire course of human history…
Just as Scripture concerning the rapture of the church is climactic and determinative in truth revealed about
the church, so the second coming is determinative in tracing the future course of Gentiles and Israel in the
world, the resurrection of the righteous, and the fulfillment of prophecies concerning the kingdom of God on
earth. King of glory. (John Walvoord. Millennial Kingdom - Prophetic Context)
The Tribulation, which we have called one of the "monster subjects" of the Bible, is followed by an even larger
one, the doctrine of the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus. One commentator, in writing about the Second
Advent has said that the most dramatic event in all history will be the visible appearing of Jesus Christ, and
that is probably true. We certainly can say it is the most prophesied event in the Bible. There is no other
event of holy Scripture that has so much of the divine revelation given to it as the Second Advent of the Lord
Jesus. And as you know, it was one of the subjects that the apostles particularly taught and emphasized. (Ref)
Ed comment: Note that Dr Johnson uses the Second Advent as a synonym for the Second Coming. He also
rightly points out that most of the Biblical references are to the visible, earthly return of the King of kings, which
While I humbly agree with both these highly esteemed scholars, the problem arises when one is reading another writer's comments,
in which they may use the term "Second Coming" in a more generic and/or a less distinctive manner.
The approach adopted by this website is to refer to Christ's return for His saints as the Rapture and His return with His saints as the
Second Coming. If a clear distinction cannot be made in a passage under discussion, that qualifier is added.
The upshot is that if you see the term Second Coming of Christ in the Christian literature, you need to try to discern the author's
intended meaning (and this distinction is not always clear from my cursory review). Many times the context of the passage may
favor either the Rapture or the Second Coming but that distinction is not always clear as previously noted.
Walvoord comments on the importance of the Second Coming writing…
James F. Stitzinger- The deeper one looks into the coming of Christ, the more complex, intriguing, and astonishing it becomes, much
like the beauty and complexity of human DNA under the microscope, or the heavens as viewed through a telescope (Ps 8:3-4).
Sadly, many fail to discern this intrigue and approach prophecy with the use of Ockham’s Razor principle (from the great English
scholastic, William of Ockham,1280-1349). In Ockham’s development of a nominalistic pursuit of the real, he insisted upon using the
razor to slash away at complex explanations “of the hierarchy of being, of ideas and concepts, which sheer speculation had
invented” in the realist’s pursuit of what is real.6 He asserted that what could be done with fewer assumptions is done in vain with
more, and therefore, he called for the “rejection and pruning of all concepts which are not absolutely necessary.”
7
posttribulationalists, historic premillennialists, postmillennialists as well as amillennialists8 all say, “Apply the razor!” and in doing so,
reduce the
two-phase second coming of Christ to one phase. Such tragic conclusions are similar to those of anti-trinitarians who find
one person in the Godhead rather than three, or early students of Christology who said one nature of Christ rather than two distinct
natures in the one person of the God-man (Phil 2:6-8). Rather than “apply the razor,” one should plunge into the depths of biblical
teaching on the comings of Christ, making clear the biblical distinctions, and look deeply into the issues and nuances of the text,
rather than being satisfied with traditional answers originating in unquestioned pre-understandings when approaching the text. (See
full article THE RAPTURE IN TWENTY CENTURIES OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION)
Shalom
