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And it's very clear that there are two things which are described in the Bible for Jesus' second coming ... one being for His church (which is the Rapture) and one when He returns to the earth to set up His one-world government.

They are two events, separated by the Tribulation time and they are not one and the same event (you could say they're "Part A" and "Part B").

There is nothing anywhere in Scripture that puts the great tribulation Jesus spoke of between his gathering of his saints to himself and his return to earth as the conquering Lord. Jesus doesn't mention it in any of the gospel accounts of his talk about the end of the age and his return. Paul says nothing about this in either of his references to the coming of Jesus in his letters to the Corinthians or the Thessalonians. Peter certainly doesn't give any indication of it in his descriptions of the Day of the Lord. And John in Revelation places the first of the two resurrections after the tribulation at the coming of the Lord and before the thousand year reign.

In fact, Jesus warns believers against anyone claiming that he has returned in a secret or limited fashion, saying that when he returns it will be an event that every eye on earth will witness with absolutely no ambiguity about its significance.

When faced with the complete lack of scriptural evidence for the teaching of a coming of the Lord unseen by the world to resurrect his dead believers and take them and his living believers away before a period of tribulation and his public return and the first resurrection, some have claimed that this was a new revelation for his church in end times (though the end times started with the incarnation of Jesus) while others claim that it had always been a teaching of the church (citing a specious reference in Pseudo-Ephraim).

There was nothing in Scripture before Christs birth to say His birth and second coming were 2 events - which is one reason why many Jews of the time missed His Birth. They did hot understand Christ would come first as a suffering servant and again some 2000 years later as the conquering King. They were looking for one coming and missed the entire point.

Same situation exists now - many Christians (and I was one for many years) see one coming of Christ at the end of the age -not two separated by a small space of time. I cannot express the blessing to my faith of understanding the Rapture and prophecy - I had been taught for the first 35 years or so of my life that prophecy is unknowable, and the fact of His return is the only important thing. Why then is Revelation the only book of the Bible that promises a blessing to those who read it?

HOWEVER - the study of prophecy has enriched my life and faith immeasureably, BUT it is not a SALVATION issue. I just can’t wait to see the looks on all those Christian’s faces who pooh poohed the Rapture when it actually happens!