twofold outline of the letter begin? What is the opening word of this division? 12 What subject is common to the end of each chapter? 13 In what chapters does Paul write much personal testimony about his ministry? 14 Where is the classic rapture passage? IX FURTHER STUDY OF THESSALONIANS Using outside sources as guides,8 study what the Bible teaches about the following: a the rapture of the church b the Millennium c the Great Tribulation d Christ’s return to earth (epiphany, revelation) Study the di erent views regarding the time of the rapture (i.e., before, during, or after the Great Tribulation on earth) One of the main di erences between premillennialists who believe in a rapture before (pre) the Tribulation period and premillennialists who hold to a rapture after (post) that Tribulation period arises out of the interpretation of the action aspect of the rapture (4:17) Pretribulationists believe that at the rapture, the Lord does not come to the earth, but only to the air and clouds above the earth, and that He returns to heaven immediately with the raptured saints This view sees in the sharp phrase “caught up” the meaning of being transported from one place to another, which in this case is from earth to heaven (Cf Acts 8:39; Cor 12:2, 4; Rev 12:5.) Posttribulationists, on the other hand, believe that the saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, but that they will immediately escort Him to earth F F Bruce gives the background of such a view: When a dignitary paid an o cial visit or parousia to a city in Hellenistic times, the action of the leading citizens in going out to meet him and escorting him on the nal stage of his journey was called the apantesis; it is similarly used in Mt xxv 6; Acts xxviii 15 So the Lord is pictured as escorted to the earth by His people — those newly raised from death and those who have remained alive.9 X OUTLINE XI BACKGROUND OF THESSALONIANS A couple of months after Paul had written his rst letter to the Thessalonian church, various circumstances led him to write again This later epistle has been described as “a second prescription for the same case, made after discovering that some certain stubborn symptoms had not yielded to the rst treatment.”10 But the epistle is more than that It answers new questions that have been raised, and it extends Paul’s earlier instruction and exhortation to deeper and higher levels The keynote of the Lord’s second coming, as taught in Thessalonians, is also the keynote here The importance of such a doctrine in the lives of the Thessalonian believers is emphasized Much of the background of this epistle is common to that of the rst letter Review the earlier section before studying the new descriptions given below ... keynote of the Lord’s second coming, as taught in Thessalonians, is also the keynote here The importance of such a doctrine in the lives of the Thessalonian believers is emphasized Much of the background... out of the interpretation of the action aspect of the rapture (4:17) Pretribulationists believe that at the rapture, the Lord does not come to the earth, but only to the air and clouds above the. .. Posttribulationists, on the other hand, believe that the saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, but that they will immediately escort Him to earth F F Bruce gives the background of such a view: