From Anstey’s Doctrinal Definitions:
The Bible indicates that the second coming of Christ has two parts or phases. They have been called, “the Rapture” and “the Appearing of Christ.” It is important to understand the distinction between the two, because they have been thoroughly confused in the minds of Christian expositors universally for well over fifteen hundred years! When the truth was recovered in the 1800s, this confusion was set straight.
Although the Lord comes out of heaven on both occasions, the Rapture and the Appearing of Christ occur at different times. Some of the differences are:
• The Rapture will occur when the Lord comes for His saints (John 14:2-3); the Appearing of Christ will occur when He comes with His saints which had been taken to heaven at the Rapture (1 Thess. 3:13; 4:14; Jude 14; Zech. 14:5).
• The Rapture occurs before the seven-year tribulation period begins (Rev. 3:10), and the Appearing of Christ occurs “immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29-30).
• The Rapture could take place at any moment (Matt. 25:13), but the Appearing of Christ will not occur until seven years after the Rapture (Col. 3:4).
• At the Rapture, the Lord will come secretly, in “a twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52); at His Appearing, He will come publicly and every eye shall see Him (Rev. 1:7).
• At the Rapture, He will come to deliver the Church (1 Thess. 1:10); at His Appearing, He will come to deliver Israel (Psa. 6:1-4). The Church will be delivered from going into the Tribulation (Rev. 3:10), whereas the Jews will go through it but will be delivered from it in the end, by the Lord’s bringing the Tribulation to a close.
• At the Rapture, He will come in the air for His Church because they are His heavenly people (1 Thess. 4:15-18); at His Appearing, He will come back to the earth (the Mount of Olives) for Israel because they are His earthly people (Zech. 14:4-5).
• At the Rapture, He will take the believers out of this world and leaves the wicked behind (John 14:2-3); at His Appearing, the wicked will be taken out of the kingdom of the heavens for judgment and the believers (those who have been converted through the gospel of the kingdom that will be preached during the Tribulation) will be left to enjoy blessing on earth (Matt. 13:41-43; 25:41).
• At the Rapture, He will come to deliver His saints (the Church) from the “wrath” to come (1 Thess. 1:10); at His Appearing, He will come to deliver the “wrath” (Rev. 19:15).
• At the Rapture, the Lord will come as “the Bridegroom” (Matt. 25:10), but at the Appearing, He will come as “the Son of Man” (Matt. 24:30, 37, 39, 44, etc.)
• At the Rapture, He will come as the "Morning Star" which rises just prior to daybreak (Rev. 22:16); at His Appearing, He will come as the "Sun of Righteousness," which is daybreak (Mal. 4:2).
• At the Rapture, He will come without any signs, because the Christian walks by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7); at the Appearing, His coming will be surrounded by signs, because the Jews seek a sign (Luke 21:11, 25-27; 1 Cor. 1:22).
As mentioned, the main error in Christendom concerning the Lord’s coming is supposing that the Rapture and the Appearing are one event. This idea does not take into consideration the fact that there are a number of things which Scripture indicates that take place between the two events that make this unfeasible. It is clear, therefore, that these two phases of the Lord’s coming do not happen at the same time. When the Lord comes and calls us away from the earth, He takes us into “the Father’s house” and formally introduces us to that heavenly scene (John 14:2-3). Then, the “judgment seat” review will take place (2 Cor. 5:10). After that, there will be a time of worship and adoration “round about the throne” in heaven (Rev. 4-5). Then, after that, there will be “the marriage of the Lamb” and “the supper” that ensues it (Rev. 19:6-10). It is only after these things occur that the heavens open and the Lord comes at His Appearing (Rev. 19:11-21). To say that these things all happen in a moment of time is problematic and unfeasible.
Another common mistake that Christians have concerning the Lord’s coming is that they think that He comes as a "Thief in the night" at the Rapture. However, a careful look at the Scriptures will show that it is in connection with His Appearing (Matt. 24:43-44; Luke 12:39-40; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10; Rev. 3:5; 16:15). At the Rapture, the Lord comes to call away the Church, which is His bride (1 Thess. 4:15-18, etc.). He comes at that time as "the Bridegroom" (Matt. 25:6-10)—not as a “Thief.” (Coming as a Thief is no way to take one's bride!) Moreover, most of the passages having to do with the Lord’s coming as a Thief speak of Him executing judgment on the world at that time. This happens at the Appearing, but there is no judgment executed on the world at the Rapture; it is a silent snatching away of believers from the earth.
For instance, Matthew 24:43-44 correlates the Lord’s coming as a Thief with Him coming as “the Son of Man”—which is the way He is presented in Scripture when He acts in judgment (Dan. 7:13; John 5:27; Rev. 1:13-16). He is never spoken of as the Son of Man in connection with the Church. That title is not even used in the epistles where the Church is addressed and instructed. (Hebrews 2:6 is a quote from the Old Testament.) 1 Thessalonians 5:2 states that Christ’s coming as a Thief is when He will bring “sudden destruction” upon the world of unbelievers. 2 Peter 3:7-10 connects His coming as a Thief with “the day of judgment.” Revelation 16:15-16 says that when the Lord comes as a Thief, it will be to judge the armies that will gather at “Armageddon” to fight against Him. The parable in Luke 12:36-39 indicates that the Lord's coming as a Thief is after "the wedding" has taken place.
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There are at least five wonderful things that happen for the believer as a result of the Rapture:
• We will be with Christ, never to be apart again (John 14:2-3; 1 Thess. 5:10).
• We will be like Christ (Phil. 3:21; 1 John 3:2).
• We will be forever united with our brethren (1 Thess. 4:15-18; 2 Thess. 2:1).
• We will be forever delivered from spiritual dangers and physical troubles, sickness, sorrow, etc. (Jude 21).
• We will receive the rewards of our labours here (Matt. 25:19-23; Luke 19:15-19; Heb. 10:35-37).
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The Lord clearly stated that no man knows when He will come at the Rapture (Matt. 25:13 – J. N. Darby Trans.) nor when He will Appear to judge the world in righteousness (Matt. 24:36). It is, therefore, futile to be trying to set dates for either of these events.