It's a moot point.
II Thessalonians 2:1 "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,"
That's the subject -our gathering back to Christ.
II Thessalonians 2:2 "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
He states don't even be confused by his letter (1st Thessalonians)
II Thessalonians 2:3 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away (apostasy) first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.
Meaning Christ does not return until after the apostasy (people departing from the truth) and the man of sin be revealed.
Second witness to Christ's teachings,
He lays out all the signs in Matthew 24 (Luke 21, Mark 13) and then-
Matthew 24:29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not have her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:"
Matthew 24:30 "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
A work of fiction. Not biblical.
There are two events referred this is referenced about the Second Coming of Jesus. One of them I'm referring to is the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. The second one is at the Battle of Armageddon which ends the Great Tribulation and Starts the Millennium Kingdom.
I will categorize the verses you've mentioned and explain if they are referring to the Rapture or Second Coming:
1) 11 Thess 2 -- is referring to the Rapture. The issue is how I've read it, and how others have taught it, would make it sound like ..."and then"...does A (The Great Falling Away) and B (Anti-Christ revealed) happen simultaneously, or if A comes first, then B comes second, AFTER the Rapture, and there is a gap between A and B would be an issue.
The prevailing thought is that before the Rapture, there is a great falling away, and then after the Rapture, the Anti-Christ mystery-man is revealed to the world, likely heralded by a fleet of UFOs that appear to be under his control producing signs and lying wonders and claiming they were responsible for the mass abductions as a purge and they are tasked to lead humanity to their next stage of evolution, etc... can just speculate at this point.
Right now there are limited UFO sightings/disclosures with some abductions here and there, as well as the birth pangs of the Rapture (ie wars and rumours of wars, earthquakes in diverse places, etc...), but the floodgates of the paranormal and bizarre open up after the Rapture because the restraining power of the Holy Spirit, keeping these things at bay today, is removed. (11 Thess 2:6-7)
2) Matt 24:29, 30 is not the Rapture, but is the Second Coming.
The Rapture is supposed to be such a secret event that nobody knows it takes place. The only evidence is that millions of people are supposedly vanished out in thin air and it's not likely discovered until you see airplanes and cars crashing without drivers or the feeling that something is very wrong in the air, and you can't find your saved loved one, children, or un-born children, and see the ominous news on CNN that people are simply missing. But nobody who was left behind sees Jesus, whereas in Matt 24 - all the Earth sees Jesus.
Again, I've labelled 2 Thess as pointing to that. It's so secret that the chapter implies strongly that it's secret because why would you need to give assurance to people that they didn't miss a secret event if its so public and not secret in Matthew 24?
The issue of this whole thread is those who are left behind, after the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, who are pregnant, may find their pre-born babies are gone from their bellies. Either their bellies will pop open and make a mess or there will be some process where the mother is unharmed, but notices her belly getting flat with no explanation.
@RDKirk , With all the Rapture knowledge out there, and the Christian stand that abortion is a sin because life happens at conception, it's a wonder how there is an issue bridging that gap. In one hand we say abortion is killing a human being, but on the other, God would rescue children from the Tribulation because they are innocent, but not those still inside the womb? It would have to include those if you believe that life starts at conception! (I believe life happens at conception and I also believe the Rapture, which is why both makes me feel confused about the Rapture as I can't imagine pregnant unsaved woman with Raptured fetuses, in a similar manner of people being Raptured, it is never covered in movies depicting the subject, it's just too much etc...)
