THE RAPTURE, THE TRIBULATION, AND THE SECOND COMING

*  1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 - And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
     We tell you this directly from the Lord:  We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet Him ahead of those who have died.  For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.  First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.  Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth, will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  Then we will be with the Lord forever.  So encourage each other with these words.
     Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you.  For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.  When (they) are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. 
     But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief.  For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.  So be on your guard, not asleep like the others.  Stay alert and be clearheaded.  Night is the time when (they) sleep and (they) get drunk.  But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. 
     For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out His anger on us.  Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when He returns, we can live with Him forever.  So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
*  2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 - Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet Him.  Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun.  Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.  Don’t be fooled by what they say.  For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed - the one who brings destruction.  He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship.  He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.
     Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you?  And you know Who is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes.  For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the One Who is holding it back steps out of the way.  Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of His mouth and destroy him by the splendor of His coming. 
     This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.  He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.  So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.  Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

These passages are loosely based upon the New Living Translation.