In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 believers were told to be encouraged, to encourage each other with the hope of the rapture. One day we are going to rise to meet the Lord in the air, along with our loved ones who passed away in Christ, and together we will be with Jesus forever. That is our hope. That’s what gets us through days of suffering, pain, death in this world. That is what we hang onto when we are overwhelmed by the evil in the world. Now can you imagine believing that, trusting that; and then you hear you’ve missed it. You missed the rapture, the Lord’s return for you. That’s what the Thessalonians had been told and what Paul is now going to deal with in 2 Thessalonians 2.