The subject of the end times is fascinating and should also be motivating. One thing it should not be is aggravating; it shouldn’t produce fear but rather hope. Some of the young believers in the church at Thessalonica were perturbed and afraid thinking they were facing the tribulation and that loved ones who had died had missed the rapture Paul told them about. Paul’s concern wasn’t just doctrinal but pastoral—he wanted to comfort the Thessalonians. Let’s dig deeper into this doctrine.