The Day of the Lord and Rapture

 1 Thess. 5;1-3 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

The Day of the Lord will be completely unexpected. It will come suddenly, deceptively, destructively. No one will escape. It will come during a time of confidence and security in the world. The Day of the Lord refers to a time when God will step into world affairs. He will bring judgement on the world. Matthew 24:21. There will be great distress. It will be unequaled from the beginning of the world until now. And it will never be equaled again.

A world full of darkness

Why would the Lord bring judgement on a world experiencing peace and security? A world living in peace with one another? 2 Thess. 2:12 because they refused to believe in the Truth. The peace and security is actually darkness! Spiritual darkness and demonic deception will over shadow all people before rapture. The darkness will be emphatically realized during the tribulation period.

2 Thess. 2:7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work. The one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie. All the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

The one who restrains the darkness

The one who holds back the darkness is the Holy Spirit. When He is taken out of the way, the lawless one will be revealed. (Anti Christ). The Holy Spirit resides in the hearts of each and every believer (the church). When the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, the church goes with him. (Rapture). Rapture completes the church age. A new age will begin titled "The Day of the Lord". The first part of the Day of the Lord is a seven year tribulation period. It will prepare the earth and it's inhabitants for the second part of the Day of the Lord. The thousand year millennial period where Jesus will rule and reign on the earth.

The good news is that believers will miss the first part of the Day of the Lord. When the Holy Spirt is taken out of the way, they will go with him. 1 Thess. 4:16-18. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. How doe we become believers? Repent and trust in Jesus!