Unfortunately, there are also believers who consider ‘the Rapture’ an unimportant point and have never thought about whether the Bible specifically speaks about it. There is often even an attitude of ‘I am far above such a discussion’ and they seem proud of not being concerned with the matters of the Second Coming. That is a strange attitude, because it is such a major point in the entire Bible. How can one sometimes turn away from it with any arrogance? The Rapture and our view of it has major consequences for the interpretation of the rest of the Bible, the relationship of the Church to Israel and the development of history. It is closely related to what Paul calls “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) that he proclaims as an apostle. Moreover, it has everything to do with the hope from which a Christian may live. Is our future ‘the wrath of God in the whole world’ (Rev. 6:16) or is our future ‘the meeting with our Savior in his glory’ (1 John 3:2)?  That makes quite a difference! 

Generally speaking, there is this common ground on which all Christians stand, namely that the true believer no longer falls under the wrath of God, but may live by grace. That is why ‘the wrath to come’ (1 Thess. 1:10) is not intended for the true church of Christ (Rom. 5:9). 

Actually, we are already in the middle of the question of the time at which the Church will be taken up into glory. Paul says to the church of Thessalonica: "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves know perfectly that ‘the day of the Lord’ – that is, the Great Tribulation (!) – will come as a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:1,2). This is clearly about future events, in which there is a great difference between believers and unbelievers (verses 4-5). Unbelievers will be surprised by the Great Tribulation as by ‘a thief in the night’.  This does not apply to the Church of Christ. Paul writes clearly here about that enormous contrast between the future of the believer and that of the unbeliever: "God has not appointed us to wrath..." (verse 9). He writes this after he has written about the Rapture in chapter 4. The church of Christ will never experience the Great Tribulation here on earth, that is also clearly read in Revelation 6 to Revelation 19 in which you will not encounter the Church of Christ anywhere here on earth! 

The rapture saves the Church from the horrors of the coming judgments (the Great Tribulation) and also saves them from the hands of the antichrist. (1 Thessalonians 1:10).