Multiple advents of the Lord?

The following is another article from Thomas Ice

I italicized his words Ill reply in regular text. http://www.pre-trib.org

In an attempt to equate Matthew 24:31 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17 as referring to the same event, Dr. Gundry notes "parallel terminology in Paul's Thessalonian discussion of the Church's rapture, where we read of a trumpet, clouds, and a gathering of believers just as in the Olivet Discourse."[5] Indeed, there are some similarities between the rapture and the second coming. There are also some similarities between Christ's first advent 2,000 years ago and His second advent. But they are not the same events. We know they are not the same because of the differences. It is the differences that are important when comparing Matthew 24:31 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Enough differences exist between the two passages to clearly conclude that they must be separate events.

The amount of differences in explanation doesn’t mean two different people are talking about two different things. What the reader has to look for is contradictions. Does any two explanations of an event contradict each other?

I.e. there are a lot of different ways to describe apples, any one explanation could be way different from another but it’s possible all could be describing the same apple. One person may go into fine detail and say the apple is rounded juicy has a stem thin skin over the outside and so on. Then another person may just say it tastes good. These two people have very different explanations to describe the same thing and yet they don’t contradict each other. Shouldn’t we take this same logic when studying scripture?

Dr. Steven McAvoy notes that "the differences between Paul's Thessalonian statements and Matthew 24:30-31 far outweigh any alleged similarities."[6] He says:
Sproule asks,
Where does Paul mention the darkening of the sun (Matt. 24:29), the moon not giving its light (Matt. 24:29), the stars falling from the sky (Matt. 24:29), the powers of the heavens being shaken (Matt. 24:29), all the tribes of the earth mourning (Matt. 24:30), all the world seeing the coming of the Son of Man (Matt. 24:30), or God sending forth angels (Matt. 24:31)?[7]

Just because Paul chose not to describe everything in these chosen passages doesn’t prove that his description contradicts those in Matthew. Nor does it mean they are different events.

Feinberg also notes the dissimilarities between the two accounts:
Notice what happens when you examine both passages carefully. In Matthew the Son of Man comes on the clouds, while in 1 Thessalonians 4 the ascending believers are in them.

1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
Mat 24:30 … and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

I don’t understand how these events contradict each other.

In Matthew the angels gather the elect; in 1 Thessalonians the Lord Himself (note the emphasis) gathers the believers.

The elect are those who are gathered of the nation of Israel not the same as the Christians.

Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Rev 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
Rev 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Rev 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Rev 7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Thessalonians only speaks of the voice of the archangel. In the Olivet Discourse nothing is said about a resurrection, while in the latter text it is the central point. In the two passages the differences in what will take place prior to the appearance of Christ is striking. Moreover, the order of ascent is absent from Matthew in spite of the fact that it is the central part of the epistle.[8] [9]

Maybe striking but not contradictory.

In addition to the above differences, the order of events are different between the two passages. In 1 Thessalonians 4 believers are gathered in the air and taken to heaven, while in Matthew 24 they are gathered after Christ's arrival to earth. "In order for Gundry to establish his view that Matthew 24:31 refers to the rapture, he must reconcile the dissimilarities; not simple point to a few similarities."[10] Thus, the differences in the two passages support the contention that they speak of two distinct events.

The nation of Israel repent at the Lords coming and are saved they are not caught up into the air to be with the lord.

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Isaiah 53 I believe is the prophecy of the nation repenting.

Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

In conclusion: There may be many differences of how this event is described in scripture but I have not come across any contradictions that would allow me to believe in multiple advents. God bless.