1. The Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth some day to establish His millennial kingdom (Rev.19,20). This is what is known as the premillennial return of Christ. However, when considering the second coming of Christ it is important to distinguish between the rapture, when He comes for His saints, and the revelation, when He comes with His saints.
2. Between these two events many Biblical prophecies must be fulfilled, such as the horrible judgments vividly described in Rev.6-19, the rise of the antichrist and the false prophet, the emergence of the one-world ecumenical church, the formation of the one-world government, and the battle of Armageddon.
3. Although the end-time events, which occur after the rapture, are described throughout both the Old and New Testaments, the truth that Christ will come for His saints before the tribulation was not revealed in the Old Testament – this is why Paul calls the rapture a "mystery" (I Cor.15:51).
4. The position that the rapture occurs before the tribulation is called the pretribulational view, in contrast with the posttribulational view which makes Christ coming for His saints and with His saints one event. There are those who believe that the rapture is midway through the tribulation and this is referred to as the midtribulational view.

1. At the rapture, living saints are translated (I Cor.15:51-56), while no saints are translated in connection with the second coming of Christ to the earth.
2. At the rapture, the saints go to heaven, while at the revelation saints remain on the earth without translation (cf. Zech.12:10).
3. At the rapture, the world is unchanged and unjudged and the lost continue in their sin and folly, but at the revelation the world is judged and righteousness is established in the earth (cf. Ps.2).
4. The rapture is always described as an event which is imminent (Tit.2:13), that is, could occur at any moment, while the revelation will be preceded by many important events (cf. Matt.24:15-22; Rev.16:12-21).
5. The rapture is strictly a New Testament doctrine (like the church), while the second coming of Christ is clearly taught in both the Old and the New Testaments (cf. Zech.14:1-4; Matt.24:29,30).
6. At the rapture Satan is not bound but is very active during the following tribulation period (Rev.12:9-17; 13:4; 16:13), but at the revelation of Christ he will be bound and rendered inactive (Rev.20:1-3).
7. The rapture of the saints is a time of deliverance from the day of wrath which follows (I Thess.1:10; 5:9), while the revelation is a time of judgment for those who have rejected Christ (Jude 14,15).

CONCLUSION:

1. The Christian’s "blessed hope" (Titus 2:13) is deliverance from the wrath of God that will be poured out during the tribulation (Rev.6:17).
2. Our hope is not survival through the tribulation, but deliverance "from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Rev.3:10).
3. Our hope is a comforting hope (John 14:1-4; I Thess.4:18) as well as a purifying hope (I John 3:2,3).

FOR FURTHER STUDY:
John F. Walvoord, The Rapture Question, Revised and Enlarged Edition, Zondervan Publishing House, 1979.
John F. Walvoord, The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation, Zondervan, 1976.
J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come, Dunham Publishing, 1958. (This is the best book available on Bible prophecy.)
Charles L. Feinberg, Millennialism, BMH Books Edition, 1985.
Archer, Feinberg, Moo, and Reiter, The Rapture, Zondervan, 1984. (The three major views are presented: pre, post, and midtribulational.)